Can’t Login Second Life

There is a known problem with login going around. It is not the only login problem. However, the Firestorm-Phoenix team and Lance of Dolphin Viewer fame have provided suggestions for those using their viewers and described the problem. There are possible fixes, if your login problem is from the Viewer 3 Bug in mesh capable viewers, that’s my name for it…

A possible fix is to login with a pre-mesh capable viewer. Once your in, you can logoff and come back with a Viewer 3 version. This problem affects all viewers using SLViewer 3 code, which is all of the new Third Party Viewers with mesh render ability. I think the problem started to appear with version 2.8.something. Any viewer prior to 2.8 should be able to clear the problem.

Another suggested fix is to change your DNS service. When making a change most switch over to the Google public DNS. You can Google for instructions on how to do that on your system. A trick they do not tell you when changing your DNS service is to ping the services you are currently using and the Google services. Place the service with the fastest ping as your preferred first choice. Make the slower of Google or your current DNS the second choice. To make your system more robust use 3 or 4 DNS addresses.

For a simpler possible fix I suggest you clear your DNS cache and retry your login. On Windows open a command window and type: ipconfig /flushdns

If the problem is DNS and the DNS flush fails, you may want to try a computer restart before changing your DNS services.

Network Problems

There are a variety of reasons that can prevent login to Second Life. The most common is problems with one’s connection. So, check you connection before taking any drastic or laborious steps. Use SpeedTest.net or a similar service.

I’ve played with geo-locating IP Addresses the Linden Lab uses. There are login addresses in Providence, Road Island. Some game server addresses are in San Francisco. I’m told other servers are in Dallas, Texas. Pick a couple and make a couple of tests.

The server locations may be different depending on where you are. You can use a command window and use NSLOOKUP on windows to find which IP addresses your computer is using. The server names you are looking for are:

  • login.agni.lindenlab.com – San Francisco, United States
  • login.secondlife.com – Providence, Road Island, USA
  • agni.lindenlab.com – San Francisco, United States
  • secondlife.com – San Francisco, United States

Network problems are often cleared up with a computer and modem restart.

UPDATE: For information on troubleshooting you network connection see Troubleshoot Your #SL Connection

Avatar Specific

From a post by Jaidyn Piers I learned a way to fix some cases where one can login with one avatar but not another. In such a case the problem is likely in your computer. One of the simple fixes that some try is removing the problem avatar’s files. Avatar specific files are in these folders;

  • XP – C:\Documents and Settings\[win_login_ID]\Application Data\SecondLife\[avatar_name]
  • Vista/Win7 –  C:\Users\[win_login_ID]\AppData\Roaming\SecondLife\[avatar_name]
  • MacOSX – /Users/[win_login_ID]/Library/Application Support/SecondLife/[avatar_name]
  • Linux – /home/[win_login_ID]/.secondlife/[avatar_name]

The [ ] denote variable information, but you knew that… right?

You may want to take a more intelligent approach than just blowing the whole folder away. And…

Warning: Deleting the folder deletes your chat logs.

The folder contains your chat logs. In Windows the chat logs are TXT files. You can move these files to another folder to save them. However, the TXT files are probably not the cause of any problem.

Also in the folder are XML files. It is more likely any problem is in the XML files. But, even that is a slim possibility. You can sort on File Type and select just the XML files for deletion.

There is a BMP file that is the image of your log off location. Depending on when your viewer crashes it may contribute to the problem. You can double click it to open it. You should see an image, which will mean the file is OK. If the image does not open, there is a problem, so delete it.

Within the SecondLife/[avatar_name] folder there is a folder named browser_profile. This contains caches for the viewer’s browser. Regardless of your settings for which browser to use, for somethings the viewer insists on using its browser. These are things like Profiles, Search, and the Destination Guide. It is most likely something in this folder is the problem.

Considering probabilities for the cause of the problem I suggest deleting the browser_profile folder and trying to login. If that fails, remove the XML files. If that fails, move or delete the TXT files. If that fails, delete the SecondLife/[avatar_name] folder.

If that fails… keep reading.

Other Problems

To learn about older and now less common problems see: I Can’t Login

7 thoughts on “Can’t Login Second Life

  1. Pingback: Second Life: I Can’t Login

  2. Pingback: Troubleshoot Your #SL Connection

  3. Seriously, thank you! I couldn’t log in and had no idea something like this could happen in SL. In my case the avatar specific suggestions helped because I knew access to Second Life on my computer was fine. I’m so grateful.

  4. Im currently having this issue, is it possible for you to give me the steps I need to take. i have windows 7..

  5. Pingback: secondlife com login - playsquare.tv

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