My avatar looks like a bright beam of light. I can't see my avatar, but people can apparently see it just fine.

[MishaC25]

What do you think is wrong? My internet speed is 117mbps, I just checked it. And fwiw, I factory reset my computer over the weekend. Thanks in advance for any advice on how to fix this issue.

[Rolig Loon]

It sounds like a case of bake fail, the SL equivalent of a common cold.  It has nothing to do with your bandwidth, but may have something to do with the stability or reliability of your connection.  Or not.   See  https://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_bake_fail for many good suggestions.  

[MishaC25]

Thank you so much for your reply. I think it was my new AO, that a friend gave me yesterday. I don't know how an AO could cause the problem I had, but im almost positive that was the problem.  Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

[Rolig Loon]

1 minute ago, MishaC25 said:

I think it was my new AO

That's a bit unlikely, but if taking off the AO works, run with it.  😎

[MishaC25]

Well, I just started over with my avatar, and remade her again, and didn't put that particular AO back on, and it's fine....for now anyway lol. So I may not have pinpointed the problem, but at least it's temporarily resolved.

[Rolig Loon]

Just now, MishaC25 said:

I just started over with my avatar, and remade her again

That was probably the cure.  The simplest solutions mentioned in that link I gave you involved replacing one or more of the four basic parts of your av: eyes, hair base, shape, or skin. Basically, anything that forces your graphics card to completely re-render your av  is often enough to clear a bake fail.  Your av was just temporarily stuck in a partly rendered state, so it assumed the default -- an amorphous shape that has been described as a fluffy cloud, a ghost, a ball of light.  We're all there briefly as we log in.  If your Internet connection is acting wonky, your avatar appearance file may not load properly and clear the cloud.  There are other causes for a bake fail, but that's a common one.

[Lindal Kidd]

A pulsating cloud is bake fail.  If you have Particles disabled, a smooth egg shape is bake fail.  But a "beam of light"?  Maybe Misha wore the infamous Facelight 3000!