Having Problems with Log-In Stability

[Kathy S. Rogers]

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I hope it's just me, but twice in the past hour I've had to shut down and log back in.

I was looking at some posts about an hour ago and hit Back to get back to the forum to look at some other threads. Rather than coming up with the forum, what came up was a listing of all the forums, with locks on ALL of them. My name wasn't at the top either. It was as if I was a first time guest who had never registered.

I shut down, started Explorer again, and when I tried to get in, it came up the same way. I re-entered my log in info and it worked...for awhile.

Just now I tried to get into a forum and first got a bulletin saying that I had no access to that forum. It was the Trainee forum. I hit refresh and got the same thing. When I went back to the listings, I again was locked out of everything.

I have also noticed that some of the times on the posts I have been looking at seem to be off. I had one somewhere from Ohio that stated it was posted on 2-19-02 at 9:55 p.m. This in only the 18th, not the 19th. And it is only 6 p.m., NOT 9:55.

While I don't want to cause trouble I'm afraid we may have some problems starting. If it is something I'm doing then I want to know. As far as I know everything has been going exactly the way it has for the past two months with no problems. But maybe something changed during the upgrade that I'm not aware of? Similar to the html errors on some of the locations in certain posts? But if so, then why did it wait until I had been on here nearly all day before showing up?

I was wondering if anyone else has had problems or if it is something I'm doing that is causing it. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

Thanks!

[Wayne Phillips]

Hey Kathy,

I have not a clue. Maybe someone was on the other side of the international date line and that's why it's tomorrow already. It does sound weird though.

Happy Presidents Day

Wayne Phillips

[Technical Support]

I checked your forum settings (unless you changed them through your personal User Control Profile).

All of your settings are correct. They include:

a- Cookies are on (so you can browse without having to log in each time)

b- Remember User Name and Password (which makes it easy to auto log in each time you visit the forums.

<hr>
Suggestions:

a- If you are using Explorer as a browser, update it to version 6.0 or higher. To determine, click on the Help button at the top of your browser. Then click on "About Internet Explorer". It should rwad Version 6.0 or higher.

b- If you want a free download to upgrade your browser, go to Start on the bottom task bar, and click on Windows Update. It will take you to the Windows website. Then click on Product Updates, and another window will read your PC. You should then see updates that may be critical. Do the critical first, and then choose Version 6.0 to upgrade. Most upgrades will require a restarting of your PC after the download is complete. Make sure you have no other programs running, and do NOT do a Restart. Rather, do s SHUT DOWN which resets your modem and other hardware that a Restart will NOT do.

c- If you are on a dial-up Internet connection, start saving your money for DSL. Dial-ups can kick you off. But dial-ups should not lose your log in info.

d- After everything else, then do a Disk Defrag and a thorough Scan Disk. Some programs, include your Browser and operating system will bug out on you (such as you described). A disk defrag is technical and ANOTHER topic, and should be posted in the Computer Forum. Do not attempt without asking there.

[Kathy S. Rogers]

You would think that after two months I would have remembered that we have a technical forum on here. I guess after so many hours staring at the screen I went brain dead.

Anyhow, I guess what got me was the fact that not only was I already in the forums, but had been for several hours. If I had just been coming on and got locked out then I would have just logged the info and forgotten about it.

I have had cases where the connection timed-out or at least shut down for some unknown reason. No problem, you just reconnect and go again. But this was freaky. Even when I have done a shut down and came back I've never been locked out. At least not since I got access anyway. It was as if I had never registered.

According to the Task Scheduler, we run a Scan Disk once a week on Sunday mornings and a Defrag on the first of the month at two a.m.

I'll check on the upgrades and see what comes up and go from there. I'm just glad it was apparently something here and not a glitch in the program. I don't know if I could go another week without my "forum fix". :D

Thanks Bob and I'll let you know what happens.

[Kanda Force]

Thanks for reminding me, Kathy.

I was having problems staying logged in this morning and just experienced the same problem again.

