GameKnot: Chess related, ERROR MESSAGES

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Chess related: ERROR MESSAGES

From	Message
ggriff715btinter 27-Jul-09, 02:48	ERROR MESSAGES I am getting error messages when it is plain to see that I have not made an error. Cannot move, have to go out. I cannot make contact to Gameknot
kingdawar 27-Jul-09, 06:53	What error messages? On what page? What did you do prior to the error message? gameknot.com
ggriff715btinter 27-Jul-09, 09:04	ERROR MESSAGES Sorry my husband has not taken note of the error message descriptions. He has just got another one when again he did nothing wrong. I cannot find answer in Help and cannot find anyway of contacting Gameknot. He just went out of gameknot when it happened again so I could not check what the error message was. Will ask him to let me know next time and I will check what it is. He just got annoyed and went out! Thanks.
kingdawar 27-Jul-09, 14:25	Perhaps your web browser has some issues. GK never returns random "error messages" as far as I am aware.
lighttotheright 27-Jul-09, 18:27	It could your browser, cookies, or malware. Which browser are you using? I notice the new Firefox sometimes gives error messages, but that is random and not specific to GK. Usually hitting the refresh button clears things up for a while. But I have a feeling that you're talking about a different problem.
ggriff715btinter 28-Jul-09, 08:08	ERROR MESSAGES Thank you 'heinzkat' and 'lighttotheright', My husband's browser is IE and your mention of browser etc. got me thinking of other things to check on and the fact that when he called me to another error this morning I realised his mouse has disconnected! Then I find out this has been happening during the last few days and he has been reconnecting it. I presume this could cause GK to record an error message. I have just ordered him a new mouse and hopefully all will be well. Thanks to you both for your time. Best wishes Mavis
kingdawar 28-Jul-09, 08:19	Hi I am wondering what exact text can be read? That should clarify.
baronderkilt 28-Jul-09, 15:13	I am hard on mouses myself ... and have found three kinds of problem personally. The first, stepping on your mouse, we can rule out since you know it when it happens. The second is the loose connection, which your replacement of the mouse should fix. The third is a disconnect caused by corrosion on the contacts of the computer and/or mouse however. So if the new mouse still disconnects you just need to spray a little contact cleaner on and plug/unplug the mouse a few times to loosen and remove the buildup. Rubbing alcohol seems to work very well too. Of course, as mentioned by heinzkat , he can tell you just what is happening from the precise error message and you may wish to take him up on that. I would. Regards, Craig
ggriff715btinter 29-Jul-09, 04:20	ERROR MESSAGE Hi Heinzkat the error message was 'This is an illegal move'. Thank you Craig and your advice. If the new mouse still causes a problem then will try what you suggest. Regards, Mavis
kingdawar 29-Jul-09, 09:42	A message on GameKnot says that? I have never seen any such message, and it won't show up either if I try to make an illegal move. GameKnot's board just disallows the execution of a certain move, but never returns a message "you can't do that - illegal move", as far as I am aware. In what game (against which opponent) does it give this message?
ggriff715btinter 29-Jul-09, 11:59	ERROR MESSAGE Hello Heinzkat, I am not sure of the exact wording, but there was a red X maybe it said it was not a legal move. My husband has had a number of them but did not write them down and when he went back into GK the opponents game had disappeared, I think that is what he is telling me. He just went out of GK so there was nothing for me to see. I have been out to buy a new mouse and everything seems to be working normally now, I do hope so. As you have probably gathered he doesn't know much about computers and just shouts help from me! Anyway many thanks for your help and am sorry I cannot tell you more about the problem. Best wishes Mavis
kingdawar 29-Jul-09, 15:14	This one? Picture (click): gameknot.com Perhaps, I am guessing here, you are trying to make moves in games it is not your turn to move but your opponent's, or moves in positions that have already passed. Try clearing your cache. Link (click): gameknot.com
kingdawar 29-Jul-09, 15:15	Does it say: "ERROR: Illegal move for p" ?
lighttotheright 29-Jul-09, 18:12	Games are disappearing from the list??? That suggests that data is not loading into your browser properly. That's happened to me before, but not in a very long time. Malware was responsible at the time. I'm afraid to direct you to a specific program to correct the problem. My sister-in-law had a malware problem and I directed her to spybot search and destroy. She tried to download the program and ended up downloading more malware instead. Spybot search and destroy is probably the best and cheapest thing to do, but you have to know exactly what you are downloading because there are a lot of one offs that exploit the name.
lighttotheright 29-Jul-09, 18:19	Another possibility is that you don't have the latest version of IE. Except the latest version of IE don't not work properly with the older operating systems. If you are using Vista or Windows XP, then you should be OK to get the updated version. Windows 98 cannot be used with the newer IE versions. Conflicts between browser and operating system can cause this problem.
lighttotheright 29-Jul-09, 18:23	When tracking down this sort of problem, try one possible solution at a time. If something goes wrong and makes things worse, you know what you did so that you can reverse it.
ggriff715btinter 30-Jul-09, 04:45	ERROR MESSAGES Hi Heinzkat, It is the red X as you describe. I have cleared the cache of files as suggested. This morning my husband has just had the ERROR - 'There is nothing to move at this location' and have seen this for myself. Like you suggest does this mean he is making moves before he should do? Or making moves that have passed? Thanks for your time. Mavis
ggriff715btinter 30-Jul-09, 04:52	ERROR MESSAGES Hi lighttotheright, I have checked and he has the latest Windows IE v.8, he downloaded at the end of May, could this have been a problem? Although you say he needed that. His operating system is Windows XP. He has McAfee with all the extras so would think that would be okay, but can check out Spybot Research and Destroy. Thanks very much. Regards Mavis
