Why am I getting failures on Requesting Region Capabilities recently

[BenBold]

I have been using SL for over 3 years, but just recently, I have been getting failures when logging in:

During login - I see that the Requesting Capabilities part seems to sometimes take a long time, and sometimes, comes up with Attempt 2, Attempt 3 - 

When the login is complete after that, I seem to missing certain things - e.g. my FList comes up with () instead of names and when chats open, they show as "loading..."  I can see some objects but not others, e.g. mesh furniture (though sometimes, I can see my mesh clothing but not mesh items)

I did change routers lately, but the problem didn't appear immediately after the new router - it was a few weeks later.  It doesn't always happen, and does seem more likely to happen if I log in after 11pm (UK time = 3pm SLT), although more recently, it has been happening mid afternoon (UK time) too.

I know my graphics are underpowered for SL, but it has always worked (albeit slowly) up until recently.

I am on the latest version of Firestorm (32 bit) on Windows Vista SP2 (but while the problem is happening, it also happens on SL viewer)

I've tried various things I found around the net - using Google's DNS instead of my local ISP.. doing a clean install etc, defragging my disk, shutting down all my other programs, turning off my malware protection etc.

The way it happens - the initial login seems to take longer, and the requesting capabilities takes longer, suggests maybe I am getting performance issues, but running speed tests to servers in CA doesn't show up any such.

I don't know what else has changed unless something in a Windows update is slugging the communications

Suggestions?

[Rolig Loon]

Unfortunately that's sometimes a problem for residents outside North America.  Those in the UK seem to have more than their share of odd connection issues for some reason.  "Capabilities" is the term used to describe your authorized access to important databases like your inventory, friends list, and group list.  When you log in to SL, part of the process involves verifying who you are, so that you have access.  When you travel around SL, your access authorization travels with you. 

When you see that error message, it's telling you that authorization timed out before it was completed, so you are not fully logged in.  It's not a function of your connection's bandwidth, but one of reliability.  If the ping time on your connection to Linden Lab servers is too long or if you are losing packets of data in transmission, authorization fails.  Unfortunately, both problems are made worse by distance, so they are not easy (or sometimes possible) to solve.  Take a look at the advice on Nalates's blog at http://blog.nalates.net/2011/10/26/troubleshoot-your-sl-connection/ for diagnostics and potential cures, and talk with your ISP.