This morning, I was posting a reply in the After Hours Lounge (not the first one of the morning) and when I tried to submit, I got an edit that said I did not have authorization for that forum or I was not logged in, with a place at the bottom to log in. So I logged in.

I experienced the same problem in the Moderators Training forum, this morning and just now.

This morning, I logged out, then back in again. I checked my setting in the User Control Panel and they appear to be correct. I guess I am really confused now, and it's not even early in the AM.:)

Dispite the inconvenience, I am glad the board is back up and working. But I am very curious about the "log in" problem.

[Kathy S. Rogers]

Thank you Kandy!

It's nice to know I'm not the only one having problems. The first time it happened I thought I was going nuts for a second. Then I started wondering if I had done or said something that had caused the membership to be revoked. Once I was able to log back in and it worked okay I was finally able to breathe again. A few minutes later...BAM! There it went again.

Not that I want the boards to have to go down again or make more work for Bob after he did such a great job, but I couldn't figure out how on earth I could have messed something up when I hadn't changed anything. All of the settings were the same as I've had ever since I first came on here. But then technology is such a touchy thing sometimes who knows?

I'm still going to check on the downloads for the upgrades anyway. I'll also be watching to see what the problem finally turns out to be. Of course since I don't know diddley about the internal workings of a computer it probably won't make any sense to me anyway, but now my curiosity is aroused.

[Larry Sanders]

I've not had that problem, however I have had and ongoing problem with the cookies.

It seems If I leave the forum, even via a new window, and return or take too long composing a post, all the forums are mysteriously marked as read. I have to go by the dates to find which forums have new posts and then to find the posts.

I mentioned it briefly some time back but did not press it because no one else seemed to experience it. I don't find it all that big a deal, just slightly less convenient.

I believe if I were to delve deeply into solving this mystery I would probably find some little cookie murdering culprit right here on my own system. (Hiding in the sleezy part of the motherboard, no doubt.)

[Robert Donovan]

Originally posted by Kathy S. Rogers
Thanks Bob and I'll let you know what happens.
Who's "Bob"?

[Robert Donovan]

Originally posted by Kanda Force
I was posting a reply in the After Hours Lounge (not the first one of the morning) and when I tried to submit, I got an edit that said I did not have authorization for that forum or I was not logged in, with a place at the bottom to log in. So I logged in.

Tip:
Never click Submit or Preview without FIRST "selecting all" with your right-mouse click and clicking COPY. In case the forum crashes your reply or topic that you spent time on, you can simply log back in and PASTE what you wrote.

I lost a LOT of replies before I learned that tip.

[Robert Donovan]

Originally posted by Robert Donovan

Who's "Bob"?
Oh... you mean Bob McCambridge, the Sr. Admin over tech support. He's not "Technical Support", though. Techie is a husband-wife team that share the User Name to support the forum. :)

[Robert Donovan]

My comments are... if you flush your cookies the you may be flushing your forum cookies. I prefer to go to Windows/Cookies and sort them by date, and then delete the new ones only, keeping my cookies from sites I frequent.

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Having your PC set to maintain your defrag only works if the PC is running. Check the log. You may be surprised that it was not performed. I prefer to MANUALLY defrag and scan. And there are things you HAVE to do before defraging that the auto program does not do.

<hr>
And last, I received an email from tech support an hour ago. The web server was taken down this evening without notice for 10 minutes for maintenance. You will get Page Will Not Display errors. If you ever want to check on your local connection to our server, go to MSDOS PROMPT and type in TRACERT WWW.IPIU.ORG and enter.
<hr>
Kathy, what version of Explorer do you have? There have been massive upgrades since 5.0 version.

[Kathy S. Rogers]

Dunce cap please...

Okay that cuts it. After fourteen hours my brain is turning to jello. It is now officially sign off time for me. I think it's time to take my cap and go get some sleep before I really stick my foot in my mouth. :o

[Larry Sanders]

Originally posted by Robert Donovan

Tip:
Never click Submit or Preview without FIRST "selecting all" with your right-mouse click and clicking COPY. In case the forum crashes your reply or topic that you spent time on, you can simply log back in and PASTE what you wrote.