kingdawar 30-Jul-09, 04:55	Hi Yes, now it is clear that he is shown positions, that are not the actual positions he is the one to make a move in! Not sure how to get rid of this error. Clearing cache should help, but you tried this apparently and it did not help? It is a problem of "caching". The internet browser program saves the pages you visit, and when you later revisit them, it will show the page that it has saved the first time, instead of the updated/fresh page in which there have been made new moves. There should be a setting somewhere: Try, in an Internet Explorer window, "Tools" -> "Internet options". In the "General" tab, in the section "Browsing history", click "settings". "Temporary Internet Files Internet Explorer stores copies of webpages, images, and media for faster viewing later. Check for newer versions of stored pages: x Every time I visit the webpage x Every time I start Internet Explorer x Automatically x Never" You should select the first option and apply the changes...!
ggriff715btinter 30-Jul-09, 07:11	ERROR MESSAGES Hi Heinzkat, I have just done what you suggested and selected the first option, it was actually on Automatically. So hopefully this may solves the problem now. I have also scanned with Spybot Search and Destroy and it has come up with a Trojan Win32.Small.ih amongst all the usual spy sites. Many thanks for all your help. Mavis
lighttotheright 30-Jul-09, 09:18	Mavis Win32.Small.ih is a particularly nasty downloader program. When it is active (which it appears to have been) it can cause the type of problem you described initially. Don't do any finance stuff on the computer until you are sure it has been cleared. This thing likes to reproduce and spreads very easily. Spybot search and destroy can detect and get rid of it but sometimes this Trojan reproduces itself during the cleaning process. You might want to run the scan again and if it shows up then fix it again. You may have to scan and fix while the computer is in safe mode. You won't know until you cleaned and turned off the machine, then turned it on and scanned again. Again information is not safe with this trojan on your machine. The threat level is high. Somebody is trying to either mine information from your machine or turn it into a zombie for hacking purposes. Given that you have the browser problem, my guess is zombie. This thing will try to download other newer virus and programs that may go undetected for a while. So you are going to have to monitor this computer for viruses and malware repeatedly for a while and at frequent regular intervals. I know that it is a pain, but it is necessary. Recommendation is a high quality up to date detection program. McAfee should work but you need all of its files completely updated. McAfee is one of those virus detection programs that must be up dated frequently to be effective. Scan with Spybot Search and Destroy in addition to the normal virus scan. Do both daily until you have a couple of days in a row with nothing detected. Then do it weekly on an ongoing basis. Once you go weekly with nothing harmful detected, then you probably are safe for finance stuff on the computer. But wait a few weeks from this initial instance just to be safe.
ggriff715btinter 30-Jul-09, 14:32	ERROR MESSAGES Hi lighttotheright, I deleted Win32.small.ih, hopefully that is okay? I wondered after if it should just be immunized and maybe that file was needed for something else. It can be quite confusing as these a/v and spybot programs are never very clear on what one should do, they ultimately leave it up to oneself saying 'are you sure you don't need this file etc.? Hope you understand what I mean. Anyway it has gone now. Thank you for telling me about this Trojan and what it does. I will scan daily with Spybot until it is not there and then, like you say, do it at intervals. My husband's McAfee only seems to be set for a weekly scan and I cannot find anywhere to change that but get in touch with them to scan daily. I thought they updated whenever there is an update but will check that with them. I am with AVG and have it set for a daily scan and AVG updates nearly every day. I have just clicked into Messages and have had a reply from GK customer support saying that the problem is caused by using the browser's back button and to only use the Gameknot Menu. I have just got my husband to make two moves and both have worked! As previously today at least four games have disappeared. He will play more tomorrow and hopefully they will work now, he didn't seem to be aware that he had been doing that or even if he always did before. Many thanks again for all your help and my husband sends his thanks also. Regards Mavis
ggriff715btinter 30-Jul-09, 14:37	ERROR MESSAGES Hi Heinzat, I have just clicked into Messages (I thought they would send an email so only just seen it) and have had a reply from GK customer support saying that the problem is caused by using the browser's back button and to ONLY use the Gameknot Menu. I have just got my husband to make two moves and both have worked! As previously today at least four games have disappeared. He will play more tomorrow and hopefully they will work now, he didn't seem to be aware that he had been doing that or even if he always did that before. Maybe it had something to do with the Trojan that Spybot found. Thank you so much for all your time in helping me and my husband also sends his thanks. Best wishes. Mavis
lighttotheright 30-Jul-09, 18:58	Yes, deleting the file was OK as long as you did it through Spybot Search and Destroy. That way any reference in your registry is handled too. Yes, you should immunize. It will protect you from known sites that spread new malware and viruses around or download programs onto your computer without your permission. Automatic updates are a good idea; but when these malicious programs get onto your hard drive they sometimes block anti-virus definition file updates. This strategy of the criminals is becoming more common these days and allows them to siphon off your system resources without the user knowing. The user thinks they are still protected and they are not (at least not from that specific hacker). Sometimes they even block the anti-viral sites completely so that you cannot even update manually. You should have the option somewhere to update McAfee files manually. Try it to make sure the McAfee site has not been blocked. You are probably OK though. This suggestion is just a precaution. As far as the back button is concerned, I do that all the time and encounter no problems with my system. Yet, each system is different. It could have possibly contribute to your problem; but my experience at correcting it in the past has been getting rid of malware and/or fixing the registry with specialize computer software (we won't go into that part).
wildbillnum1 25-Oct-09, 19:26	Can't move cause it's NOT my turn,but computer insists it is Asked the opponent (from another game of ours) to try, but he apparently didn't read the Msg. What about how to contact the webmaster????

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