Client Not Responding

Since the 1.4 release, I have been getting a lot of "Client not responding" when running SL.

The software pauses for approximately 15 to 20 seconds, if you click on the SL window, the Windows hourglass comes up, then the software resumes as normally.

This doesn't matter if I'm in a crowded sim, an empty sim; but it is annoying as hell when you're chatting with someone and/or trying to build.

My firewall reflect no packets coming in from SL, then it bursts with huge amounts when the client resumes.

After one of these "episodes" -- the client just won't close when logging out -- I have to terminate the client.

I've submitted bug reports, so please add this information to the ones labled "Grrrrrrrrrrr, the client isn't responding."

It is possible, if you are on a cable connection especially, for the packets to get held up at your ISP and burst down to you in one splat.

I'm not saying this isn't a bug, just another possibility. Try pinging around big name sites and see if you get high variance on ping times (i.e. 100ms, 1088ms, 20ms, etc.). Such congestion could also be happening near the LL side, so it may also be a LL capacity issue (or anywhere in between in which case you could call Tim Berners-Lee, MCI, or the "Internet Company".

Is the hard drive extremely active during these pauses?

Okay, I tested tonight several times and logged on and off. I am on a cable modem.

When the Client not responding in SL occurred, no packets were coming through the firewall; but when I pinged cnn.com, msn.com, etc. -- the ping response was even for all, no congestion.

But yes, to explain this, it's like a "burst" of packets after none are received for awhile.

The hard drive is not active during these times.

I've questioned why the SL client, when sitting in a sim for 15 minutes by myself with no one else around (one of the new, empty sims) my download just continually "flickers" showing packets being sent and received, but nothing on the screen changing. This is when the AV is perfectly still, facing the same direction with no movement within the sim except maybe the wind.

I do use Zone Alarm as a firewall. Could there be something with the recent release of this software that SL doesn't like?

*cringes*

Try clearing the cache. And if that doesn't work, see if raising the cache allocation helps. If that fails, uninstall SL, then install it again.

Or you could just try telling your computer to behave better, but that tends to yield very few results when not intoxicated.

Try disabling ZoneAlarm. I've found that it's a very troublesome firewall -- some versions are just fine, while others cause no end of network trouble.

I don't dare disable ZoneAlarm.

No virus protection on this system.

(Don't get any smart ideas, Darwin, there's a hardware firewall AND ZoneAlarm, I believe in safe surfing.)

I deleted the old copy of SL, reinstalled, and so far, so good. Maybe something was corrupt in the files that caused that to happen.

Thank you!

Psst, this firewall is fine with SL and free also, if you can find it:

Kerio Firewall version 2.1.4

There's a newer version too, but it has fallen to the inevitable--

[cheesy old style superhero introduction voice]
FEATUREEEEE BLOAT *echos in background*
[/cheesy old style superhero introduction voice]

--that all software eventually gets destroyed with nowadays................................

THAT PISSES ME OFF! STUPID STUPID! NO I DON'T WANT AN EMAIL CLIENT BUILT INTO MY WEB BROWSER AND IT DOES NOT NEED TO DISPLAY BUGGY PDF FILES WHEN I ALREADY HAVE A STANDALONE PROGRAM INSTALLED TO DO THAT!!!

Eh...but yea Kerio version 2.1.4 is good.

Speaking not as a Linden, but as a geek (as in this isn't an official LL communication), I'll second the vote for Kerio Personal Firewall. Zone alarm had real issues with my internal network at home, but Kerio was a breeze to set up, configure and, most importantly, reconfigure when I accidently blocked something I shouldn't have.

Colin

I don't like ZoneAlarm. It's a money making tool more than a firewall tool.

I don't even use a firewall anymore. I have Spybot Search & Destroy to immunize me from spyware (which still gets through here and there, but nothing terrible and Norton AntiVirus (which I always keep up to date) running... ALWAYS. It doesn't slow down my comp at all, and I don't need to have to play ring-around-the-overly-cookied-though-not-malicious-server anymore.

Okay. I promise to try it.

But... I "like" ZoneAlarm. It's easy enough for even me to configure. Nothing gets out of this PC unless I click "Yes" -- and that includes the two services that SL requests to run.

Since your updates are numbered 1, 2, 15, etc., I had to laugh the other day at all of the listings inside of the program listing that "weren't allowed unless asked" -- all those updates since Beta are still *in* the listing.

I started to delete some, then just gave up.



Something I noticed though in checking the installation dates -- I installed an update to ZoneAlarm just before the 1.4 release. With the recent update to ZoneAlarm and the redownloading and installation of SL -- there's not been any problems.

I just wonder if the two upgrades just wanted to have some "drahama" at each other for awhile.

Yup. ZoneAlarm has bloat now too, if not "feature" bloat (does it do "more"?) I'm still pretty sure it's way too flashy to be of any USE anymore IIRC.

I still think you should run Kerio 2.1.5 Darwin, it's not a resource hog at all. (If you can find it, and yea I changed that to 2.1.5 from .4 for a bug fix.)

Because even virus scanners won't stop Microsoft and other "legit" companies from phoning home for who knows what--and they do!

FOUND IT!

http://www.kerio.com/dwn/kpf2-en-win.exe

Holy CRAP they made it hard to find....... LAMERS! That's one to archive, it'll vanish from the face of the earth soon probably.

WeLl GeE...nObOdY's gOnNa wAnT tHiS aNyMoRe....LoOk aT aLl tHe nEw cRaP wE aDdeD tU 4.0!!!!!!11

Hmm, I use Zone Alarm and have no problems with SL.

Larissa

The quality of ZoneAlarm varies greatly from version to version -- even more than the SecondLife client does.

With just reading about the problems in the snow sims, in Abbotts and Cardova -- it looks like this might be a packet loss problem and not necessarily a ZoneAlarm/SL client problem.

Then again...

This problem started again for me last night in Argents, who's SIM FPS is usually around 1K or so. Basic building, maneuvering in the edit window, the inventory window, etc., and "Client Not Responding" at least 5 times within one-half hour.

Rebooting clears it for awhile, but it's back.

The hard part is when you're building, you're rotating something or manipulating a prim -- and "BAM" -- you're frozen on your client with the editing window open, and you're afraid to click, move your mouse, etc. for fear that movement will remain in memory for when the "pause" ends.

Try turning off your firewall. If your XP system is fully-patched, you should be fine -- it's not too likely that a new worm will come out during the time you're testing things.