I lost a LOT of replies before I learned that tip.

Here's a tip for when that happens...

Click the back button before you log in and highlight and copy the post. Then log in, go to the appropriate forum/thread, click reply or new thread and paste. No retyping.

[Kathy S. Rogers]

It's a "Customized version" of 5.5.

[Robert Donovan]

Ouch!

There are security leaks with that version. Upgrade ASAP.

[Kathy S. Rogers]

Upgrade Complete!

Thank you Robert ;) .

[Donna Reagan]

How are the other tips coming along (defrag, etc) ?

[Nancy C Medved]

Hi Good gravy, it pays to read the forum(if it will let u).
Im experiencing the same problem the rest of the teamis.
I have customized 5.5 also, but when i contacted Compaq, they email me back a link to click to get 6.0 When I followed that link and started dowloading 6.0, i was disconnected.
Hmmm, guess i'll try later.
By the way, I dont have vb codes on my site anymore, can that be the reason these forums are haywire ??

[William R. Larson -]

Nancy -

I think that if you go to Microsoft website, and go to the Windows Update section, and have the website run a scan of your computer, it will provide a list of update(s) for your machine.

Here's a link.

CLICK HERE: Windows Update (http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp)

Also, if you click on the start button in the lower left corner, and browse around the list, there should be a Windows Update listed that you can click on that will bring you there as well. Otherwise, use this link!

I hope this helps!

[Kathy S. Rogers]

Originally posted by Nancy C. Medved
When I followed that link and started dowloading 6.0, i was disconnected.

That happened to me too. It takes a good while for the download to complete. Nearly an hour from what mine said before it started. It was within ten minutes of downloading when the connection was cut. Fortunately I just reconnected, and the program kicked back in right where it left off.

Before you download, check your power options. Do you have your computer set to go into a standby or hibernate mode after so long? I usually have mine set for 30 minutes. I had to turn these off prior to downloading in order to keep the computer from shutting down too quickly. If you have your computer set like that then that may be the reason you were disconnected.

Also, if you are in one site for a long period of time then your connection may be considered "idle" and disconnect.

[David Copeland]

Originally posted by Nancy C. Medved
When I followed that link and started dowloading 6.0, i was disconnected.
If you are on dialup internet connection, then contact your local internet provider. Or, start a new topic in our Computer-Internet Forum (not here) and ask what tips they can give you in keeping a "local dialup connection" connected without having the connection lost.

[David Copeland]

Originally posted by Nancy C. Medved
By the way, I dont have vb codes on my site anymore, can that be the reason these forums are haywire ??
On your "site"?

Or on our website page you're looking at? If so, what VB codes? What replies.

[Teresa L. Horsmann]

Originally posted by Nancy C. Medved
When I followed that link and started dowloading 6.0, i was disconnected. Kathy had a great suggestion on checking your power setting, that can often be the problem. If you've tried that - or other things and you're still having a problem, you may also want to shutt off your screensaver during the download (otherwise, as with the power setting, the other server sometimes sees it as 'idle' especially if you're running on dial up).

[Kanda Force]

I managed to try all the suggestions in this thread to eliminate the problem with my log-in problem. Everything has been fine until this morning.
I tried to use the search feature and got the same log-in error message, not once but twice. I did not log in again (this is an important point) but simply used the browser back button. I was working with 2 windows open at the time, both open to the forums.
I was posting a reply in the first window when I tried the search feature in the second window. That's when I got the message about not being logged in.
After getting the message and using the back button twice, I returned to the first window to finish my post. When I returned to the second window and clicked on search again, I was able to access the search feature. :eek:
I did not log back in, the second window had just been opened, and the third time was a charm. :)

I'd already had 3 cups of coffee so I'm reasonably sure I wasn't dreaming!

[William R. Larson -]

That doesn't seem to make sense, Kandy. At least to me, so I figure I'll get an education here as well.

