Can you log on to different servers?

[Rolig Loon]

No, you can't.  Each sim (or collection of sims) operates with its own bank of servers.  As you travel from one sim to another, you are constantly being handed off from one server bank to another rather than being logged in continuously to a single machine.

Your Internet connection may be fine for most things that you do, like e-mail, browsing, and computer games, but SL requires a lot more bandwidth than most of those.  It also requires a continuous connection for trading information back and forth to and from its servers.  If there is packet loss or if the connection is intermittient, you will either experience lag or crash.  If your computer meets SL's recommended standards and you are still having connection issues look first to your router and modem.  Be sure that their drivers are up to date, and be sure to reboot them periodically to grab a fresh IP address.  Also, avoid using wireless.  Even on a private system, you may loose bandwidth to interference from cell phones or other local devices.

Finally, consider trying a different viewer.  Each viewer has its own strengths and puts a different set of demands on your computer and the servers, so you may find that one is more stable for you than another.

[Rolig Loon]

No, you can't.  Each sim (or collection of sims) operates with its own bank of servers.  As you travel from one sim to another, you are constantly being handed off from one server bank to another rather than being logged in continuously to a single machine.

Your Internet connection may be fine for most things that you do, like e-mail, browsing, and computer games, but SL requires a lot more bandwidth than most of those.  It also requires a continuous connection for trading information back and forth to and from its servers.  If there is packet loss or if the connection is intermittient, you will either experience lag or crash.  If your computer meets SL's recommended standards and you are still having connection issues look first to your router and modem.  Be sure that their drivers are up to date, and be sure to reboot them periodically to grab a fresh IP address.  Also, avoid using wireless.  Even on a private system, you may loose bandwidth to interference from cell phones or other local devices.

Finally, consider trying a different viewer.  Each viewer has its own strengths and puts a different set of demands on your computer and the servers, so you may find that one is more stable for you than another.

[Charolotte Caxton]

You could try logging into a different sim, just type in a name in the start at window on the log in screen. 

[Nalates Urriah]

Each server in SL runs about 4 regions. When you have a logon problem you can type in a region name. That will have your avatar rez in that region and may resolve the problem.

You can log into another GRID. SL is the main grid named AGNI. You can log into the Preview Grid named ADITI. To do this you need to set Show on Logon in Preferences -> General. You can set this preference before you login.

ADITI is a separate grid and whatever you buy or build there cannot be found on the main grid. Plus money spent in ADITI does not count against your main grid account. The grid is for testing. You can upload textures for free, but they won't be in your inventory on the main grid. BUT, logging in there will tell you if it is a grid related problem or your account problem. See http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Preview_Grid for details on logging into ADITI for the first time.

There are a number of things that can prevent you logging in. Being GHOSTED is the problematic one. The long explanation of how to work around that problem is here: I Can’t Login A viewer crash can happen as you log out. That leaves you thinking you logged off and SL thinking you are still logged in. You can resolve that with some fancy login footwork.

[Rolig Loon]

Fortunately, ghosting is no longer a problem, thanks to upgrades that LL's development team installed in the servers last Spring. AFAIK, there has not been a single report of ghosting since then. Marigold keeps track of these things, so she'd be the one to ask for a definitive word.