Hi all, I'm hoping for some ideas where to look for this very annoying and persistent problem. My forum runs very smoothly and fast for everybody except one user, who is the other administrator, and another member who lives in the same household but uses a different computer. For them the forum is constantly hanging and has been doing so for several months, to the extent that the other admin just isn't spending as much time on the forum. The problem is somewhat intermittent in that there can be hours of no problem at all, but the rest of the time every 3-5 clicks results in a hanging page or even a timed out message.
For both users my forum is the only website affected;
Both users affected use the same wifi but different computers;
Both have tried several different browsers including Chrome, IE and Safari with no success;
Their router has been rebooted several times;
tracert has shown up to 4 servers timing out along the path - could this be the root of the problem?
when it hangs or a timed out message shows, a refresh usually loads the page instantly but whatever post they were typing is lost;
they live about 20 miles from me and use the same ISP.
It clearly can't be a problem with the server or even with the forum, and it's easy to dismiss as an intermediary server problem or just something at the user end, but after several months, this is making my forum unusable for my other administrator.
Please can anybody suggest what the problem might be or even where to begin to look for it?
I had a very similar issue some months ago, but it only lasted about 2 months. More than 1 user was affected, but for everyone else it was fine and there were no issues with the server. Tracert showed some points timing out when trying to access from some locations, but not from others.
If other sites are fine for them, maybe some access point near them used to reach the server is having problems? Unfortunately the problem solved itself after 2 months for me, and I did not find anything useful while trying to solve it that could help you, everything you say you tried also did not work for me. The only useful thing I found was the route timing out seemed to be the main cause :/ I know some programs can be used to change the route used to access something, but I do not know how that would work. Maybe there is a browser plugin for that?
Thank you Gwenwyfar, maybe it's just a case of waiting it out then. If so I hope it hurries up about it
If it's been doing it for 'several months' then waiting wouldn't seem to be an option imho.
Are there any circumstances that might help narrow it down? e.g. Does it seem to happen around the same time each day, does it do it if the computer is connected directly to the router vs. using the wifi?
If they have a laptop, can they go to the nearest wifi hotspot (library/McDonalds/whatever) and see if it still happens?
Are all their browsers up-to-date and have had the temp files cleaned out recently?
Adware/malware scans done on both computers during this time, etc.?
The thing that stands out to me is the 4 servers timing out in the path. Sounds like something is stuck in the routers' tables?
Are they in a company or university, where the paths out are finite? One would think this would clear itself up otherwise.
Im assuming theyre dhcp... So...
The one thing I'd suggest trying is to reset their ip address, with a release & renew. Hopefully, the next time thru, the routing will be different.
Are they using a proxy (i.e., Tor)?
Thanks for weighing in guys!
Quote from: Sir Osis of LiverĀ on August 13, 2017, 09:47:57 PM
Are they using a proxy (i.e., Tor)?
No, no proxy. I've suggested trying Tor to see whether that makes a difference but they don't like the idea of it.
Quote from: shawnb61 on August 13, 2017, 02:49:14 PM
The thing that stands out to me is the 4 servers timing out in the path. Sounds like something is stuck in the routers' tables?
Are they in a company or university, where the paths out are finite? One would think this would clear itself up otherwise.
Im assuming theyre dhcp... So...
The one thing I'd suggest trying is to reset their ip address, with a release & renew. Hopefully, the next time thru, the routing will be different.
No, it's a private home. They've reset their router and changed IP address several times while this has been going on.
Quote from: Steve on August 13, 2017, 02:35:08 PM
If it's been doing it for 'several months' then waiting wouldn't seem to be an option imho.
Are there any circumstances that might help narrow it down? e.g. Does it seem to happen around the same time each day, does it do it if the computer is connected directly to the router vs. using the wifi?
If they have a laptop, can they go to the nearest wifi hotspot (library/McDonalds/whatever) and see if it still happens?
Are all their browsers up-to-date and have had the temp files cleaned out recently?
Adware/malware scans done on both computers during this time, etc.?
Hi Steve! No, there doesn't seem to be a pattern, at least not one we've been able to identify. Unfortunately they're not able to cable to the router directly because of its location. We will have the chance to try each other's wifi soon so I'll be able to see whether I have the same issue on their wifi or whether her computer has no problem on mine, but that won't be for another week or so.
Yes, all browsers are up-to-date. I will suggest clearing out the temp files. Yes to adware/malware scans.
they could try changing their DNS server, google DNS or openDNS may resolve the issue.
Thank you Gwenwyfar, maybe it's just a case of waiting it out then. If so I hope it hurries up about it
Quote from: Illori on August 14, 2017, 05:10:52 AM
they could try changing their DNS server, google DNS or openDNS may resolve the issue.
if you change your DNS servers you may see the issue resolved in minutes.