Newbie Having Problems: SL Freezes Then I Can't Log In After Restart

[Vella Chrome]

1. Just created an account last nigh (Feb 6 1:30-ish AM) tand while I was editing my appearance, SL froze and I had to Ctrl+Alt+Delete to close SL.

2.  When I tried to log on again, I kept getting connect error messages during the "Waiting for region handshake" portion of the loading progress bar.

i.e: "We are having trouble connecting. There may be a problem with your internet connection or the Second Life servers...etc."

3.  My internet connection is fine as I was able to check the knowledge base and followed the advice about uninstalling Second Life then re-installing it at around 10:30 AM the same day.

4.  I was then able to log in again and after editing my avatar's apperance for about 10 minutes SL froze yet again. Again

5. After trying to restart SL, I again got the exact same connecting error message as before and had to Ctrl+Alt+Delete to close SL.

6. Help! What is wrong? Thanks in advance.

Computer Specifications:
 
Dell Inc. 
System Model: Dell DXP061 
BIOS Version: Dell Inc. 2.4.2 


Operating System 
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 
Version: 5.1.2600 
Service Pack: 3.0 
Location: C:\WINDOWS
PID: 76487-OEM-0011903-00825
Hot Fix: KB835221WXP


Memory (RAM) 
Capacity: 2 GB

Processor 
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6320 @ 1.86GHz 
Version: x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 6 
Speed: 1862 MHz

General Computer Info 
System Name: DELL 
Domain: WORKGROUP 
Time Zone: Eastern Standard Time
Connection: Workstation (standalone)
Proxy Server: None
IP Address: 192.168.0.2
IPX Address: Not Enabled


Local Disk 
Total Capacity: 228.13 GB 
Sum of Hard Disks: (C: )

Used: 142.16 GB

Free: 85.97 GB

[Cinnamon Lohner]

You don't mention a graphics card in your list.  Do you happen to know what it is and what drivers you are running with it?

--Cinn

[Qie Niangao]

3.  My internet connection is fine as I was able to check the knowledge base and followed the advice about uninstalling Second Life then re-installing it at around 10:30 AM the same day.

There's "fine", and then there's "good enough for Second Life."

It may not be your network, but it sure sounds like it.

• Is there any chance this is over a wireless connection?  Both WiFi and mobile wireless are sometimes problematic for SL.
• Anything unusual about your firewall setup?  SL can trigger subtle bugs in some firewall software and in routers.
• I would never suggest running a machine exposed directly to the internet without any firewall, but if you can change the connection to be wired and (perhaps) rely only on a properly configured firewall on a router instead of software on the PC, it may be worth trying that to see if it helps.

By the way, nicely supplied list of machine specs. In future, it may be easier (and supplies a few other relevant details--such as graphics card and drivers ) if you use Help / About Second Life to get the info--it works without having to connect first.

[Irene Muni]

Buf, edit and deleted my message. I said the OP should delete a date, but I remember the firstmessage cannot be edited (or we don't know how do it hehe).

[Vella Chrome]

Thanks for looking at this, Cinnamon!

I have a GeForce 7900 GS card

 

And I am not sure if these are the drivers associated with my card but I found these in my "drivers" folder:

 

NVIDIA OpenGL driver
NV4_DISP.DLL   - NVIDIA display driver
NV4_MINI.SYS   - NVIDIA miniport driver

 

I hope this helps and thank you again!

[Vella Chrome]

Thank you for taking a look at my problem (as well as letting me know about my IP address showing up. I just copied and pasted

My Computer Information - General"My  Computer Information - General" from a table from my Help and Support function on my machine. Didn;t know it had that in it. Live and learn, I guess)

 

My connection is neither WiFi or wireless. I have a rock solid internet connection but as for configuring my Firewall....*sigh*... I have tried to understand how to do that by reading the "Help" on how to do that but I just plain cannot understand technical stuff like that. I have tried, believe me but I just end up crying like a 6-year-old schoolgirl.

 

It may be easy for someone technically-minded but I am an art guy and at the extreme low end of the Figuring-Out-Tech-Stuff spectrum. I barely know how to make fire work.

 

But I do know I won't close my firewall just in order to use Second Life.

 

Lastly, like I replied to in a previous reply to Cinnamon, my graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS.

 

Thanks so much for replying, Qie!

[Qie Niangao]

 my IP address showing up 

Just in case that's a source of angst: Your IP address is perfectly safe.  192.168.x.x is a non-routable, local address, not exposed to the Internet; it's generated for you so that all the machines on your local area network can share a single address on the wider Internet, using a bit of magic called Network Address Translation.

