IE7/IE8 and frozen animated gifs

Question

I'm quite sure this is an old problem.

This is how i render my animated gif:

 <img id='loading' alt='loading' style="display: none; position:  
    relative; left:10px; top:2px;" src="<%= Url.Image("loading.gif") %>" />

This is how I'm desperately trying to show it at the moment:

showLoading: function(gifId, butId) {
        var n = gifId != undefined ? gifId : 'loading';
        var l = $('#' + n);

        //if browser is stupid
        if ('v' == '\v') {
            var s = l.attr('src');
            var x = document.getElementById(n);
            x.style.visibility = "visible";
            x.style.display = "inline";
            setTimeout("document.getElementById('" + n + "').src = '"+s+"';",  
                        100);
        } else {
            l.show();
        }
        if (butId != undefined)
            $('#' + butId).css('cursor', 'default').attr("disabled", true);
    },

Problem: Animated gif appears frozen, there is no animation

Strangest thing is that on other page everything works like a charm.

P.s. it's painful not to rant about IE... argh...

EDIT:

Wrapped around with span:

  <span id='loading' style='display: none;
                position: relative; left: 0px; top: 2px;'>
                <img alt='loading' src="<%= Url.Image("loading.gif") %>" />
            </span>

changed js to:

 if ('v' == '\v') {
            var f = function() {
                l.show();
                l.attr('src', l.attr('src'));
            };
            setTimeout(f, 100);
        } else {
            l.show();
        }

and mystically - it works now.

Answer 1

I ran into this once. If I tried to use JavaScript to show a little loading throbber as the browser moved to a page that was going to take a while to load, IE wouldn't animate the GIF. I solved it by putting the loading throbber directly into the HTML (not inserted via JavaScript) in a hidden div:

<div id="pseudo-progress-area" style="display: none;">
    <h3>Please wait while we process your PayPal transaction...</h3>
    <p style="text-align: center;">
        <img src="/Media/Template/Images/LoadingProgressBar.gif" alt="" />
    </p>
</div>

and then using JavaScript to toggle the visibility of the div after a short delay (this is using an older version of the Prototype library, but you get the idea):

<script type="text/javascript">    
    // We have to call this function via a setTimeout() or else IE7 won't
    // animate the GIF as the next page is loading.
    var fnHideConfirmation = function() {
        Element.hide( 'confirmation-area' );
        Element.show( 'pseudo-progress-area' );
    };    
</script>

That function is triggered in the form's submit button:

<input 
    type="submit"
    class="button"
    name="SubmitConfirmation"
    value="Buy Now →"
    onclick="setTimeout(fnHideConfirmation, 50);" />

So instead of delaying the src attribute change, leave it alone and just delay the call to your entire showLoading() function. Good luck!