Strange Error with Advanced Search and IE8

Bartholomew Roberts · July 10, 2009, 07:50 PM

Against my better judgment, I downloaded IE8 and installed it several days ago. Just today, when I try to use the Advanced Search feature on TFL, I get the "WIndows cannot find connection -> Diagnose Connection" window every time.

When I click on "Diagnose Connection" it immediately loads the screen telling me I can only search every 5 seconds and Windows says "No problem with connection." Every time I hit "Search", the whole process repeats.

Any suggestions?

Another weird one... I went to edit my reply and got the edit window and was actually typing new information in when all of a sudden I got the "This link appears to be broken" window. Obviously, it seems to be working OK now.

**tyme** · July 12, 2009, 12:23 AM

Just tried in ie8. Works for me. My ie8 security zone setting for the internet at large (including tfl) is medium-high.

Is the computer/browser in question accessing the internet through a wireless connection? If so, perhaps wireless is cutting out?

Does firefox, opera, or chrome have the same problem?

There's always the malware possibility.
malwarebytes
hijackthis

Other than that, all I can suggest is grabbing wireshark and trying to find out if IE8 is sending and receiving the right http data, but a tutorial on wireshark won't fit in the margin here.

Brian Pfleuger · July 12, 2009, 08:34 PM

I have also gotten an intermittent error when searching the forum recently. Using Mac OS 10.5, Safari and Firefox.

I don't recall the exact message, some sort of server error, or non response or something.

I get it exactly if I see it again.

Brian Pfleuger · July 13, 2009, 09:52 AM

Here's the error in Safari:

and Firefox:

**tyme** · July 13, 2009, 11:08 AM

Did you get those errors when using the advanced search page, or just the normal search pop-up box? And approximately how often does this happen?

I tried doing a few dozen searches just now (from the search pop-up box, not the advanced search page), and I couldn't reproduce the error (firefox 3.5). There's got to be some other factor.

Also (peetza) it looks like both your firefox and safari versions aren't the latest. I'm sure that has nothing to do with it, just mentioning it because new browser versions often fix security problems...

Brian Pfleuger · July 13, 2009, 11:14 AM

Both at the time, although trying it just now they both work.... intermittent problem apparently. Previously, the pop-up search would give me an error while the advanced search worked....

**tyme** · July 13, 2009, 12:39 PM

Are either of you using proxies? Some antiviruses and firewalls do http proxying as well. There seem to be a lot of references on the web to similar problems involving proxies.

Brian Pfleuger · July 13, 2009, 01:37 PM

Not I.

My configuration hasn't changed in months and the problem is not more than a few days old.

Brian Pfleuger · July 13, 2009, 03:10 PM

Additional info:

If I put a "nonsense" search term like "gvajksdfgkhjsda" in the search box, I get and error every time. If I use real words, it's only sometimes.

Bartholomew Roberts · July 13, 2009, 08:21 PM

No proxies here, though it is on a wireless connection so it was possible the wireless was cutting out; but at the same time I was having TFL trouble I was still connecting OK to other web sites.

Typically when the wireless cuts out, it is a several minute thing and the Internet doesn't work at all. This would had to have been really brief 30-60 second outages in order to be the wireless. When I get back to the laptop, I'll try Advanced Search again and see if the problem repeats.

**tyme** · July 13, 2009, 09:57 PM

aha.. peetza gets a cookie, or pizza, or something. Searching for nonexistent words is what reproduced it for me.

BR: Is your IE8 symptom fixed?

There were two lines at the top that I added in when we switched to the sphinx search engine, to show the number of hits for each word in the search string. (I admit it wasn't kosher to output stuff before the html.) Sadly, it appears that vbulletin doesn't enable zlib compression until after those two lines are printed. The http headers tell the browser that the response is compressed, but those two lines weren't, so it threw a fit. They might not have been getting counted in the content-length header, either.

What I don't know is why it was working before. There must have been some behavior change in a recent version of php or lighttpd. It might have been output buffering. Maybe php used to wait until the output buffer was full before it checked whether to compress, and maybe now it compresses on each and every write to the buffer. Seems inefficient, but I have no idea, just guessing.

OuTcAsT · July 14, 2009, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Sadly, it appears that vbulletin doesn't enable zlib compression until after those two lines are printed. The http headers tell the browser that the response is compressed, but those two lines weren't, so it threw a fit. They might not have been getting counted in the content-length header, either.

What I don't know is why it was working before. There must have been some behavior change in a recent version of php or lighttpd. It might have been output buffering. Maybe php used to wait until the output buffer was full before it checked whether to compress, and maybe now it compresses on each and every write to the buffer. Seems inefficient, but I have no idea, just guessing.

Could we get that in English McGee ?

Brian Pfleuger · July 15, 2009, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Could we get that in English McGee ?

It was broken, now it's not...

Bartholomew Roberts · July 24, 2009, 06:47 PM

Ran Advanced Search from a different wireless network with the same laptop and no issues. So it was either network related or it is fixed now.

July 10, 2009, 07:50 PM	#1
Bartholomew Roberts member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Texas and Oklahoma area Posts: 8,462	Strange Error with Advanced Search and IE8 Against my better judgment, I downloaded IE8 and installed it several days ago. Just today, when I try to use the Advanced Search feature on TFL, I get the "WIndows cannot find connection -> Diagnose Connection" window every time. When I click on "Diagnose Connection" it immediately loads the screen telling me I can only search every 5 seconds and Windows says "No problem with connection." Every time I hit "Search", the whole process repeats. Any suggestions? Another weird one... I went to edit my reply and got the edit window and was actually typing new information in when all of a sudden I got the "This link appears to be broken" window. Obviously, it seems to be working OK now. Last edited by Bartholomew Roberts; July 10, 2009 at 08:27 PM.