But I do know I won't close my firewall just in order to use Second Life.

Quite right. Let's operate on the assumption that the firewall isn't the problem anyway--and unless you're using Zone Alarm, it most likely isn't.  (Some people use some versions of Zone Alarm just fine with Second Life, but it's been a frequent bad actor.)

Actually, based on the need to Control-Alt-Delete to terminate the viewer (which I kind of ignored before ), it's sounding less like network than I originally thought, and I'm thinking Cinnamon is on the right track: you may want to go to nVidia's website and try updating your graphics drivers, if you haven't done that in a while.  That card is old enough that the original drivers are probably not going to handle Second Life's OpenGL.

[Faubio Alter]

What's this about?

My connection is neither WiFi or wireless <<<<< What is it then?

Connection: Workstation (standalone)  <<<<<<<<<<<<<< Workstation?

You say it's freezing. I'm assuming that means the image is frozen in place and you can not do anything with it. Is this the corrrect discription of what is happening on your PC? If so, check for a new Driver for your graphics card.

When was the last time this PC was cleaned? Very dirty PCs can freeze up. SL is very demanding and can run temperature to very high levels inside the PC tower or laptop. So it might work fine (for now) doing routine stuff but use SL and pow, a freeze.

See "event viewer" in a Windows OS PCs for possible clues to hardware issues.

 

Disclaimer: I don't do commercial "help desk". Any suggestions you use from this thread are at your own risk.

[Vella Chrome]

Hello Qie:

 

Well, it was a good thought to update the drivers (which I just did now. It seems I was mistaken to think they would update automatically).

 

But the problem still remains that when I try to login, I can't. I keep getting error messages saying "We're having trouble connecting. The problem may be with your internet connection (B.S. since I have never had problems with any online activities until I tried Second Life) or the Second Life servers."

 

I HAVE heard of lots of other people having trouble logging in.

 

What I haven't heard of was others being able to login then SL freezing THEN not being able to login after restarting SL. I am considering more and more about giving up on SL despite the very helpful few of you nice people trying to help me out.

I really appreciate the effort of those who just try to help out other people so thank you. But (and this is directed at Linden Labs) I don't have time for this type of hassle.

[Faubio Alter]

In this order, try:

http://slurl.com/

Reset your modem

On login screen take this path. In top left hand corner of screen, click, edit > perferences > in the general tab, click the box that says "show start location on login screen" click apply, click OK. Now you have something new on your login screen. Click the down arrow and choose "home", or "last location" or type "Violet" (Any region you can remember will do, if you remember the regions name spelling exactly) in the "type region name" selection. Try all three if you need to.

Make out a JIRA

Note: There are various right and wrong answers in helping others on help desks. More importantly there are partial, incomplete answers so you might reference several posts from here to get a complete answer or nearly complete answer.

[Vella Chrome]

Hi Faubio:

 

My connection is neither WiFi or wireless <<<<< What is it then?

I have a High Speed Cable Modem connection (I'm not sure if that is an accurate enough answer but it certainly is a fast and very solid connection. I have rarely ever been disconnected from the internet due to slow/poor connection from my ISP).

 

 

 

Connection: Workstation (standalone)  <<<<<<<<<<<<<< Workstation?

I have no idea what that means. As I mentioned in an earlier reply, I just copied and pasted "My  Computer Information - General" from a table from my Help and Support function on my machine and that was in there.

 

 

 

You say it's freezing. I'm assuming that means the image is frozen in place and you can not do anything with it. Is this the corrrect discription of what is happening on your PC? If so, check for a new Driver for your graphics card.

Well, I could move my mouse cursor but SL wouldn't respond when I clicked on anything and it sounded like the background ambient sounds were repeating on a very short cycle (around a half second loop, it sounded like). I updated my drivers about almiost an hour ago, restarted my machine for the updates to take effect but I still cannot login to SL.

 

 

 

When was the last time this PC was cleaned?

I run a virus scan at least once a week. I am very good about cleaning it on a regular basis.

 

 

 

See "event viewer" in a Windows OS PCs for possible clues to hardware issues.

I have never heard of the event viewer but found it after reading your post. But I have no clue how to use it or anything.

 

 

 

I have never had these kinds of problems before and I am in over my head trying to understand these technical problems so I thank you for taking the time to reply, Faubio.

