Problem: The connection to the server was reset ...

[barney]

Folk,

Been meaning to submit this query, but keep forgetting.  The browser (FF 3.x) error message is, "The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading."

Several versions of Firefox, IE7 & 8, Google Chrome (non-beta), Opera v10.x, Comodo Dragon v?, Safari v?, all on a Win7 or WinXP SP3 box, all giving equivalent messages.  It's not consistent, but I might see it while trying to preview a post here, while trying to browse to a new Web site, or even when trying to view a page-in-work on my local version of Apache.

Many searches have garnered that it is not all that uncommon an error to encounter, and have indicated it's likely from one (1) of three (3) areas:

• the remote server disconnected, for a variety of reasons,
• the [local] DNS server interrupted the request,
• something local, such as a firewall, created the disconnect.

It's really frustrating, 'cause there's no clear indication where to look for causes.

I'm reasonably certain it's not a firewall (Comodo or the new MS offering) issue, but could be persuaded otherwise.
That it could be a DNS issue is not a stretch, considering Grande's performance of late.
Remote server issues seems realistic, save for the frequency, albeit randomness, of the occurrence.

OK, the question:  does anyone know of an error/trace logging software that will annotate where/when an error occurs in a Web request? 

Ideally, it would follow an HTTP(S) request from initiation to completion, but write to a log only when some error occurred during that process.  I'm thinkin' that someone, somewhere, has done this in order to validate Web/link requests, but have had no luck findin' the thing.  (If someone hasn't built it, they damned well should have  .)

Any hints welcome, a resolution would be fantastic!

[Shades]

Type in the command-box the following:
     tracert <url-of-your-choice>

This will give you a more precise idea where your packets take (too) long to pass. And likely also a better clue of where to begin the problem-solving.

[cthorpe]

Running NOD32 as your anti-virus?

[barney]

@Shades:
Yeah, tracert will work, but only after the fact.  For example, I could run tracert after I get the message only to discover that nothing is wrong.  That's because whatever caused the original issue is no longer active/effectual/extant/working/there.  Tracert is a great tool for a consistent, non-random, problem, 'specially since it can be scripted, but it'll not work on something that has already happened  .

@cthorpe:
Nope.  MSE for everything but firewall, which is Comodo, free version. [Edit - added comment] Also happened with Avira A/V & two (2) other firewalls.

[Shades]

You can see also the time it takes for packets to make their hop. During the worldcup, I had the same problem as you are experiencing now. After using the command I could pinpoint the problem.

A Telefonica server based in Argentina was not up for the task (or setup to serve Argentinians first, I don't know). I live in Paraguay, a neighboring country, so that was a simple case of: too bad for me. But also a reassurance that it was not my hardware or software.

[f0dder]

Tried disabling the firewall temporarily?

[barney]

Completely uninstalled both Comodo & MSE, but still had approximately the same frequency of errors, so I reinstalled - running unprotected makes me nervous  .

I've been looking for another old software package, believe it was called Visual TraceRoute, but it's apparently off the market.  Used it from 98SE through 2K, but lost it somewhere in the transition to XP.  It had two very redeeming qualities:  after it had mapped all the nodes, you could hover over a node and see more information than most tracert progs provide; and it could be set to run continuously, writing results to a log file, until it was shut down, a valuable tool that saved me much grief at the time.  Actually, I don't think I lost it, I think it went shareware, and $$ were kinda hard to come by at that time.

Looked at several current variations on that theme, but none of 'em seem particularly effective or attractive.  I'm testing itlights.com's Visual Trace Route right now, and it works pretty well, but shows too many unknown hosts and doesn't log.

Reason I keep harping on a continuous tracert log is that it lets me see - if there's anything to see - a before/during/after scenario when this problem occurs.  That way, it's easier to identify seemingly random problems, much like the problem Shades encountered during the World Cup matches.  That, and history:  I learned to appreciate such logs in the IT sphere before I left MCI.

Anyway, while firewall & A/V software may, from time to time, contribute to the problem, they don't seem to be the overt cause.  Been thinkin' 'bout switching to something like OpenDNS for a bit, to see if that will help, but that still would not rule out the ISP's server configuration(s), wouldn't eliminate any sort of throttling that might be extant.

I'm looking for external tools, now, because the tools intrinsic to the system just aren't giving me the information I need - or, perhaps, I'm just not sharp enough to properly interpolate/interpret that information.

[cmpm]

Could be a router issue, from searching for answers.
Connect a Computer directly to the net without the router to see.

[J-Mac]

Similar problem only with Firefox and only since 3.6: My error is always that "Server busy..." dialog which pops under FF and gives no indication it is there except that FF stops responding. Maddening! Not extension-related as it occurs in FF Safe Mode and even on a fresh install of FF without extensions.

Jim

[4wd]

Perhaps WireShark ?

I used it find out where my connection was going awry with respect to gaming servers on my previous ISP, (turned out they ran all the HTTP traffic through their proxy and you had to specifically request a destination IP bypass otherwise the packets just never got through).

Have it monitor the connection and log everything, (keep the logs smallish ~2MB and only the last few), pause it's logging when it happens and see what it says - IIRC, the log was pretty easy to understand.

[J-Mac]

4wd: I can give that a try but not sure if that can help my issue or if that is only addressing the OP.

Thank you.

Jim