NotSoNerdy.com » Troubleshooting

‘AJAXControlToolkit’ is undefined – iislog sc-win32-status = 64 and sc-status = 200

Matthew Williams — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:23:33 +0000

So I deployed a killer internal application today that well over 400 employees will be using on a daily basis. I decided to use the AJAX control toolkit to give the application better error checking and more of a windows application feel without having to deal with the deployment and maintenance of a windows app. We all know how fun that can be in an enterprise!! Needless to say, the application passed through QA with flying colors and moved on to production. That is where we ran into some problems. It was random, and it was very difficult to trace, not to mention we didn’t have technical people doing the troubleshooting at the client level. As we started to parse the IIS logs, we found that we were getting a IIS Status 64 which is a network type error from IIS. It was always preceeded with a success (200) status. Our server engineering department went the route of verifying we were all good on the network side while I kept trying to get on an effected machine.

After finally getting on the phone with someone who was experiencing the issue, I was able to determine the issue was related to a JS error. ‘AJAXControlToolkit’ is undefined. GREAT, but WHY???

SIDE NOTE: We were very early adopters of the toolkit during its beta stages. MS was great with helping to resolve issues as well as incorporate our feedback in future releases. One of those items was the script combiner in the library. The toolkit is VERY heavy when it is not compressed (~500k) based on what controls you are using. This amounts to 14 different scripts being pulled down on our servers which is one for every control type and a few for the framework itself. As you can guess, this is pretty taxing on the client vs. just getting one file. We manually implemented the script combining on our customer site which took 3 seconds off the average download time due to less items having to be called from the server. Not to mention compression that took the ~500k script to ~90k. With the following in the latest release you can do this without having a manual work around.

The problem

Bad
<ajaxtoolkit:ToolkitScriptManager ID="_ScriptManager"
     runat="server" combinescripts="true" />

Great right? Wrong… this is what was causing the issue!!! The script combiner for some reason doesn’t always generate the script for the client. It is pretty buggy actually. We were finding that clearing the users cache would only work until the next build would come out. After that, we would have to clear the cache again for all 400 clients. Because of this we were ready to scrap the controls (which MADE the application) for standard ASP.NET controls.

So, the workaround… go back to our standard hack that combined the files… and for those that don’t want to do the hack? Switch the combinescripts tag to true and your problem will go away!

The fix:

Good
<ajaxtoolkit:ToolkitScriptManager ID="_ScriptManager"
     runat="server" combinescripts="false" />

Needless to say, this was a big “phew” from us. We believe the framework has a lot of great potential for internal apps by allowing us to have a windows like feel without the deployment nightmare. The application has already proved to have a huge payoff with this fix alone. We were able to deploy enterprise wide in less than 10 seconds with an automated build.

Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server Build Install Error

Matthew Williams — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:07:03 +0000

So I was able to get TFS 2008 Build to install finally today, but not until I got passed a nasty error.

This was a pain for me, but the fix is simple. Set your Team Foundation Server Service Account (used for TFS Web Services) to a non system account. You will need to setup a domain account and not a local account to support this. Why give me the option????

Microsoft Zune MP3 Player Is Locking Up… Guess I Have To Eat Crow…

Matthew Williams — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:11:54 +0000

So I made a nice little post a while back about my Zune and how much I loved it. My relationship has quickly become a love hate type of thing now. I really do like all of the features of my Zune. The screen is amazing… the music sounds better than my iPod (could just be the headphones)… but I have one problem; the damn thing won’t stop locking up when I am in the gym. I have noticed that everytime I go to the gym and use the Zune on the treadmill the screen will shut off and the music stops playing. It then takes me about 60-120 seconds before I can use it again.

I need my music to run because it really does take my mind off the fact that I am running which makes it 20 times easier. When the damn Zune locks up I have mess with it which causes me to get burnt out much more quickly. I have tried reloading the software, the Zune, and nothing makes it work for me.

My next step is simple. I am taking it back to Costco and waiting for the next gen to come out. They have some major bugs to work out of this thing and I don’t want to wait for that to happen.

My theory as to what is causing the issue? Since the Zune only locks up in the gym I am wondering if the wireless (even though turned off) is getting some interferance from the Polar heart rate monitors that are built into the machine? Either that or it just doesn’t like exercise.

Looks like I will have to eat crow and stick with my iPod for a little while longer. Damn you Microsoft for allowing me to back you up and then crushing me like this!!! DAMN YOU!!!! I’m fine now.

Word,
Matt

Random / Strange Cursor In Firefox…

Matthew Williams — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:53:22 +0000

So I have noticed that Firefox keeps displaying this random cursor on my pages. I tried upgrading from 1.5 to 2.0 but the damn thing still wouldn’t go away. I found that the cursor is actually showing up because carat blinking was enabled. Not sure how this was enabled, but to disable it was pretty simple.

Solution:
Just hit F7 and it will be gone from your screen.

2005 Toyota Tundra Maintenance Required Light

Matthew Williams — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 02:08:17 +0000

Problem:
So I figured I would ramble about good documentation. I just got my oil changed on my 05 Toyota Tundra (Mmmm double cab, V8, 4×4… beast….) and have noticed in the manual it tells me that when the MAINT REQD light is on that means you need to change your oil. The manual makes it seem that changing the oil will remedy the problem. BULLPOOPY!! No seriously… as I sit here and ponder the MAINT REQD light I now think something is wrong with my lovely truck. Well, it turns out that the light has to be reset MANUALLY.

Solution:
To fix this you need to make sure you odometer is pointed to the odometer (i.e. Not trip A or B). Turn you key to the off position and then hold the trip reset button down. Turn your key to the on position and you will see about 5-6 hyphens that will count down. Once they have finished counting down… walla!! The light goes out.

Now, what tells this light to come on you say? Every 5,000 miles +-400 the light will come on and then you have to repeat the process. Most places you get your oil changed will know this… (mine had the new guy).

Why I am bitching??
Documentation is key when you are passing a product from the creator to the user. Average Joe will most likely look to the manual for reference when they find an issue. The issue should be clearly explained and if there is a human way to fix the issue, it should also be clearly explained. It really is that simple.