[Faubio Alter]

When was the last time this PC was cleaned?

Nope, I mean clean it. I think you've answered my question.

See the videos:

Heat sink ........

Graphics card ............

 

 

 

 

 

See "event viewer" in a Windows OS PCs for possible clues to hardware issues.

Do you have a PC knowledgable friend that can help you with this one?

 

Disclaimer: use these suggestions are your own risk.

[Vella Chrome]

Thanks again, Faubio.

 

What is a JIRA?

[Vella Chrome]

Hi Faubio:

 

Good call on PHYSICALLY cleaning my PC. I will do that just for the sake of good standard maintenance. But this is not what is causing my problems on SL.

 

I have played many games on my PC and I daily run memory intensive 3D modelling software on my machine and never have had an issue of these applications freezing. I also suspect that no matter how dirty (physically) a PC can get,  it will not cause one to have trouble logging into anything when everything else runs fine.

 

But I really do appreciate the time you took to try to narrow down what this problem could be. I guess if I can't even login to Second Life, I will just have to stick to my First One and leave the Second one to those in regions that are welcomed here.

 

Cheers.

[Faubio Alter]

The log in part from the first post I placed on this thread:

 

In this order, try:

http://slurl.com/

Reset your modem

On login screen take this path. In top left hand corner of screen, click, edit > perferences > in the general tab, click the box that says "show start location on login screen" click apply, click OK. Now you have something new on your login screen. Click the down arrow and choose "home", or "last location" or type "Violet" (Any region you can remember will do, if you remember the regions name spelling exactly) in the "type region name" selection. Try all three if you need to.

Make out a JIRA

Note: There are various right and wrong answers in helping others on help desks. More importantly there are partial, incomplete answers so you might reference several posts from here to get a complete answer or nearly complete answer.

[Faubio Alter]

The JIRA part can be done from here:

The tutor:

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Bug_Reporting_101

Where to report:

http://jira.secondlife.com/secure/Dashboard.jspa

These can be a pain, by the way, and some time create a result sometimes, no results. Do the above mentioned items first before the JIRA.

[Vella Chrome]

Ah, I see what "new thing" you meant on the Login screen.

1. I went to http://slurl.com/

 

2. I pressed Teleport

 

3. On the Login screen Isaw my Starting Location read:  Ahern/0/0/0

 

BUT: It still did not work. I got the connecting error message at the "Waiting for region handshake" portion of the progress bar. Same as before.

 

I am going to try one last time to uninstall then re-install but  using your http://slurl.com/ step. If that doesn't work, I give up. This should not be this hard. If it doesn;t work, screw it. i have better things to do with my time.

 

But I staill want to thank you for trying to help, Faubio.

 

Cheers!

[Vella Chrome]

For the third time in a row I have had to re-install SL And for the third time in a row, SL froze (Not Responding) as I was editing my appearance.

 

I was able to get to secondlife://Ahern/0/0/0 when I logged in after the third re-install but as soon as I started to edit my avatar's appearance, SL froze.

 

And once again, when I tried to login again, I got the same unable to connect error message when the loading progress bar reached the "waiting for Region handshake" portion.

 

So this is a repeatable bug with documented steps.

 

Under the knowledge base for this issue it reads "If you're running a firewall or firewall/internet security software, it may have a security warning in the background that's interrupting Second Life's login process. You may have to reconfigure or disable this third-party software to use Second Life."

 

Screw that.

Thanks for everyone's help, though.

[Ellla McMahon]

Hello Vella, sorry you're having these problems.

Please try logging into Region Pooley or Aqua, see Changing your login location

Re Firewalls and internet security software, please see Is my firewall responsible for problems with Second Life? How do I configure my hardware firewall (such as a router)? and How do I configure my software firewall (such as Norton Internet Security, McAfee Personal Firewall, or ZoneAlarm)?

Firewall

If the traceroute shows no problem, check the following items:

• Your firewall settings, including your hardware router
• Any software firewall you may have installed
• The firewall installed and enabled by default by Windows
  

You can submit a Ticket with Support at http://support.secondlife.com/ see Ticket Types

Be sure to use the Special Questions - Basic Account or Guest Login ticket type from the dropdown list when entering the information requested.

Basic account holders and Guests can submit tickets for the following issues:

Account issue: Use these if you're having a problem creating or logging into their account

• I can't login inworld with my account: Please give as much specific information as you can, including the text from any error messages.

