SL Disconnects Immediately After Login

Hi all,

I've searched the forum and although I've seen similar problems to mine I haven't found a solution to my specific problem...

I've been a SL user for about a year and it worked fine until a few months ago, around the time I switched from AT&T DSL to Comcast cable internet. The problem is that I'm able to log in, walk around for a few seconds to a minute and then am disconnected. There is no error message, and the game still thinks it's connected, but no new info loads and my avatar becomes completely unresponsive. If he was walking when the disconnect happens he'll continue walking in a straight line forever, if he was standing still he won't budge. For a long time I actually thought something was wrong with the SL servers, being a bit flaky as they are.

From reading the forum, I've tried making sure the firewall is turned off, clearing the disk cache, lowering the maximum bandwidth, and calling Comcast and asking them to monitor the bandwidth while I connect (they say everything on their end is fine, and aside from Second Life problems, my internet connection does indeed work fine).

I'm about out of options, the lack of an error message isn't helpful. I'm wondering if anyone has any other ideas? I miss Second Life, and a new friend of mine is starting it and I wanted to be able to show him around. Thanks!

If it worked before Comcast and now doesn't work, I'd be suspicious of Comcast. They really are not known for playing nicely (let alone honestly) with users - try google with the words comcast, fcc and p2p.

It's not your firewall - I really wish people would stop telling others to turn their firewall off - so turn that back on right now. If you don't have some good anti-virus software, this would be a really, really good time to get some and scan your system.

It does sound like a networking problem. Interestingly, Comcast is one of the ISPs that has been mentioned as using Quality of Service to control streaming content programs such as Bittorrent. Usually these are configured to still allow a trickle of data (so SL wouldn't crash, just lose connection with the server). Your Comcast service person might not be able to see this happening ... but the only way to nail it down is to either "sniff" your own connection to see if the bandwidth drops dramatically after some time in SL, or call up Comcast and muscle your way up the tech support chain until you find someone who can help you.

Sorry can't be more helpful.