Need Help, Constant Crashing about 30 seconds after log in on ANY VIEWER.

[kayla Mekanic]

For a long time I have been using the Firestorm Viewer, sometimes i might use viewer 3 every so often, without any problems whatsoever. My computer is the same as back then, and runs secondlife completely fine. However, just recently I wanted to try a different viewer instead of firestorm and viewer 3. I tried Singularity, and for no reason at all, when i logged into singularity, about 30 seconds after i've logged in, (I'm able to build, walk around, everything and seems normal). At about 30 seconds into loading I freeze out of nowhere. If i try to wait it out then the viewer just crashes. I decided to go back to viewer 3, but now it is doing the same thing. After countless attempts to fix it to no avail (including clearing cache)I uninstalled EVERY trace of second life and all the viewers so that i can reinstall just viewer 3 and try it again. I am still getting this issue, even with firestorm where I had no problems with at all, now all of a sudden I have this problem. Does anyone know what it can be? I cannot log into the game anymore because every 30 seconds i crash for no reason, on any viewer.

[MizzKittenzz]

This is why I never fix something that don't need fixed, if all the other viewers worked why download another one?  

Maybe you should do a full uninstall and then reinstall the one viewer or two that you'll be using... Also sometimes it's good to try disabling (DEP) Data Execution Prevention, I guess you can do it for SL, I never had to myself but I've tried it before to stop other things from crashing like games and it's worked. 

This is all just a thought, something to try and if it don't work just switch it back...

Also note I did read that you said you uninstalled everything make sure you did, sometimes going through programs and features etc don't always get rid of everything that's why it's best to dig yourself and not fully rely on that. 

Maybe another thing you could check is your graphics settings in sl, I don't know but maybe somehow they changed and this could be causing an issue?? Or perhaps a PC restart will do the trick, I've had times before where all I needed was a good restart...

I'm no expert but these are just things to try.

[MizzFuzzyMoran]

sometimes this sort of thing hapens becuase of sunspots with hi-energy neutrinos changing the sign of the charge on individual bits in your computers memmory

have you checked that nobody has stolen any lead off your roof resently as lead is a good insolator against sunspots

my babys daddy always tells me to hit the big red button  but maybe your computer doesnt have one

 

[Qie Niangao]

First, try logging in to a different sim if you haven't already. Could be content on the sim (e.g., bad mesh) that's crashing the viewer.

Second, try using a test avatar (Develop / Avatar / Character Tests / Test Male or Female) with nothing attached, again on the premise that it could be something evil in the scene, but this time something associated with your avatar.

Third would be something failing in your hardware. If you have another machine, try running on it. Otherwise it's just a crap-shoot, guessing what might be wrong (although maybe start by checking temperatures for the CPU and GPU).

Fourth, and by far the worst: something corrupted in your inventory. Try logging in with a different, alt account, and see if it has the same problem. If not, and if you've already tried a different sim and different avatar on the main account... it's not looking good for your inventory, and that would require Linden help to fix.

[sven Homewood]

If you use the version 3.7.3 (287491), then try to use the hotfix version Second Life Hotfix Viewer version 3.7.4.288138 here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Alternate_Viewers or the former version here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Release_Notes/Second_Life_Release/3.7.2.286707

[Min Barzane]

When timer hits 29 seconds log out...that will prevent you crashing on 30 seconds limit...problem solved! NEEEXT

[Marigold Devin]

Hallo, Kayla

In view of the fact you have been a resident of Second Life for a long time, and without knowing your computer's full specifications, I can only guess.  Uninstalling and reinstalling is unlikely to make any difference with this problem.

Check your graphics card drivers are up-to-date.

Check your connection is stable - reset your router, do a ping test.

Ensure you don't have other programs running that don't need to be, or unecessary windows open (ie running youtube or a TV show might have worked in the olden days while you were using Second Life, but this now might be proving too much of a strain with all the bells and whistles LL has added that are now adding more load to your computer than previous viewers would have been).

As I say, it would be useful if you add your computer's specs here, so the more techie experts can cast an eye and be a bit more specific.

[kayla Mekanic]

I've tried all of those options, and I don't think my graphics are the issue, I've updated my drivers and I still have the problem. Anyways, I have been able to fix the problem by restoring my computer to a point from 6 days ago, before i started having the problems. It seems like I have fixed the issue because I'm not crashing anymore. I will have to just stick to Firestorm i guess.

