Why Won't Pictures Load on Web Pages

Pictures may not load on Web pages because they are too big to be downloaded quickly--in other words, because they have not been “optimized” for the Web--or for several other reasons. Whatever the case, you will usually see a red “x” in the place where the picture should be.

Character Set

If your Web browser--such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Firefox--cannot determine how a Web page is encoded, perhaps because a file or a key in the Windows registry is missing or corrupted, pictures will not load correctly. It may also be that a Web page contains an image of a type that is not supported by your browser.

Browser Settings

Many Web browsers include security features that can block harmless as well as potentially harmful pictures on Web pages, but usually alert you to what is being blocked and offer you the option to allow pictures to be displayed. One simple reason why photographs are not displayed is because the "Show Pictures" box--under the "Advanced" tab in Internet Options--is not checked for Internet Explorer.

Resolving the Problem

If you can display pictures on one Web page and not another, it probably means that the problem lies with the Web page and not your computer. If you cannot display pictures at all, try reloading the page in question and removing temporary Internet files to create extra hard disk space.

References

• Help and Support: Pictures are not displayed on Web sites in Internet Explorer
• Don Edrington: Red X Where a Picture Is Supposed to Be
• HTML Source: Optimising Images