What I always do is open one browser to the forums and log in. Once I am logged in, I open more browsers (holding the CTRL button and pressing N will open a new browser instead of minimizing everything) to my little heart's content.

Is it possible that you opened both browsers almost simutaneously, causing the 2nd browser to not catch the cookies from the first browser? Other than that, I don't know.

[David Copeland]

Each NEW browser (when you click on the small blue "e" in the lower left side of the bottom task bar) maintains it's own individual cookies.

1st Yahoo Example:
If you have two Yahoo accounts, which require cookies to log in, and you want them both up at the same time, you simply click on two "e's" for separate browsers.

2nd Yahoo Example:
If you just click on one "e", and log in to your Yahoo account. That's okay for the moment. But if you place your mouse over anything on the Yahoo account and RIGHT-CLICK and choose OPEN LINK IN NEW WINDOW, then the 2nd browser window is just an extension of the the first window with the SAME COOKIES in both windows.

Suggestion:
Open one (1) window and log into the forums. Then place your mouse over the button at the right-top titled "Home" and RIGHT CLICK, and choose OIPEN LINK IN NEW WINDOW. You should then have both windows with the same cookies and logged in.

[Nancy C Medved]

Thanks William for your input on updating Windows.
However, when I accessed the site the message came up
"Windows update available only to Windows XP". I have Windows 98 and just upgraded to 6.0. Someone before told me that "x" means 9?

[Nancy C Medved]

Originally posted by Nancy C. Medved
Thanks William for your input on updating Windows.
However, when I accessed the site the message came up
"Windows update available only to Windows XP". I have Windows 98 and just upgraded to 6.0. Someone before told me that "x" means 9? Oh and the vb codes are the codes that let u change fonts, colors, size etc. no? Well mine disappeared when IPIU changed 2 wks ago. ???????

[William R. Larson -]

Oops! My mistake, Nancy. :o

I use XP, and cut that link from that browser. Sorry!

Just go to the Microsoft website (do not click here: www.microsoft.com) and find the Windows' update there. The website will access your computer and determine which Windows operating system you are using, and will scan for updates for that system.

CLICK HERE: Microsoft homepage (http://www.microsoft.com)

That should work a little better! ;)

[Kanda Force]

Originally posted by David Copeland

Suggestion:
Open one (1) window and log into the forums. Then place your mouse over the button at the right-top titled "Home" and RIGHT CLICK, and choose OIPEN LINK IN NEW WINDOW. You should then have both windows with the same cookies and logged in.

I generally open a new window by right clicking and choosing OPEN IN NEW WINDOW. I highly doubt I used that feature this morning, though. I will pay better attention next time.

Maybe it was trying to tell me I'd spent enough time visiting my second home! :D

[Nancy C Medved]

Thanks William. No problem. I downloaded 6.0 and also upgraded by getting "critical upgrades". So now I should be set and no more hacking???

[David Copeland]

Are the VB codes for font colors and size working for you now?

[William Jimenez]

Kim,

This happens to me once in a while, but not too often. First, I usually have about three or more forum windows open. First one is automatic login, right? (Cookied) Then the next ones I open either by another "e", as mentioned before, or a right-click and 'Open Link in New Window' (usually when I search posts).

Anyhow, once in a while (perhaps once a week) while I am bouncing from one thread to another... I get the Oops! message, and find at the bottom of the page it prompts me to sign in again. Now I don't recall each of the circumstances, but it seems that after being logged on for a while, the cookie will expire, prompting you to login again.

Not sure whether this has to do with it or not, but it seems like having multiple windows open makes my login last longer.

Hope this gives you some ideas. :)

[William Jimenez]

Good luck Kim. :)

I'm interested to see how you do. I know when it happens to me, it really is irritating.

[William R. Larson -]

If you are running any internet security software, check that. I know they can be set to clean out unnecessary files, cookies, etc.

Check your Internet Options as well to see what the computer is being told to do with cookies. From your IE browser, choose the Tools pull down menu, and select Internet Options.