[Nalates Urriah]

First…

When you ask a tech question include information about your computer and viewer. If the viewer will at least show the login screen, get the info from the viewer's Help-About... and paste that into your post with your question. Help->About... provides all the version numbers we need.  To add your info to an existing question use OPTIONS->EDIT. It’s in the upper right of your post.

It also helps to know if you are using a laptop or a desktop and a wired or wireless connection.

Without that information all we can do is wildly guess. That means you have to try all our bad guesses and eliminate them one by one. This is easier for all of us, if you give us good information to start with.

 

Second…

There is a reason your viewer is crashing, so clean up your thinking first.

Telling us you have removed all of the viewers, that just leaves us wondering. Did he really? Because if you didn’t, we are going to run in circles to no purpose. Did you clear out the viewer folders in AppsData? Those with the chat logs and viewer settings? Did you follow the Firestorm ‘clean install’ steps?

You aren’t giving us much to go on.

 

Third…

If a restore to 6-days previous fixed the problem, it probably wasn’t the viewer install that was the problem. Installing Singularity has no affect on Firestorm or the SL Viewer. They all go into separate folders, use separate caches and log files, and have unique registry entries.

There is a HIGH probability it was something else. If it was a system update, then a repeat performance is ahead of you.

 

Fourth…

The next time you're stumped, try looking in the viewer logs.

When all else is failing and when you and those helping have no clue, look in the viewer’s log files. The viewer has various log files you can read to get an idea of what has gone wrong. You’ll find the logs in:

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\SecondLife\logs\

 

• crashreport.log – This log is generated when the viewer crashes, the previous version of the file is overwritten. Rename this file if you plan to restart the viewer before examining the file. Otherwise, just read it with a text viewer (Notepad).
• debug_info.log – This file is internally formatted as an XML file. I never find it of much use. It is mostly the specs of your machine.
• SecondLife.log – This is the main log file. I find it the most useful. Start from the end of the file and work toward the beginning. Search for ‘WARNING’ and ‘ERROR’. With any luck the messages there will give you an idea of the problem. Recent changes have added section headings to parts of the file that can identify the general nature of the problem. There are lots of performance stats included.  At the end of a non-crash log there are secession stats;  Run Time, Average Packet Size, Dropped Packets, Resent Packets, etc. The file is replaced and recreated for each viewer secession.
• SecondLife.error_marker – I don’t know what information is inside. I don’t have a copy to examine as I write this.  The presence of the file indicates where, when, and that an error happened. I think this is a disaster backup file for crash reporting in which information about the crash is retained in the event the crash handlers are destroyed before they can create the other more complete crash files.
• SecondLife.start_marker – There is no information inside. The presence of the file indicates how far into the start process the viewer has gotten. Whether the file exists or not is the pertinent information.
• SecondLifeCrashReport.log – This is another file internally formatted to XML.  It is created when the viewer crashes. I think this is the new version of the crash log. It is mostly text.
• stats.log – This is a short file containing network statistics. Similar information is in other log files. It is an easy to read set of stats that show how many packets were dropped and resent in a secession.

I find the SecondLife.log is the most useful file for tuning and troubleshooting the viewer. It is verbose and reasonably easy to understand.

Most of these files are erased when the viewer starts. If you plan to send the files in with a trouble ticket or bug report, place copies in another folder before starting the viewer.

Marker files are temporary and may or may not exist at any given time.

Entries in the files associated with errors and warnings are labeled as such. That makes them easy to find by searching. Warning entries are common and do NOT necessarily mean there is a problem. Some warnings are a part of normal operation. Some errors are trivial and do indicate a ‘noticeable’ problem in the viewer’s operation.

 

 

[SimonTemplar Bernard]

Don't forget to reset your router

 

I have seen things like this when a file in the system's dns cache is corrupted. It's an easy thing to purge.

Google search "flush Dns cache".. It fixed a friend

 

Delete all sl files. Defrag hard drive. Repair registry. Clean install one viewer. Reset router. Flush Dns cache. Cross fingers. Sacrifice a brewski to Legba, hope for the best. Don't fix it until its broken!