Thursday, June 2, 2011

Google Black Screen

The term BSOD holds a meaning that sends a shiver down the spine of most computer users. The acronym BSOD means either blue screen of death or black screen of death and never has anything good come out of getting to the bottom of this issue. Typically when you see any colored screen be it blue, black or red it means trouble.

We all are probably familiar with the issue and if we are lucky have not encountered it. Usually it occurs because of an issue with an operating system or a virus but not always. It seems that Google programs have become increasingly more familiar with the BSOD since the introduction of Google Earth. Luckily for Google users the BSOD that is associated with Google is less damaging than when it is associated with a problem in the operating system.

If you are using Google Earth on a Mac and end up with a colored screen or a blank screen it does indicate a problem, but a very benign one. Usually with a Mac it means that the Mac web browser is blocking your cookies. It tends to occur with Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7 and later and Safari 2.0.2 and later. A few simple steps will resolve the issue and eliminate the colored screen allowing you to be back in business.

To resolve the issue if you are using Mozilla Firefox, take the following steps:
  • In Firefox, click on the Firefox menu.
  • Click Preferences on the menu which will open a new window.
  • On the left section of the window click Privacy.
  • Check Allow sites to set Cookies.
  • Click OK to save changes.
To resolve the issue if you are using Safari take the following steps:
  • In Safari click on the Safari menu.
  • In the menu click Preferences which will open a new window.
  • Click Security.
  • Make sure that under the Accept Cookies tab the Always or Only from sites you navigate to is selected.
  • Click OK to save changes.
You should only have to make these adjustments only one time and it should eliminate the black screen when you use Google Earth.

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