Hamilton

I have paid my Friend of Hamilton donation but I am still unable to access the resources I need. I am often logged out and then I get asked to pay again? What shall I do?

Due to the nature of the site and the databases behind it, we recommend that your PC/ Internet access is set up in a certain way: For MOST PCs this is standard and should not usually involve the user to have to do anything at all. However, in some cases and particularly for some web based Internet providers such as aol, hotmail, yahoo, certain settings may need altering.

When you began the process of becoming a Friend, the site should have picked up any issues to do with access and asked you to check such things as cookies and Javascript settings.
The information regarding the various settings you need to test/ check is printed below. We would ask that you read through this and alter settings where necessary.

In addition there are two other things you can try, both of which can particularly help with the logging in/ logging out problem.
1. You could try to access our site by by-passing your usual browser and using Internet Explorer instead. To do this, connect to the Hamilton site as usual and then go to your ‘Start’ Menu, choose ‘Programs’ and then choose Internet Explorer. This should refresh the page and allow you to use the Hamilton site through Internet Explorer rather than your own browser.
2. Some problems re access can be caused because despite the cookies being set up as below, some web browsers will not allow a user to use just one session when browsing a web site and as such the information that the site needs to function is lost. This can be over-ridden by ticking the 'remember me on this computer' message when you log on to the Hamilton site. ntl and blueyonder in particular have an issue with this.

Settings to check:

Checking Cookie Settings (Internet Explorer 8)

1. Select Internet Options from the Tools Menu
2. Select the Privacy Tab
3. Change the scroll bar to Medium
7. Select Apply and OK
8. Close your browser and reopen and visit - http://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk.

Additional Steps for extra security.

4. Select the 'Sites' button under the scroll bar
5. Type in http://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk and press 'Allow'
6. Select OK.

On Internet Explorer 6 & 7, cookies are handled automatically so it’s unlikely to be the problem but you can override the automatic handling of cookies by following these steps
1. Tools menu, choose Internet options
2. Click on the privacy tab
3. Click on advanced button (brings up a new window)
4. Makes sure that always allow session cookies tick box is ticked.

Checking JavaScript Problems Internet Explorer 5, 6 & 7
1. Tools menu, choose Internet options
2. Click on the security tab
3. Click on custom level button (brings up a new window)
4. Scroll down to the Scripting Section
5. Make sure that Active Scripting is enabled.

We should also reassure you that we are not using the cookie to store private information about the user, it is purely to maintain that session. The information stored in the cookie is also not passed on or used for any reason other than to provide this advanced facility.

If you still have access issues or you are unclear about what you are being asked to do, you should contact us and we will then contact our technical team. If you do need to get in touch with us, we will need as much information as possible about your settings, including:

1. Have you ever been able to access the Plans/ Topics since donating/ subscribing?
2. Do you get a confirmation: 'you have successfully logged in' message?
3. Have you tried logging in on another computer and accessing the plans/ Topics?
4. When you do log in, what happens? Do you only get the free materials? Can you see the Search tab on the Topics?
5. Can you also tell us your operating system - (click on Start and it tells you down the side of the menu or click on My Computer and then System Information).
6. Finally, can you tell us who is your Internet Service provider, Tesco, BT internet, ntl, etc.