Problems after installation

Hi,

Just purchased ASPP to replace Snitz, which I *intended* to use until I read about its size/performance problems.

Anyway, installation *seems* to have gone well, but now I have a few problems.

1) I am typically unable to log in as admin. I suspect it has something to do with cookies, because *sometimes* after I click " Delete All Cookies" , I *can* login.

2) Perhaps related, I get JavaScript errors (" Object expected" )

3) When I *do* manage to log in as admin, I can' t use the admin panel because files in the admin directories try to include files using " ../" and I have Parent Paths disabled (since it is a *major* security issue). However, even when I *enable* PP (everything I describe is on my workstation; I do *not* intend to enable PP on my server!), I *still* get the same error messages.

I hope you have some insights for me!

Best,

Marcel

Please show me where your forum is. The problems seem so weird to me. No one ever report this kind of problem before.

As for the parent path thing: you can create a virtual directory for your forum and only enable parent path for that virtual directory. I do not know in which folder everyone is going to install the forum, therefore, relative path include file is required. Since you are the server admin, you can safeguard your server by setting the correct permission.

I see one small problem here: you' d have to fly over to Holland!

I only installed the forum on my own " workstation" (just a fancy PC, actually) here in my office (where I am still at work at 5AM --should get a life, perhaps... ), as I like to try out " everything" (at least get a good feel for how things work) before I go " live" .

Are there special considerations re. JavaScript, cookies, parent paths, ... that one should be aware of? I know that I am fairly security-conscious (euphemism for paranoid...), but I *have* cookies and JS enabled for the " Local intranet" zone. Anything else I may overlook?

I' m using W2000 WS (latest SP + security patches), with SLQ Server 2000 (ditto SP, patches) and IIS 5.0, if that can shed any light on the problem.

FWIW, I had *no* problems installing Snitz --but I *did* think their pages were unusually bloated (no CSS...), and when I did some further research I read Very Good Things about you guys (especially from a performance point of view).

However, in order to get good performance, you first have to get it to work, correct?

However, in order to get good performance, you first have to get it to work, correct?

We have considered everything before releasing the software to the public. As to why it is not working on your workstation I do not know. Almost everyone using the forum install and run the software on the first try without my help.

I only installed the forum on my own " workstation"

There are many things you install on your workstation that might affect how the software is run. Why don' t you try installing a copy on your server and see if everything works there? I really don' t see why you couldn' t log in as well as the javascript error. I actually performed two installations for my clients today and everything just went smoothly without any problem at all.

Hi Samuel,

Thank you for being so patient with me...

This morning I have started working on the problem again and I am pleased to say that I have made *some* progress... But I am still basically clueless about *what* goes wrong!

First, let me mention that I have *no* problem using *your* site (i.e., *this* support forum). Hmm...

Next, when I try to log in on my own machine, I do NOT get a popup. Instead, I get a runtime error alert: Line 96, Object expected (again, this does *not* happen on *this* site --mental note to self: check if JS settings between Internet zone and Local intranet zone differ?!?).

When I click on No for debugging, I get the login screen in my main (and only) window. admin/admin --> Login Succesful!, followed by an alert: " error.location is null or not an object" --sure, since I did not get the original popup.

I hit my Back button to get to the forum, and see that I am logged in as " admin" , and the admin control panel button shows.

I click that button and get an alert: Line 213, Object expected; I click No for debugging.

At this point, I see the *left* frame of the admin screen (i.e., the menu) in my main/only browser window (should this be a popup as well?)

The *right* frame tells me that " Too many users are connected" (not true, I' m the only one using my PC, but this may be a misleading message --the error may be elsewhere).

When I click on an option in the menu, say: Basic Configuration, the corresponding screen appears in the right frame.

So, summarizing, there *is* progress, but I' m not quite there yet!

By the way, my remark:

However, in order to get good performance, you first have to get it to work, correct?

was *not* intended as criticism of your software (which clearly works *very* well for many people!), but as a " tongue-in-cheek" comment to myself (I hope that did come across correctly --English is not my mother tongue and it is usually best to avoid irony when you are very tired... ).

Anyway, thanks again for your help so far and I will keep you posted if I make progress. If you have any ideas based on my description of the problem above I' d love to hear from you!

Marcel

Here are some new results from testing.

I *reset* my security settings for the Local intranet zone to their default values: no improvement.

Next, I *disable script debugging* in IE' s Advanced settings: yes, this seems to improve things a bit!

Note, however, that the Adv. settings are *not* tied to a security zone; so why can I access *your* site like a charm, but *not* my local version?

I have a hunch that, for some reason, I do not " receive" (all of?) the .js files locally. Upon inspection of the code, I see that both the login screen and the admin control panel use a popup (through popie.js). However, with Local zone reset and Debugging disabled, I do not get error messages (obviously), but I still do *not* get popups --instead, the screens load in my main/only browser window.

Any thoughts you may have are *very* welcome!

BTW, I have *disabled* parent paths again and I *no longer* get these ASP error messages regarding the include files... Strange, no?!

Marcel

none taken, don' t worry about it.

Now to the problem:

I don' t think it has anything to do with the permission setting, but it is possible that other software on the computer is interfering the forum. I really don' t have a clue right now, but as I suggested, you can try installing a copy on your server (for testing purposes) and see how everything goes. As you can see, your IIS is not functioning properly on the workstation -> the parent path setting is not working as it should according to what you said in the previous message.

Let me know after you try it on the server, and I will be able to help more.

I don' t know if it is necessary to " notify" you like this, but I just sent you some info by PM.

Marcel

Hi Marcel,

I just replied the pm you sent. And no, you don' t have to notify me because I get an e-mail for every PM sent to my account.

[edit] The problem has been solved (small configuration problem). Everything is working now.[/edit]