I used my 64 bit Alienware to run the last week of the Analyzing Data With VStar course. It was running VStar just fine. After the course ended I also accessed SeqPlot a few times mainly to check that I could access it correctly since I was having problems with "screen fracturing" on all JAVA apps on a new (different) computer I purchased (and that problem appears to be a conflict caused by "advertising revenue" non-essential programs loaded by ASUS at the factory on their ROG laptops and it required reformatting the two static HDs and starting over from scratch since the initial restore contained the unnecessary programs. What a PITA). So VStar and SeqPlot were working fine as of Wednesday, 7/29. I Tried to use the Seqplot.jnlp Webstart app on Saturday morning and received an "unable to launch error and the details are attached in the SeqPlot Fail Details. pdf attached.
Then I tried to launch VStar via the Webstart app and and got a similar failure to launch notice with the attached VStar.jnlp Fail Details pdf. In both cases, SeqPlot and VStar, it seems the Webstart app can't connect to the webpage where the source is located.
I tried running Vstar from a local .exe file. It loaded and would run files saved on my computer but would not access AAVSO database files and gave the error in the attached AAVSO file load failure pdf which also seems to indicate it can't connect to the file. A similar thing happened when I tried to access the plug-in manager but if I manually installed the plug-ins they appeared correctly in the various menus.
Then I tried to run SeqPlot from a newly downloaded exe file The program opened but when I tried to get information from AAVSO either the coordinates by entering the star name or the field by entering coordinates, SeqPlot displayed the working hourglass and progressed no further. I let sit there for a half hour a couple of times.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled JAVA and am on build 1.8.0_144-b01 which was the latest as of this morning before that I was on 1.8.0_141. I have deleted and reinstalled both Webstart apps several times. I did a fresh download of the VStar local installation. I changed default browser from the latest Chrome to I.E. 11 version 11.0.9600.18738 update version 11.0.44. That made no difference. I turned off my firewall and that also made no difference. In each case I made the change shut down and rebooted to check that there was no effect.
I am at a loss and am starting to get the idea that, sniff, AAVSO doesn't want me to access its tools or data. Jeez, guys and gals I didn't make the new course so hard that you need to banish me from the tribe.
Anyway, Tim Crawford advises that he is having no problem using the SeqPlot Webstart app while I seem to be locked out of both JAVA tools. That makes me think that this is not a general problem.
Does anyone have any ideas what is going on? I don't know what else to check or do.
Brad Walter
PS: Windows 7 service Pack 1 64 bit