I created an alt the other day - when I try to login it rejects my name and password. What do I do?

[Pinch Pinazzo]

I created an alt the other day - when I try to login it rejects my name and password. I thought maybe it didn't take, so I tried to create the character a few minutes later and it said that my name is "taken" so I know it exists. What do I do?

[valerie Inshan]

What to do if you forget your password

If you know your username but have forgotten your password, go to the password recovery page. Enter your username and click Send Instructions to have instructions on how to create a new password sent to the email address connected to the account . You'll need to answer the security question you chose when creating your Second Life account. Be sure to check your junk mail/spam folder.

If you can't recall the answer to your security question, just contact Customer Support, preferably by opening a support case. You'll be asked to verify your identity and, working together, we can reset your security question.

We apologize in advance that support cannot retrieve passwords. Luckily, this won't be an issue once we reset your security question.

What to do if you forget your Second Life username

The username you created during registration is required to login to the Second Life® virtual world. If you forget your username, you can retrieve it:

• From your welcome email
• From the Second Life website

Note: If you forgot which email address you used when you registered, you can find out on the Contact Information page. You must have either your username or email address to recover your account credentials.

Retrieve your name from your welcome email

You provided an email address to register your account. A welcome email containing the Second Life username you created was sent to this address. To locate the email:

1. Log into your email account and search your archives for "second life".
2. Look for an email with your username in the subject line: "Welcome to Second Life, YOUR NAME!"

Retrieve your name from the Second Life website

Warning: If you registered multiple Second Life accounts with the same email address, you will be able to retrieve the username of only your first account. This is a known system limitation. Before you ever have to use this form, write down your usernames somewhere you'll remember!

If you have forgotten your username or password:

1. Click Login on the Second Life website.
2.  Click Forgot your login information?
3.  Under Forgot Your Name? enter your email address.
4. Click Forgot Account Name.

Your Second Life name will be sent to you shortly.

[emmettcullen93]

This article helps you identify your problem and choose an appropriate solution.

Before you start troubleshooting: First check Second Life grid status to make sure there are currently no known issues that prevent login.

Error messages

If you can't log in to Second Life, the error message may indicate the source of the issue.

Waiting for region handshake

The "Waiting for Region Handshake" message occurs when the Second Life Viewer does not receive an acknowledgement from the server.  The usual cause of this error is a firewall blocking UDP packets. Reconfigure your firewall to resolve this problem.

For information on how to configure firewalls, see: Using Second Life with a firewall.

Your account is not accessible until (date/time)

If the error states that you are already logging in (or out), then Second Life is still attempting to log out your avatar. Close Second Life, wait fifteen minutes, then attempt to log in again.

If you see this error message:

 Login failed; Your account is not accessible until (date/time) 

— this usually means that your Second Life account has been administratively blocked. Short-term blocks (less than an hour) may be the result of inappropriate behavior inworld. Longer blocks are typically the result of abuse.

You will be unable to use Second Life until the indicated time; if that is more than an hour away, you will receive an email from the abuse team on the matter.  Be sure to check your spam filters.  

Linden Lab is unable to remove administrative blocks for abuse.

You cannot log into Second Life from this location

This error message may also appear as:

• Login failed.
• Second Life cannot be accessed from this computer.

These messages generally indicate you have been blocked from the Second Life servers by Linden Lab as the result of:

• Documented cases of fraud
• Use of Second Life by a minor
• Exceptionally flagrant abuse activity

Note that someone else in your household may be responsible for this activity, not necessariliy with your account. 

If you believe that this is an error, submit a support ticket via the support portal. To help customer support determine what block has been placed and why, include in the ticket your Second Life account name and any Second Life accounts that log in from your location.

DNS could not resolve the host name

This error may also appear as:

• Host http not found 
• Login failed. Unable to connect to a simulator.

These messages indicate that your computer has a general networking issue with the domain name service (DNS) that translates numerical IP addresses into human-readable ones.  

Confirm that you can reach internet sites such as secondlife.com, Google, or others.  Once your computer can connect to these websites, this error should no longer occur.  

Also check whether there is a wider issue with Seond Life, as described below.

Usually, restarting your computer and your router will resolve this issue.   If not, contact your internet service provider.  You may also wish to try using Google's DNS servers to see if that will reslove the issue.  See Using Google Puclic DNS for more information.  

Possible causes

Linden Lab may have temporarily restricted all logins

Linden Lab occasionally restricts access to Second Life when its servers experience severe technical difficulties or require major maintenance. These outages affect all Residents and are not limited to your computer or account.

Check the status of the Second Life at http://status.secondlifegrid.net. This page will list any known issues.

Wrong password

Incorrect passwords are a common cause of login failure. Passwords are case-sensitive, so remember to check Caps Lock if you know you entered your password correctly.

If you've forgotten your user name or password, follow the instructions in Account credentials to retrieve it. 

Account disabled due to delinquency

If you do not pay your tier or private Region fees in a timely fashion, your account and your alternate accounts may be disabled for delinquency. For more information, see Delinquency Policy.

Account on hold due to disciplinary action

If we find that a Resident has broken our Terms of Service, Community Standards, or other policies, we may place that Resident's account on hold as a disciplinary measure. When we place an account on hold in this way, we send an email to the account holder at the address registered to that account.

[Irene Muni]

The thread continues here: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Getting-Started/RESPONSE-Thanks-for-your-help-but/qaq-p/1542763