Cannot initiate an IM conversation most of the times or receive Teleport requests

[chrisbreitling]

OK, I am at a loss here but I think there most be something wrong with the metadata stored for my avatar or something I cannot explain.

When in SL most of the time I cannot initiate an IM conversation, I select "Instant Message" in the viewer and nothing happens! the IM chat window for that avatar never appears. So basically I am left mute, cannot take initiative in making conversation unless it is in the general chat or someone sends me an IM I can reply to.

And when I am in an IM conversation initiated by someone else, most of the time if the person sends me a Teleport request, I don't receive it (and I am seen as unwilling). If I press the "Request Teleport" then the person on the other side also does not receive the request to teleport me there.

[valerie Inshan]

Chris, this usually happens when there is a problem with your Internet connection. Are you using wireless? If you do, use a regular cable instead.

Also restart your router. Unplug it completely from the power and plug it back on, connect to the web to refresh your IP.

If none of these fixes work, you may want to contact your ISP to see if there is an issue on their side and have them check your line.

[Perrie Juran]

@ Chris

You have started quite a few threads (nothing wrong with that) with quite a few problems.

A general overview would tend to indicate a connection problem.

One thing I could not find (and I may have missed it) was any where that you have posted any technical data about your system or how you are connecting to the internet.

For people to get to the solution(s) to all your problems we really need this info, other wise overall, all anyone can do is make generic suggestions.

From your Viewer (you don't have to be logged in), copy and paste the info from Help/About.

Also your results from http://www.pingtest.net/ (they provide a link to your results you can post).

 

ETA, I did find where you posted some info, but the complete info above would be much more helpful.

 

Thanks

 

[chrisbreitling]

Very seldom do I have connection problems, I can browse the internet update my websites and do a lot of stuff without problems, even play other online games / simulations.

I tried the Ping Test you suggested and it resulted in:

Packet Loss: 0%
Ping            : 106ms
Jitter            : 9ms
Distance      : 1141 miles
Grade          :  B

About My Connection to Internet:

- Cable Modem (1Mbit)
- Cable Modem is connected to router
- PCs (1 Mbit network controller) connected via ethernet cable (not wireless) to the router.

About Second Life Viewer:

Exodus Viewer 12.8.9 (1) Aug  9 2012 21:43:02 (Exodus Viewer Beta) Release Notes

You are at 258,213.0, 338,122.0, 22.6 in Diwira located at sim2917.agni.lindenlab.com (216.82.0.150:13000) Second Life RC Magnum 12.08.14.263480 Release Notes

CPU: Intel® Core i7 CPU         920  @ 2.67GHz (2666.8 MHz) Memory: 4086 MB OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1 (Build 7601) Graphics Card Vendor: NVIDIA Corporation Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 285/PCIe/SSE2

Windows Graphics Driver Version: 8.17.0013.0142 OpenGL Version: 3.3.0

RestrainedLove API: (disabled) libcurl Version: libcurl/7.21.1 OpenSSL/0.9.8q zlib/1.2.5 c-ares/1.7.1 J2C Decoder Version: KDU v6.4.1 Audio Driver Version: FMOD version 3.750000 Qt Webkit Version: 4.7.1 (version number hard-coded) Voice Server Version: Not Connected Built with MSVC version 1600 Packets Lost: 17/8,106 (0.2%)

I believe if the dialogs do not appear they should give a notification of some kind but there is no user feedback. If I had connection problems then all the other applications I use would also experience similar problems but that is not the case.

Is there perhaps some Firewall setting I need? an open port? My friend is also experiencing the same problems though she uses the official SL viewer (3.3.4). I do remember all of these used to work fine and then after a few days all these problems.

[Darleen Emerald]

This is a wild guess....but perhaps you accidently "muted" the person or persons you are trying to IM:

It happens occasionaly....just a thought

[Cincia Singh]

It sounds like a "clean installation" is your next best option. Uninstall the viewer and delete the cache files and then reinstall the viewer. See if that fixes it.

[Luc Starsider]

In my experience the SL viewers are way sensitive to connection issues. Even short, temporary ones. But your pingtest results seems fine. As good if not better than my own. Did you try several times with around the same result?

Your connection speed however, I think might be on the low side for SL. The viewers gobble up quite a bit of data as the world around you rez and can easily take most of your 1mb connection. Have you checked the Max bandwidth setting in me->Preferences->Advanced (or is it Setup)? Before, I had a 1,5 mb line, and had to set my max bandwidth to 500 mbps or thereabouts for things to work ok. Set it too high and you're likely going to experience packet loss.

I don't know if these things should result in the inability to carry on or initiate an IM conversation with people, but worth looking in to.

