ubisoft forum trouble

[nickhall99 0]

hi guys, new forum poster, although i've been around for a couple of years.

I've run in to a problem, and i was wondering if anyone has encountered this problem, and whether they were able to sort it or not.

I used to go on to the ghostrecon forums a lot. Then, when Raven Shield came out, I went on the forums there as well. Like these forums, it was great seeing what people had to say about the game, ways to improve it, and information about upcoming patches and so on.

Then, one day, I tried to visit the site, and I get told:

Server Error in '/' Application.

Exception of type System.StackOverflowException was thrown.

Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.StackOverflowException: Exception of type System.StackOverflowException was thrown.

Source Error:

An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.

Stack Trace:

[stackOverflowException: Exception of type System.StackOverflowException was thrown.]

Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:1.1.4322.573; ASP.NET Version:1.1.4322.573

I read through it, and couldnt really understand what had happened. I tried googling it, but to no avail. I tried leaving my computer for a while (sometimes it works), and I even considered the idea that it was the forum being down or something. But then I tried on another computer, and it worked fine.

I get this message on both the ghostrecon forum and the Raven Shield one. I'm running on windows XP, service pack 2 (although the problem started before I installed SP2), with an Nvidia Geforce4 MX 420 graphics card (which hasnt changed at all). I have also tried accessing these sites through IE, and then through Firefox, but it gives me the same error, no matter what I seem to use.

Can someone help me out? I would really like to be able to go back to these forums.

thanks for any help guys,

nick

Edited January 15, 2005 by nickhall99

[Dannik 43]

The error message is being generated by the web server the Ubisoft forums are hosted on, and have nothing to do with your configuration or browser.

Ubisoft's forum server is notoriously underpowered for the scale, and error messages and timeouts are frequent. Until they update said server, your best bet is to try to access the forums during off peak times. There's not much else you really can do.

[nickhall99 0]

So its got nothing to do with my computer, it just so happens that when i access the forums on another computer, its during an off-peak time?

I guess that makes sence...is that what the error message is basically telling me when it says something about an overflow exception? its saying that its got an overflow of requests for the site?

discovered while typing:

I just tried to get on to the forum again, just to see...I managed to get to the first page (but I hadn't let it load all the page up). Then, I clicked on two threads. They both opened, but because I didn't do anything to stop them, the pages went to load up completely. Thats when I got the error.

Are you sure about what you said before, about it being due to too much demand? Surely if this was the case, I wouldn't even be able to get the front page, and if I did get it, I would get the entire thing, not most of it before getting an error message.

This is frustrating...I could just open the forum, and then stop it from completely loading, but I would much rather find out why it is doing what it is doing, and see if there is a way to stop it.

[Dannik 43]

While I do not understand the exact meaning of the entirety of the error message, I do know that it is the server with the problem, and nothing to do with your computer, with the slim possible exception of your internet connection speed and latency. If you are on a 56k modem out in the country somewhere, you will have more issues than DSL next door to the ISP's switching station.

The mention of 'overflow' usually means too many requests have confused the dynamic page generator in use (in this case, Microsoft .NET framework) to the point where it knows it needs to send you something, but can't keep track of what it's supposed to be sending.

As for getting to the front page, then not being able to navigate further, that's another sign of a server that's almost completely overloaded. Also known in tech circles as being slashdotted. Too much traffic, not enough server to manage.

I believe the Ubi.com service is operated either out of the same server or at least the same local cluster of servers, at Ubisoft Montreal. It being more or less peak gaming day/time right now, I'd suspect Ubi.com is also a possible culprit.

[nickhall99 0]

So is there someone in Ubi I could contact about this (without using the forums )? I doubt they would do anything about it, since they are hardly going to upgrade their servers because I asked them to, but I would feel a bit better knowing I have done something.

[supasniper 0]

http://www.ubi.com/US/Info/ContactUs.htm

try the webmaster

[nickhall99 0]

Sent a message to the webmaster just now. I'll write the reply here, in case anyone else has the problem in the future.

cheers guys,

nick

EDIT: I mean that I will send the reply when I get it...got to wait.

felt I had to clear that up

Edited January 16, 2005 by nickhall99

[nickhall99 0]

Got a reply from the ubi helpers today. Here is their responce, word for word:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You should reinstall Internet Explorer and DirectX from http://www.microsoft.com and Flash and Shockwave from

http://www.macromedia.com and to be safe, check your installations of any other IE plugins such as Quicktime. Try deleting your

temporary internet files by going into Internet Explorer and clicking Tools - Internet Options - Delete Files.

Firstly, try running the game with no unnecessary programs running – disable anything you don’t need running from the Task Manager

(ctrl+alt+del). Disable your screensaver, by going to Display Properties (right click your desktop and click Properties). You should

also run Scandisk and Defrag – to do this right-click the icon for your hard drive(s) and go to the Tools tab, both tools can be run

from here.

Also increase your virtual memory, and clear enough hard space for Windows to work with. To increase virtual memory, go to the

Control Panel, select System, click the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings, click the Advanced tab, then click Change…

under the Virtual Memory section. Make the initial and total sizes the same value – try doubling the amount available to Windows.

Also try deleting any temporary files in your computer – delete the contents of C:\temp\ and C:\windows\temp\ if they exist. Empty

your Recycle Bin.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucky thing I read through the entire thing before trying any of these. After deleting my cookies and Temporary Internet Files, I tried the site out, and I seem to be able to go around fine.

Not quite sure what they're on about in the second paragraph, since I didn't ask about running a game, but I'm grateful for their assistance all the same.

Cheers guys,

nick