[William Jimenez]

Currently, I have Guard-IE integrated into my browser. It's an excellent security and privacy tool. However, I have designated the IPIU cookies on the 'allowed' list so this should not be a problem for me.

Sidenote: For those interested in Guard-IE, click here: http://www.guardwall.com/en/products.asp


Guard-IE Key Features: Popup Killing/Ad Blocking
fights annoying advertising
Security
intercepts web-based worms/viruses
History Trace Remover
removes all trace of web activities
Ease of Use
integrates directly into Internet Explorer®
Spyware Privacy Reports
uncovers hidden web bugs and secret data on your computer

[Kimberly Lackey]

Hi everyone,

I'm having the same problem staying logged in.

Here's what I think it is. I have a dial-up connection. There is noise and other instability in the phone line itself. It's not enough to disrupt the internet connection, usually, but I think that it causes the constant logging out on IPIU.

Do any of you with the problem have a different type connection other than dial-up? I want to either prove or disprove my theory.

[Myava Waring]

Hi, My PM is not working when I click on it. It says that I might not be activated or login. And I'm both because I choose to have the system automically sign me in. Can you help me?

[Kanda Force]

We have an existing topic on private messaging. ;)

You're in the correct forum, just need to scroll down a bit more.


Click here: Privately Messaging or emailing Forum Members? (http://www.ipiu.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3372)

[Paula Hirth]

I have read and done every suggestion I found throughout the forums regarding how to fix the login/logout issue I am experiencing (I have one post I have to delete (there was another post that needing editing, and I did accomplish that) but I am not having any success in fixing the deleting problem. When I try to delete, the next windows tell me I have logged out but not give me a way to log back in. I checked my cookies but I cannot find the option where you can pick the option to stay logged in. Is there anyway I could get a quick response as at possible? I don't mean to rush you but I don't want people getting confused about why there are two posts from me and seemingly reads about the same but not. But I'm more eager to learn the fix so I won't have to bug anyone else for the answer anymore.

Thank you for your support.

[Edward Taguba]

Paula,

If your using Internet Explorer 5 or higher do the following

1) Open your Internet Explorer window
2) On the top of your browser the pull down menu click on "Tools"
3) Click on "Internet Options" and a Internet Options windows will open.
4) Click on the tab called "Privacy"
5) Click on the button called "Advanced"
6) Then check on the "Overide Automatic Cookie Handling"
7) Click on OK
8) Click on OK again
9) Close your browser
10) Try again

Hope this will help.

Aloha,

[Cynthia Ford]

Originally posted by Paula Hirth
I have one post I have to delete When I try to delete, the next windows tell me I have logged out but not give me a way to log back in.
I located the double post and deleted it.

In the future, just email web@ipiu.org with your delete request. :)

[Paula Hirth]

Cynthia, thank you for deleting the double posting. Question, do we have the rights to delete or do we need to contact an admin person?

Again thank you.:D

[Julia Ann Stewart]

Originally posted by Paula Hirth
Question, do we have the rights to delete or do we need to contact an admin person?

Again thank you.:D
To request a delete, email moderator@ipiu.org

[Paul Porter]

Hi,

Everytime I go to post a reply or priview a reply it pops me to the unregistered screen and I have to re-enter my name and password. Another thing I have noticed is there is a short time before it bumpes me off to the same unregistered screen. Any thoughts on what is happening?

Paul

[Sunny Engel]

Paul,

DO NOT clear cookies after you log-in. This disrupts the path.

It would be worthwhile to clear cookies before logging-in.

Also, you can put your question under http://www.ipiu.org/forums/images/top_search.gifand look for all the possible answers that might follow.

Hope, this helps.;)

[Kanda Force]

Originally posted by Paul Porter
Hi,

Everytime I go to post a reply or priview a reply it pops me to the unregistered screen and I have to re-enter my name and password. Another thing I have noticed is there is a short time before it bumpes me off to the same unregistered screen. Any thoughts on what is happening?

Paul

Paul,

I merged your question with this existing topic. Please start at the beginning and read the suggestions. These should help. :)