What's the deal?

I have been offline for a week or so and when I get back online with a new net service this afternoon and started SL, I was forced to download the latest release. I did that and get started only to get stalled out as of the "regional handshake" thing, whatever that is, and then get this error message it can't connect.

I went to issue tracker, got no answer there other than to go to support ticket, so did that and nobody's bothered to answer, so I figured I'd try here, see if anyone knows what this is about and how to stop it so I can log in. Others have had this same issue as well, according to issue tracker but none of the solutions/resolutions are posted so that's no help.

I get half way through the log in and then get this error message:

"We're having trouble connecting. There may be a problem with your internet connection or the Second Life servers. You can either check your internet connection and try again in a few minutes, click help to connect to our support site, or click Teleport to attempt to teleport home."

Well, I am not having any net connection problems else I wouldn't be here. I tried again (and again and again et al) over and over a few minutes and still get this message. I clicked Help and went to the support site and got nada help, and I clicked Teleport to attempt to teleport home and was promptly crashed out of the entire program *poof* .

I tried logging in with another avi, same result. I tried uninstalling/reinstalling, same result. I rebooted, same result. I tried typing in another region name, same result.

I don't understand what's going on with LL anymore, how disconnected these new Lindens seem to be from actual issues, like they're caught up in their new job title they can't be bothered with actual work issues, so take 5 seconds to reply with a statement that I could submit a ticket when that same 5 seconds could've been used to just answer the damn issue and tell me how to resolve it. Same 5 seconds, only one involves actual assistance and well, that seems to have degraded in the last year.

Anyway, does anyone know what the problem is with this log in issue and how to fix it? If so, please help a girl out. My SL addiction feels like yours, ya know!

I only have a couple suggestions. First, try rebooting your modem/router to reset your connection to your ISP. Second, go to both these sites and run the speed tests:

http://www.speedtest.net/
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

Even if you can get to websites it's not telling you if you are having connection porblems. A normal website does not require much speed to work well.........and, as you know, SL does require a substantial amount of speed. I don't know what type of internet connection you have (you didn't say). If, after running a couple speed tests at each of the sites I pasted you find that your download speed is not at or near the advertised speed your ISP has told you it should be then call them and find out why.

And question for you. You said you were forced to download and install a viewer update after a couple weeks without using SL. The "official" non-release candidate viewer has not had a mandatory update for several months. If it was a release candidate that the update was required for then you might try the "official" viewer to see if the same problem exists.

Wait a minute. You're experiencing connection problems, and you thought the thing to do would be to go to the issue tracker? No wonder they told you to file a support ticket. You went to the wrong place. The issue tracker is for reporting verifiable bugs that affect everyone, not for resolving a connection problem that affects only you. Had you gone straight to the support portal in the first place like you were supposed to, you would have saved yourself some time.

Also, let's be realistic. I'm pretty sure you know there's no way on Earth pinpointing the cause of your problem, let alone resolving it, could take only five seconds. The issue could be with your router, your software firewall if you have one, your port settings, or it could even be something on your ISP's end. That's a lot to troubleshoot. You can't expect the guys who run the issue tracker site, who have absolutely nothing to do with individual tech support, to sit there and walk through it all with you.

This is pretty much how it's always been. I'm not sure which "new lindens" in particular you feel are to blame for a structure that has been in place for years.


In any case, here's what I'd suggest:

1. If you're running a software firewall, turn it off temporarily, and see if you can connect. If you can, then you know the problem is in your firewall settings. Most likely you just need to set up a rule for the new viewer you downloaded. If it still doesn't work, or if you're not using a software firewall, proceed to step 2.

2. If you're using a wireless router, try plugging in directly. If it works, then you know the problem is somewhere in your wireless settings. If it doesn't proceed to step 3.

3. Make sure your router is properly configured for SL. Go to the Knowledge Base, and read the article on how to do that. The Knowledge Base is at https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417 . Click on Hardware Questions on the left, and then click on "How do I configure my hardware firewall (such as a router)?" If reconfiguring your router doesn't solve the problem, proceed to step 4.

4. What ISP are you using? Some throttle traffic over a certain threshold. SL uses a lot of bandwidth. It's possible they're interfering. It's also possible they're simply having a problem. Try giving them a call.

