SL Continues to CRASH

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Possible some info at this link might help: http://suezannecbaskerville.wordpress.com/second-life-firewalls-routers-ports-udp-tcp/

You might try reading some of the technical forum which has years of posts about problems with SL. You might get some result using the forum specific search.

Which all viewers have you tried? Might as well try them all.

I am using the AT&T supplied router. I don't think it has a firewall. If it did I would have never gotten into SL to start with. Most week days it works fine. Weekends are dead.. unless the firewall only works weekends.

"CX"

Have you opened the box and looked at the fans to see if they are all spinning at proper speed and don't have dust blocking grills?

Can you take your computer to someone else's house and see if it works ok there?

It is a new computer, less than 3 months old. Just had it opened up to install the memory and video card (recommended for previous weekend crash problems)

I just had the DSL upgraded to the highest speed also. AT&T is sending me another modem to try.

"CX"

Did you check to see if any ports need to be opened?

New things can fail.

When you had it open, did you look at the fans to see if they are spinning at proper speed?


Have you check the Jira stuff related to the 8600?

I didn't know the JIRA bothered with equipment issues. I'll check it.

All the fans run everything is fine. Again it is a random problem, mainly weekends. Yesterday may have been because of the rolling restarts. This issue started almost at the begining of my time in SL. It was recommended to purchase more memory and a video card. While all my other programs are running extremely well SL still looks and runs the same.

Thanks "CX"

It's your setup. I've been playing lately on a laptop with 500MB memory and Intel integrated mobile graphics. I've noticed a slightly higher than usual incidence of teleport crashes than usual, but I've been online for hours at a time lately with no problem.

Things to check:

-- What do you have running at the same time as you run SL? Background processes like things that maintain your disk or do updates for software can steal focus and crash SL.

-- Are you using a large virus checker like Norton or McAfee? If so, try disabling it. Not only do they steal focus, but they have been known to corrupt SL's cache. If you MUST have them, tell them to ignore the Second Life data directory. (There is a recent thread about non-invasive virus checkers, I believe AVG did well in it).

-- Try decreasing your draw distance to 64 and your network bandwidth to 400. With your setup, you shouldn't have to, but if either of those works it gives a place to start ... graphics or network.
.

If you can log in and move around for any length of time, you probably don't have to open up any ports.

Er.. That sounds more like the speed from your PC to your router/modem, not the actual rate you're getting to the internet.

Are all these problems on one sim or do you get them regardless of which sim you log into?

That is the speed between the PC and router.

It doesn't matter where I go. I crashed at the Forum Cartel and two main land sims. Also when I visted a private SIM I crashed.

I do have McAffee. I shut down everything when using SL except for the automatic processes that don't show up in the task list.

SL repiled to my ticket with update the Video drivers. These days any equipment purchased automatically keeps itself up to date while scanning your system and sending home all your private data. (anybody watch that robot movie with Will Smith?)

Thanks for the replies, I plan to check the Mcaffee settings and redo my video drivers.

"CX"

I don't think it's quite _that_ bad.. Not yet anyway.

I know Windows Update on my machine tends to be WAY off when it comes to figuring out which NVidia driver I should be using. Better to go to nvidia.com yourself and ask it for the latest one.

/me scratches his head

The only things that stood out to me were the "smallish" CPU (2 GHz) but that shouldn't cause crashes like you mentioned.

and you've already verified that your computer is not bogged up with dust and cat hair (had that issue once...caused crashes every few minutes from overheating)

I did recently have an issue with my wireless router. I use a wireless router for my wifes laptop, but my computer is still running straight cables(no wireless signal). The problem was that I was running the cable from my modem into the wireless router and then running another cable out of my router to my computer.
I then set up the router firewall restrictions to allow Secondlife.

It didn't help...I still crashed every 30 minutes or so...sometimes less than that.

I then I tried isolating the problem by going straight into my computer again and not even using the wireless router and everything worked fine again.

The modem is the router in my case. It is wired from the wall to the modem to the PC. No other computers are using it. When the wife uses her PC (wireless) I stay off of SL.

I assumed with a brand new video card that checked for updates when I installed it (less than 30 days ago) I should have the correct drivers. I'll check again, perhaps they have a SL specific driver.

I am running Vista Home Premium which is supposed to be a better version.

"CX"

I have a system similar to yours, and had frequent graphics freeze/crashing problems after upgrading to an 8600GT graphics card.

After trying lots of other things, I disabled AMD Cool'n'Quiet, and so far, have not had any crashes since doing so.

Cool'n'Quiet is software that lets the computer throttle itself down to slower CPU speeds when not busy, and then automatically speed back up when required. My theory is that the system was not always "speeding up" fast enough when doing something graphically intensive in SL, leading to crashes.

You're using an Intel instead of AMD processor, but it might be something similar.

Maybe this will help you also. Please let us know if it does.

Pecos

I have the same problems and it started also last weekend and on 2 computers. I reinstalled SL, Drivers ect. And I could fix my old computer, I did the same with the
other one but no success, or I crash right at login or I get 2 minutes of online time.

As I had a Windows Update at that day I decided to make a test and installed a fresh windows on a new Harddrive. Just installed all the required software like directx, GK
driver and then SL. And same result, tryed 3x, once crashed right at login. once 1 Min online time and once 2 Minutes.

There was a rolling restart last weekend whatever they did is
giving us trouble in my opinion. In one case I had some funny poly triangles focusing on
my avator.

Same problem on 2 computers? Same problem on a fresh new windos copy?

Also I noticed that previous I could run Windlight, now if I try to start it.... it ends in a "peep" and computer reset.

Today, I downloaded a new driver for the Nvidia card. I bought this card in Dec 2007 and the latest driver was Dec 2007.

I logged on and set my draw distance down to 125. I was able to stay on for nearly an hour. I tried building and TPs with no problems. It finally locked up when I was AFK which is expected I guess.

The entire grid just seems more stable, but the real test comes tomorrow and Sunday.

Again I appreciate everyones ideas and suggestions.

"CX"

The problem is finally fixed. After all the settings changes, new memory, new video card, new drivers....

AT&T discovered my DSL modem is bad. They sent a new one and I am back in business.

"CX"

Hurray! Glad it got fixed somehow!

I can actually load up SL... do some work. Flip back over to the forum to check on something and thing flip back to SL, wait a second for it to refresh and continue working.

I am one happy Anti-Camper.

"CX"

This sort of problem is why the above suggestion is made.

SuezanneC I appreciate every suggestion. What finally clued me in was the modem lights would stop blinking. I called customer support and they checked the local circuits and concluded the modem had a problem.

Thanks to everyone else also. I was on tonight for 3 hours solid, I don't know how to act.

"CX"

Nowadays, in some cases you might be able to access a wireless network for testing purposes.

I guess come to think of it, in my case, if I was a bit more sociable, and had a similar problem, I could ask my neighbor to let me hook up to their internet service with a cable - we have a common balcony, it would be less trouble than moving a computer.

I live in the country so I have to travel a couple of miles to my nearest friend. They would be on a different part of the AT&T grid. Country life is great, you can't sit on the street in front of my house and pick up my wireless signal it is too far away.

"CX"

Does it work alright with wireless then? I'm only on wireless LAN at home and it has worked fine for a whole year now (also high speed DSL 16,000)

My main computer that I use for SL is hard wired to the modem. I have never tried SL via wireless. It isn't recommended from what I read in the forum.

"CX"