Your helpers are Yahoo customers, just like yourself. Unlike Yahoo GeoCities, we'll tell you when PageBuilder is broken.

All links on this page open new browser windows.

...Except pbtester2002 & this one: please see here for a consideration of browsers, Java & PageBuilder which may help with your Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder problems whether or not the information presented on this page fixes you up.

For best results, AOL & SBC users should minimize, but not close, the AOL or SBC browser & access both the Yahoo GeoCities account & PageBuilder with one of the browsers considered on the browsers, Java & PageBuilder page.

If you have Norton Internet Security 2004, please visit smsu_63's page: Fine-Tuning Norton Internet Security for Yahoo!/GeoCities

The vast majority of Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder launch problems stem from some mis-configuration, for PageBuilder, on the user's computer...usually in the browser.

Even if you launched the Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder successfully in the past, installing, upgrading or un-installing any of a number of programs (like the Google Toolbar, Norton Security, Windows Updates, Yahoo Companion or ZoneAlarm Pro...) can require re-configuration of your system to continue launching PageBuilder. It's usually not too hard to do...

However, Yahoo cannot help you re-configure your computer (usually just the browser, really). So, you need to rely on us: volunteer helpers. Please be nice to us...

Here is the BIG question:

What, exactly, happens when you click the 'Launch PageBuilder' link on the Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder launch page?

Note: Please see smsu_63's Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder-readiness test page, Step #6 for great instructions on how to post the exact information we may need to help you.

Free site-
http://us.geocities.yahoo.com/v/pb.html
Pro site-
http://us.1.p.geocities.yahoo.com/v/pb.html
Web Hosting Site-
http://us.1.p.webhosting.yahoo.com/v/pb.html

Do you see a pop-up window with a little house building itself?

If no, you may have a pop-up stopper enabled...whether or not you intentionally downloaded & installed a pop-up stopper. Look around your browser's toolbar &/or down by your computer's clock. A pop-up stopper may come bundled in other software like the Google Toolbar, Norton Security, Yahoo Companion or ZoneAlarm Pro. If you find one, turn the pop-up stopper off before attempting to launch Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder.

Note: Without knowing it, many users have more than 1 pop-up blocker active on a computer in various security programs or add-on toolbars; so, look carefully through all your anti-virus programs & such.

It is up to you to find all the pop-up blockers on your computer. There is no way we can list every possible pop-up stopper & it's configuration. Look carefully.

Many pop-up stoppers/blockers can be configured to always allow Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder to launch; so, if turning the pop-up stopper(s) off allows PageBuilder to launch, you may want to examine the instructions for your particular pop-up blocker(s) for customization directions.

In general, configuring your pop-up blocker(s) to always allow pop-ups from pagebuilder.yahoo.com should allow PageBuilder to launch & function normally. Windows XP SP2 requires this configuration. Thanks to elaun54 for this link to Microsoft's instructions for configuring the Pop-up Blocker in XP SP2:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/web/sp2_popupblocker.mspx

However, some blockers may also require one either to use the 'allow this link this time' function or to always allow pop-ups from geocities.yahoo.com in order for the 'Launch PageBuilder' link on the Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder launch page to work. The problem with always allowing pop-ups from geocities.yahoo.com is that one thereby allows pop-ups on ALL geocities web sites, which may not be desirable. Windows XP SP2 is in this group & you will have to decide what you want to do.

If you have some sort of  Download Accelerator  on your computer, turn it off or disable it's browser integration before attempting to launch Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder. If you are asked to download something called us.z, or some sort of .zip file, that probably means you have a download accelerator interfering with the PageBuilder download. Please see smsu_63's Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder-readiness test page, Step #5, for more on download accelerators.

If you have downloaded add-on 'products' for the Internet Explorer browser's toolbar like My Web Search, uninstall them before attempting to launch Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder.

If you don't find the problem just by looking, & if smsu_63's Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder-readiness test page hasn't shown you an answer, you might try one of the approaches suggested by ladapup:

ladapup explains 3 methods for investigating your computer's configuration for PageBuilder Launch Compatibility.

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Login failure. Failed to initialize?

Click the links below* & see if you have the 'triple-0's' problem. (This problem is Yahoo's fault):

what to do if your File Manager shows Total Allocated space=0.0 MB:

smsu_63, 08/01/04:

Yahoo! implemented a solution for this problem in December of 2003, and no one has confirmed seeing this problem since that time. But it could still be around. If you are seeing all three "0.0" numbers in your File Manager, you need to report that to Yahoo! Customer Care, as advised on those pages*.

But if you do not see all three "0.0"s, then you need to check this page:
www.geocities.com/smsu_63/pb-test/
It says:

Some users get a "login failed" message, because something with a name like "dial up express" gets in the way and doesn't allow the PageBuilder code to be downloaded as it normally would be. The general idea is, either disable all "download accelerator" tools when trying to launch PageBuilder, or reconfigure them to turn off their "browser integration" function.

Click here for full information about the 'triple-0's' problem & instructions for getting Yahoo to fix your account:

*http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ygcpagebuilderhelp/message/18470

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If you need to post a question somewhere, it's best to post it & wait for an answer. Don't post all over the place & ignore the replies...you'll never know what you missed...

I think the Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder Help Group is a great place to post questions about Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder.

Here is the BIG question (again):

Please see smsu_63's Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder-readiness test page, Step #6 for great instructions on how to post the exact information we may need to help you.

Remember, your helpers are Yahoo customers, just like yourself. Unlike Yahoo, we'll tell you when Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder is broken.

If Yahoo GeoCities PageBuilder is broken, the message will be posted at the top of this page.

_{The author of this page is a Yahoo customer who tries to help other Yahoo customers. My thanks to boostmom, ladapup & smsu_63 for many conversations which lead to the development of this information.}