5. If none of the above works, go ahead and submit that support ticket. The response will likely include a lot of the same suggestions I mentioned, but there will probably be more in there as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is there have been rolling restarts in progress for the past couple of days. It's possible that whatever sim(s) you were trying to log into were simply unavailable at the time.



I'm curious, by the way, how it was that you were "forced" to download a new viewer. Unless you're using the release candidate, you should be able to connect to SL with main viewers dating back several versions.

When I launched SL from the desktop shortcut it went to the start screen and there was a notice that the new version was available and that I cannot run SL until I update. It does that frequently. I can X out but if I try to run the program I get the new version notice and it won't do anything but download whatever that version is first.

The one this afternoon was the 1.22.9 I believe was the way it was shown. I connected okay through the loading screens until it got to the "regional handshake" part - whatever that is, never seen it before...then I get the error message shown previously. If I click OK it kills the program. If I click Help, it takes me to ISSUE TRACKER page, where I submitted a new issue as it suggested. I get it now it's not a support site but then I didn't add that location to the button on the error message - that's where it sent me, that's what I submitted to. When I click teleport, it pops up some error message I've been disconnected from the region I was in and then crashes completely as well...even though I wasn't in a region because I never got the program started to begin with.

I do not use a router. I do not use a firewall. I use a cable modem. My internet speed is actually a slight bit higher than the advertised rate, but it fluctuates. I've already submitted a trouble ticket...and no reply whatsoever so far. Not even to the follow up.

I uninstalled all versions I'd had installed. I went to the SL download page and installed what automatically came up for my OS, which was 1.21.6, and that did not work either.

I did not suggest someone answer me in 5 seconds. The point of that statement was that in the time - whatever it may be, be it 5 seconds or 20 minutes, - it takes someone to reply to say go ask somewhere else, or I don't know, sorry, they could've just answered the question asked and not wasted anyone's time, including their own. If they didn't know the answer there is no point in replying with anything. The people who have posted in the issue tracker had replies, had people coming back to ask for more details and then the status showed resolved...but there is no information post showing what to do to resolve it so SOMEBODY on there is helping with support issues because there were about 8 other people with the same problem and some of them got help. Yet when I asked, I get told to submit a ticket (as opposed to just the solution requested) because it's not support for individual accounts.


Thanks anyway for the replies.

Are you getting the same error message each time you try? The reason I ask is that sometimes you will get an error message that really has little to do with the problem you are having. If you are getting a message that tells you something like "the connection to the servers could not be made" or "DNS could not be resolved" those messages are often not really telling you what is happening.........only that you cannot get SL to run. I've had that message and my problem wound up being the need for a new driver for my graphics card. But that was several months ago.......probably the last time I updated my driver about 4 months ago.

Just for giggles, if you haven't already done so, try unplugging your modem from the electrical source and leaving it unplugged for about 5 minutes before plugging it back in. You don't absolutely have to shut down your computer but, if your machine does not connect once the modem reboots, you'll have to restart.........to it's your call. Try SL again. Hopefully that will fix it for you.

If you can list your computer specs it might help others here suggest other things to try. Right now all I can think of is updating your graphics driver......but I hate encouraging that without just cause. Driver updates can be tricky if you don't do it correctly.......causing more problems to deal with. Tell us your computer make, model, amount of RAM, operating system, graphic card, CPU (if you know) and type of internet connection (cable, DSL, ASDL, T1, etc).

...the solution turned out to be ridiculously simple for such a warped problem. I did eventually hear from someone at LL who gave me a general overview and zero details, so overall it wasn't that helpful. Eventually I called my ISP and got a gamer tech and he suggested what would turn out to be the solution.

A push pin.

Yep. Push pin. Stuck that in the pinhole in back of the modem and reset all of it and voila' SL opened right up. I still don't know what the actual problem ever was but can't help laugh that in the end, a sharp pointy object worked it out.


Oh the irony.



Now that I'm in...it's been pretty pointless - can't teleport anywhere without getting logged out. If I was insecure I'd be taking this personally right about now that SL doesn't love me anymore.....