Another "Won't stay logged in using IE" Cookie Problem Thread

[RobParker]

I'm having the same problem since upgrading to 3.7

It only happens in IE and it doesn't happen to everyone.

Our cookie domains are set to / and blank.

Cookies are enabled in IE and work fine on other sites. I've also added my website to the "allowed" sites in IE as well as lowering the security settings.

No idea what to try next but lots of people seem to have the same problem...?

[Jake Bunce]

The fact that it only happens in IE for some users indicates a client problem of some kind. Tell them to clear their cookies, check their browser settings, etc. They can also try a different browser / computer if one is available to them.

[RobParker]

The fact that it only happens in IE for some users indicates a client problem of some kind. Tell them to clear their cookies, check their browser settings, etc. They can also try a different browser / computer if one is available to them.

It's happening to me as well.

I use Firefox so hadn't noticed but once people started reporting it I checked in IE and it does it to me as well.

I've cleared the cookies and temp files, it didn't make any difference.

As I said above, I added my website to my "allow" list to make sure they were being accepted and that didn't help either.

It works fine in Firefox, it's just IE.

[Steve Machol]

It could be from added IE extensions.

Try this. Create a new style and choose no parent style. This will force it to use the default templates. Then change to this style and view your forums with it. Do you have the same problem?

If you do, empty your browser cache, close all browser windows and try again.

If you do not have this problem with the original templates, then this means the problem is with one or more of your custom templates. You need to revert your templates, then redo your changes.

[pkonrath]

We ran into this with users who travel around the country a lot. No problems logging in at home or on a personal laptop, but when using a public machine they would get logged off or kicked out.

Checking the "remember me" box on login fixes it. Not that you want users to do that on a public machine, nor do I understand why this fixes it... but it does.

[atxtraveler]

I travel around a lot, so this is a major bad thing for me. My customers do in fact have places at home and work that are different machines, but that should not matter. Why is an individual machine allowing me to log in, choosing remember me, and then immediately redirecting to an unlogged in state again?

[peterska2]

Please start your own thread for your issue. Thank you.

[RobParker]

It could be from added IE extensions.

I have just the default IE7 that came with Vista as I don't use it at all so haven't added anything to it.

I'll try the style changes and let you know.

However, one of my users has found a temporary solution.

If you hold down CTRL when you click the login button it logs in fine.

Obviously not a solution and we still need to find the cause but ast least it stops our sites being unusable.

[RobParker]

Checking the "remember me" box on login fixes it. Not that you want users to do that on a public machine, nor do I understand why this fixes it... but it does.

This isn't the same issue as checking "Remember me" makes no difference I'm afraid :-(

[Steve Machol]

I have just the default IE7 that came with Vista as I don't use it at all so haven't added anything to it.

I'll try the style changes and let you know.

However, one of my users has found a temporary solution.

If you hold down CTRL when you click the login button it logs in fine.

Obviously not a solution and we still need to find the cause but ast least it stops our sites being unusable.

Then this problem is almost certainly due to a modification.

To troubleshoot this, first reupload all the original vB non-image files (except install.php). Make sure you upload these in ASCII format and overwrite the ones on the server. Also be sure to upload the admincp files to whichever directory you have set in your config.php file. Then run 'Suspect File Versions' in Diagnostics to make sure you have all the original files for your version and that none show 'File does not contain expected contents':

Admin CP -> Maintenance -> Diagnostics -> Suspect File Versions

[Note: In some cases you may also need to remove any of the listed .xml files in the includes/xml directory.]

Next, disable all plugins.

Note: To temporarily disable the plugin system, edit config.php and add this line right under <?php

define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true);

Then if you still have this problem, create a new style and choose no parent style. This will force it to use the default templates. Finally empty your browser cache, close all browser windows then try again. Make sure you change to the new style and view your forums with it. Do you have the same problem?

[Wayne Luke]

We ran into this with users who travel around the country a lot. No problems logging in at home or on a personal laptop, but when using a public machine they would get logged off or kicked out.

Checking the "remember me" box on login fixes it. Not that you want users to do that on a public machine, nor do I understand why this fixes it... but it does.

For several years now, Internet Explorer has had a bug with how it stores Temporary Internet Files. This bug allows the cache of files to become larger than what is specified in Internet Options. If the cache is taking up more space than it should, then IE might not write cookies when asked to.

The bug is caused because when storing cached versions of pages and page elements (CSS, Javascript, Images, etc...), the file space taken up by cookies is not accounted for. When storing cookies, it takes into account all the cached pages, page elements and cookies. The same bug is what causes images to be saved as "BMP" files when right-clicking them regardless of the original image type.

This is probably more prevalent on a public terminal than any other machine. Regularly clearing your Temporary Internet Files will alleviate the issue. Hopefully this is fixed in IE8 but wasn't as of the last beta.

[RobParker]

Then this problem is almost certainly due to a modification.

To troubleshoot this, first reupload all the original vB non-image files (except install.php). Make sure you upload these in ASCII format and overwrite the ones on the server. Also be sure to upload the admincp files to whichever directory you have set in your config.php file. Then run 'Suspect File Versions' in Diagnostics to make sure you have all the original files for your version and that none show 'File does not contain expected contents':

Admin CP -> Maintenance -> Diagnostics -> Suspect File Versions

[Note: In some cases you may also need to remove any of the listed .xml files in the includes/xml directory.]

Next, disable all plugins.

Note: To temporarily disable the plugin system, edit config.php and add this line right under <?php

define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true);

Then if you still have this problem, create a new style and choose no parent style. This will force it to use the default templates. Finally empty your browser cache, close all browser windows then try again. Make sure you change to the new style and view your forums with it. Do you have the same problem?

Since doing the above and holding down CTRL when logging in, I've been getting no more errors at all in IE.

I'll go through the modifications slowly and try to determine which one is causing it but at least we have a solution :-)