July 12, 2009, 12:23 AM	#2
tyme Staff Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 3,355	Just tried in ie8. Works for me. My ie8 security zone setting for the internet at large (including tfl) is medium-high. Is the computer/browser in question accessing the internet through a wireless connection? If so, perhaps wireless is cutting out? Does firefox, opera, or chrome have the same problem? There's always the malware possibility. malwarebytes hijackthis Other than that, all I can suggest is grabbing wireshark and trying to find out if IE8 is sending and receiving the right http data, but a tutorial on wireshark won't fit in the margin here. __________________ “The egg hatched...” “...the egg hatched... and a hundred baby spiders came out...” (blade runner) “Who are you?” “A friend. I'm here to prevent you from making a mistake.” “You have no idea what I'm doing here, friend.” “In specific terms, no, but I swore an oath to protect the world...” (continuum) “It's a goal you won't understand until later. Your job is to make sure he doesn't achieve the goal.” (bsg)

July 12, 2009, 08:34 PM	#3
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	I have also gotten an intermittent error when searching the forum recently. Using Mac OS 10.5, Safari and Firefox. I don't recall the exact message, some sort of server error, or non response or something. I get it exactly if I see it again. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

July 13, 2009, 11:08 AM	#5
tyme Staff Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 3,355	Did you get those errors when using the advanced search page, or just the normal search pop-up box? And approximately how often does this happen? I tried doing a few dozen searches just now (from the search pop-up box, not the advanced search page), and I couldn't reproduce the error (firefox 3.5). There's got to be some other factor. Also (peetza) it looks like both your firefox and safari versions aren't the latest. I'm sure that has nothing to do with it, just mentioning it because new browser versions often fix security problems... __________________ “The egg hatched...” “...the egg hatched... and a hundred baby spiders came out...” (blade runner) “Who are you?” “A friend. I'm here to prevent you from making a mistake.” “You have no idea what I'm doing here, friend.” “In specific terms, no, but I swore an oath to protect the world...” (continuum) “It's a goal you won't understand until later. Your job is to make sure he doesn't achieve the goal.” (bsg)

July 13, 2009, 11:14 AM	#6
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	Both at the time, although trying it just now they both work.... intermittent problem apparently. Previously, the pop-up search would give me an error while the advanced search worked.... __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

July 13, 2009, 12:39 PM	#7
tyme Staff Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 3,355	Are either of you using proxies? Some antiviruses and firewalls do http proxying as well. There seem to be a lot of references on the web to similar problems involving proxies. __________________ “The egg hatched...” “...the egg hatched... and a hundred baby spiders came out...” (blade runner) “Who are you?” “A friend. I'm here to prevent you from making a mistake.” “You have no idea what I'm doing here, friend.” “In specific terms, no, but I swore an oath to protect the world...” (continuum) “It's a goal you won't understand until later. Your job is to make sure he doesn't achieve the goal.” (bsg)

July 13, 2009, 01:37 PM	#8
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	Not I. My configuration hasn't changed in months and the problem is not more than a few days old. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

July 13, 2009, 03:10 PM	#9
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	Additional info: If I put a "nonsense" search term like "gvajksdfgkhjsda" in the search box, I get and error every time. If I use real words, it's only sometimes. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

July 13, 2009, 08:21 PM	#10
Bartholomew Roberts member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Texas and Oklahoma area Posts: 8,462	No proxies here, though it is on a wireless connection so it was possible the wireless was cutting out; but at the same time I was having TFL trouble I was still connecting OK to other web sites. Typically when the wireless cuts out, it is a several minute thing and the Internet doesn't work at all. This would had to have been really brief 30-60 second outages in order to be the wireless. When I get back to the laptop, I'll try Advanced Search again and see if the problem repeats.

July 13, 2009, 09:57 PM	#11
tyme Staff Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 3,355	aha.. peetza gets a cookie, or pizza, or something. Searching for nonexistent words is what reproduced it for me. BR: Is your IE8 symptom fixed? There were two lines at the top that I added in when we switched to the sphinx search engine, to show the number of hits for each word in the search string. (I admit it wasn't kosher to output stuff before the html.) Sadly, it appears that vbulletin doesn't enable zlib compression until after those two lines are printed. The http headers tell the browser that the response is compressed, but those two lines weren't, so it threw a fit. They might not have been getting counted in the content-length header, either. What I don't know is why it was working before. There must have been some behavior change in a recent version of php or lighttpd. It might have been output buffering. Maybe php used to wait until the output buffer was full before it checked whether to compress, and maybe now it compresses on each and every write to the buffer. Seems inefficient, but I have no idea, just guessing. __________________ “The egg hatched...” “...the egg hatched... and a hundred baby spiders came out...” (blade runner) “Who are you?” “A friend. I'm here to prevent you from making a mistake.” “You have no idea what I'm doing here, friend.” “In specific terms, no, but I swore an oath to protect the world...” (continuum) “It's a goal you won't understand until later. Your job is to make sure he doesn't achieve the goal.” (bsg)

July 24, 2009, 06:47 PM	#14
Bartholomew Roberts member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Texas and Oklahoma area Posts: 8,462	Ran Advanced Search from a different wireless network with the same laptop and no issues. So it was either network related or it is fixed now.

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