I'm also wondering if your firewall might be a part of this. Have you tried disabling any and all firewalls on your system or in your router? If that helps you might need to check the config of the firewall(s).

- Luc -

[Perrie Juran]

A 1MB connection is not very fast.  Fast enough to run SL but not at optimal settings. If your provider throttles your connection it can cause more trouble.

Second Life by its very nature is more demanding of Bandwidth then almost anything else you can do on the Internet.  For better or for worse, it is what it is. 

There is a constant up load and down load going on.  And certain data takes priority over other data.  For example, when you log in, the World downloads before your clothes do.

What has changed that you are now having problems you didn't when you started right now is beyond me. 

I'm hoping someone can help you find a solution.  Unfortunately, with a 1MB connection you are not going to get great performance in Second Life.

[chrisbreitling]

What would be the recommended bandwidth given that 1Mbit is on the low side, a reasonable bandwidth as "as high as possible" is no answer

My Maximum Bandwidth setting was 900 but I have just lowered it to 500.

Yes, I cannot initiate an IM conversation, I can however conduct an IM conversation once somebody has sent me the first IM message.

It is mostly a problem with dialogs too because I noticed that usually you press on any option that would bring a dialog window (Preferences, Friends, View Profile, etc.) and nothing would happen. I would have for example a friend send me a Teleport Offer while my SLV is minimized and I would see that in the Windows taskbar the SLV icon starts blinking and becomes orange indicating there is something new (like IM or whatever) and yet when I maximize it there is nothing, the teleport offer notification appears to arrive (blinking) but the User Interface dialogs are never instantiated.

This happens with Exodus & SLV. Tried Phoenix but it looked horrible (terrible font choice, poor choice of colors, difficult to read). Only Phoenix seemed to be better at rendering.

So, if I need to reinstall would I loose my inventory? What if I delete my C:\Users\XXXX\AppData\Roaming\SecondLife\ if I remove all of its contents would I lose my inventory and landmarks? or is that stored in the server?

[Luc Starsider]

Finding the optimal bandwidth setting is partly a matter of tweeking it to see what works the best. You'll have to try to see what gives the best performance. Also pay attention to the packet loss number in the performance panel (ctrl+shift+1). You don't want persistent packet loss of any significance. Some, in spurts, is probably not a problem.

You will not loose your inventory if you reinstall, and I recommend removing the files you mention as part of an uninstall process. The inventory is stored on LL's servers and will be reloaded the next time you log in. Be adviced that chat and IM logs are stored in the folder you mention, so if you want to keep these, you should copy these to a safe place before deleting the Second Life folder.

- Luc -

[chrisbreitling]

I reinstalled the SLV but I didn't delete the AppData folder after that I logged in again but sadly same problems. If I select an avatar and in the context menu choose "Profile" the profile window never appears, so I can't view profiles most of the times.

I checked the performance window and moved the visor in different directions and I got between 31-49 FPS and 0% packet loss.

I also tried sending an IM from the context menu (as a text) and that also produced no IM chat window.

[Luc Starsider]

The last thing I can suggest is to at least move the AppData folder somewhere else - like the desktop - to see if this helps at all. A new folder will be recreated in the original location with all the necessary files.

Otherwise I'm out of ideas... I hope you get the issue sorted out soon, though.

- Luc -

[chrisbreitling]

Don't know about the connection thing, don't think that's really the issue compared to how unstable the viewer is. When I use the viewer I can zoom/pan, move the view left or right, move the avatar anywhere in fluent motion without stuttering. There seems to be something internal to it.

I tried a clean installation but the problem still persists. That an User Interface dialog pops up or not is not a connection issue but an application state issue. The dialog is popped up and then populated with information as it comes from the net or local disk.

[Luc Starsider]

I agree that this seems unlikely to be a connection issue. 

I was thinking perhaps the firewall could cause these issues, but since it started out of the blue and you possibly didn't make any changes to your firewall, it seems unlikely. I also don't know if ims and tp offers are made through certain ports or protocols that could have been blocked. If so, You would probably not receive any IMs from other people if this was the case - I don't know.

Have you tried to ask in the in world Exodus group? (I assume there is one...)

- Luc -

[chrisbreitling]

This happens with SLV & Exodus so there was no need to ask in the Exodus group.

[Theresa Tennyson]

Some of your  problems sound similar to those of Mac users who have problems with their DNS (Domain Name Server) connection and Second Life. The standard advice for them is to try using the free Google DNS addresses. They can be used for PC's too. If you search on those topics you should be able to find information on it..

Also, a lot of the background tasks for newer viewers are done by a helper plug-in called SLplugin.exe. Make sure it isn't getting blocked somehow.