NOTE: for help getting started see The Basis          

1. Customize Your Appearance
2. Meet People & Make Friends
3. Connecting and Sharing with Friends
4. Finding Interesting Places

Related Links:

• Visit our Destinations Guide
• Browse Community Events
• How do I use the world map?
• How do I teleport somewhere?
• How do I use landmarks?

Getting Linden Dollars Shopping in Second Life Creating a Home in Second Life Getting Help

Hope this helps

[Vella Chrome]

Thanks for trying, Ellla but I have tried these as per the advice of others. No dice, unfortunately.

 

As for Firewall Configuration? Too complex for me to understand. Furthermore nothing should be this convoluted to make work properly. The help pages were barely intelligible. I guess an IT tech person could understand it but not me, that's for sure.

 

Again though, thank you you for trying to help.

 

And I did submit a ticket earlier today. When I tried to look up the ticket via the tracking number to check on the status, I got an almost blank page saying I don;t have permission to view it. WTF?!

 

Again, nothing should be this convoluted. I know many others are cruising around in Second Life with narry a care in the Second World but it doesn't look like I will ever be one of those people.

 

You can probably sense my frustration because I am not trying to hide it at all but please don't think I don't appreciate you taking the time to try and help because I really do, Ella.

 

But unless someone makes Second Life connection troubleshooting a lot easier for the average person to understand, I'm going to have to hear about it Second Hand.

 

Cheers

[Faubio Alter]

SL is in many ways is the cutting edge of technology and as such, can be a challenge. In many ways we are its pioneers.

All computing can be convoluted, unfortunately but then again the Internets has only been around since the early 1990s.

Being on the edge is not for everyone.

 

Good luck to you.

[Vella Chrome]

Thanks Faubio.

 

Apparently being "on the edge" is not for a whole hell of a lot of others, either. Have you seen the amount of Regional Handshake error messages people are dealing with?

 

Sure, every site is going to have its common problems but the "waiting for regional handshake" issue seems to be be too widespread to be a challenge.

 

Meh... I am thoroughly pissed off after dealing with this issue all day (yes, all day) but it is not directed at you, Faubio. Thanks again for your time and effort.

[Ellla McMahon]

This article on the Microsoft site Understanding Windows Firewall gives you information about Displaying a notification when Windows Firewall blocks a program.

Or, if you want to play a multiplayer network game with friends overthe Internet, you can add the game as an exception so that the firewallwill allow the game information to reach your computer.

To add a program to the exceptions list

1.	Click Start and then click Control Panel.
2.	In the control panel, click Security Center, and then click Windows Firewall.
3.	On the Exceptions tab, under Programs and Services, select the check box for the program or service that you want to allow, and then click OK.

If you can turn on notifications for any other internet security programmes then you can see what is blocking your access to Second Life.

[Vella Chrome]

Thank you, Ellla.

 

I am reading it now.

 

When i first installed Second Life, I added it to my exceptions list of programs but I am stillnot connecting. And how risky is Second Life if I were to allow it to be excluded from my Firewall? Can viruses and other harmful things be transferred? have you heard horror stories of bad things being spread through Second Life?

 

Not being technically savvy, I'd like to be sure before I do anything that could leave me open for harmful stuff.

 

thanks

[Crystalyna Easterwood]

You said that you put SL on your exceptions list but make sure its set as a trusted site.

There is something you might try but 1st when you reinstalled SL did you uninstall it 1st if not you simply replaced damaged files without changing anything.

If you reinstalled (using the same location) w/o uninstalling then try this;

1.) On the login page click edit

2.) Click preferences

3.) In the network tab, click the button that says "clear cache"

4.) Under the web tab, click the "clear now" button next to the browser cache

5.) Hit OK then close the program and restart it

If you reinstalled the program w/o removing the cache files (and I'm not sure uninstall would necessarily remove them to begin with) what you told me sounds like the kind of problems I have had.

When you ctrl,alt+del the program, it didn't shut down properly which clears the cache (A.K.A. stored memory) and every time you try to log in, the full cache can't hold the data needed to complete the connection.

I hope it helps you. I know it’s worked for me for numerous problems including inventory that seemed to go astray.

BTW besides physical cleaning your comp & running your antivirus there is another cleaning you can do. That is cleaning your hard drive of old internet & temp files that take up memory allocated to processor use.

I use ccleaner (you can get it here http://www.ccleaner.com/) I recommend that you only use the cleaner, the registry cleaner may take out things you need if you don't know what the look for.

[Unklebob Hotaling]

Welcome to SLA Crystalyna