I know we keep harping on your connection but MOST people use these viewers without your problems and those that DO have them typically have connection problems. It may not be obvious where it is, but that's where all the symptoms are leading us.

[chrisbreitling]

I did change the DNS to the Google DNS servers last week but did not see an improvement, the problems keep on. Today however Exodus stopped working due to an accidental reboot and works marginally better after a complete reinstall.

That is is "common to MAC" is not an indication that it is also a connection problem. MAC is a different operating system based on Unix and from OS X 10.5 it is 64-bits. My Windows OS is the 64-bit variant. Most people have the 32-bit variant of Windows and that may be the reason why they are not encountering the problems. To the casual user or browser of issues it may seem like a simple conclusion. All of these browsers are written in C++ a language known for its freedom of expression where pointer operations are way too common and in particular pointers going astray pointing to data that they are not supposed to point to.  Believe me, I have done programming for over 20 years.

I am almost sure all these problems are related to the software being operated on 64 bit operating systems.

[Theresa Tennyson]

Chris,

I read your post last night while attending a party in SL with over fifty dancing avatars. No problems communicating, problems logging it, no crashing, no nothing. I use a viewer called Dolphin, but iti's basically identical to Exodus under the hood. And I run 64 bit Vista. If the problem is from running on 64 bit systems, then everyone who runs on 64 bit systems would have these problems. And they dont.

Several years ago, I was working at a small office. One of the employees tried connecting an old CRT monitor to a laptop but the laptop was running a resolution and refresh rate the monitor didn't support, so of course the monitor was completely whacking out. Our resident "computer expert" came over to look at it. I told him what the problem was but he basically ignored me and fnurred around for a while before solemnly announcing to the guy trying to connect the monitor, "You have a boot sector virus." Not that he'd actually done anything to CHECK for a virus, he just didn't know what the problem was and it sounded impressive, I guess. That was basically the way he rolled. I walked over, changed the resolution on the laptop and the monitor magically synced perfectly. Our "computer expert" was amazed.

Have you tried connecting on another machine or at another location?

[Luc Starsider]

I was thinking... This is something you probably did/said above, and I'm not sure by any means that it will make a difference.

Have you repaired file permissions? And made sure the periodic maintenance scripts have run?

A longshot, I know, but still.....

[chrisbreitling]

@Luc how do I make those maintenance scripts run? what about the file permissions? nobody said anything about that.

 

@Theresa I am afraid you are assuming just too much. To begin with I have over 20 years of experience in IT (including computer programming) so it is not I don't know what is happening with my computer. My computer is BTW not a low end system, much less outdated and works with s/w that is heavier than SL. My computer always has a payware antivirus (KIS) and up to date, periodically checked for virus and malware believe me my computer is NOT infected.

[Theresa Tennyson]

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chrisbreitling wrote:

@Luc how do I make those maintenance scripts run? what about the file permissions? nobody said anything about that.

 

@Theresa I am afraid you are assuming just too much. To begin with I have over 20 years of experience in IT (including computer programming) so it is not I don't know what is happening with my computer. My computer is BTW not a low end system, much less outdated and works with s/w that is heavier than SL. My computer always has a payware antivirus (KIS) and up to date, periodically checked for virus and malware believe me my computer is NOT infected.

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I never said your computer was infected, I was referring to a case where someone THOUGHT a computer was infected but it wasn't.

[Luc Starsider]

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chrisbreitling wrote:

@Luc how do I make those maintenance scripts run? what about the file permissions? nobody said anything about that.

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The easiest way is to run Onyx -  http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/11582/onyx - which does this pluss more. There are other programs available. I know only this one. Just make sure you are logged in on your mac with a user account that has admin rights.

You can do the maintenance manually. File permissons you do with the Disk Utility program in your Utilities folder. For the other periodic scripts, google 'maintenance scripts os x' and you'll get lots of sites providing instructions.

As I said, I'm not sure it will help with your issue, but it's still a good idea to run these tasks from time to time.

[valerie Inshan]

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Luc Starsider wrote:

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chrisbreitling wrote:

@Luc how do I make those maintenance scripts run? what about the file permissions? nobody said anything about that.

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The easiest way is to run Onyx -  

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/11582/onyx

- which does this pluss more. There are other programs available. I know only this one. Just make sure you are logged in on your mac with a user account that has admin rights.

You can do the maintenance manually. File permissons you do with the Disk Utility program in your Utilities folder. For the other periodic scripts, google 'maintenance scripts os x' and you'll get lots of sites providing instructions.

As I said, I'm not sure it will help with your issue, but it's still a good idea to run these tasks from time to time.

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/searches the Kudos button. Dang it's never here when you need it.