Strange Problem Connecting to the Forum

About two months ago I started having problems connecting with the Forum. I get an error message saying "Error 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable" when I try connecting through my home's ISP. When connecting from a hotel -- as I am now -- there is no problem.

I thought this error message was caused by the websites's server being out of service. Obviously this is not the case. So has anyone else encountered this problem and know how to remedy it?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

I got this message 2 weeks ago. When I reset my modem, (took a couple tries), it went away, and I haven't had it since. Maybe it was coincidence, but it could be that resetting the modem was the fix for me.

#4horse said:

... I get an error message saying "Error 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable" ...

Click to expand...

Details and many possible explanations can be found here:

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerrormessage/a/503error.htm

However the really short version is that this is typically an intermittent error, and could just be that this is a coincidence that it occurs at a time when you can see it. I'm thinking many other folks will too, as UU has LOTS of members, but likely they do not report the error and go off to another web site and check back later, since this is kind of a normal thing to see every once in a while.

Some web sites put up a page that says 'down for maintenance, please check back later' or 'server is overloaded, we're working on it, please check back later' but that is up to the webmaster to create such a custom page and to have a script in place to put that up for the web site's domain when the server is purposely taken offline. Also, this is somewhat under the control of the hosting company where UU lives, and likely not related to your ISP.

If your DNS resolution was failing (that would likely be the fault of your ISP, unless you are using something like OpenDNS (208.67.220.220),or Google DNS (8.8.8.8) instead of the DNS provided by your ISP.

503 is a serverside refusal to protect the server from overload. Most commonly it's either:
- a coincidence, it's just too busy
or
-your specific PC us refused, because your PC is demanding too much cpu-power from the server.

The latter could mean you have a problem with your PC. Could be malware that tries to spam the server or something else.

If I were you I would run Malwarebytes (Google for it) to see if you have malware.

Rodney. said:

503 is a serverside refusal to protect the server from overload. Most commonly it's either:
- a coincidence, it's just too busy
or
-your specific PC us refused, because your PC is demanding too much cpu-power from the server.

The latter could mean you have a problem with your PC. Could be malware that tries to spam the server or something else.

If I were you I would run Malwarebytes (Google for it) to see if you have malware.

Click to expand...

Don't forget that Malwarebytes only runs on Windows, and if in the case if 4horse is using a Mac running OSX or a computer running Linux, then the best solution to scan for threats in that case is likely ClamXav or ClamAV respectively. There is also a Windows port called ClamWin.

The Mac version is no longer free but the Windows and Linux version are, and if you want a GUI program to initiate the scan, the app ClamTK is available in most Linux repos.

http://www.clamxav.com/

http://www.clamav.net/

http://www.clamwin.com/

It happened in January when the forum blocked out my ISP. My cell phone could log on, but not my home laptop. I had to give Ryan my ISP address whereupon he rectified the situation. There's other ways to go about it, but it all worked out in the end. I have a Mac btw.

Peace Train said:

It happened in January when the forum blocked out my ISP. My cell phone could log on, but not my home laptop. I had to give Ryan my ISP address whereupon he rectified the situation. There's other ways to go about it, but it all worked out in the end. I have a Mac btw.

Click to expand...

yes that is true Peace but you just couldn't get on uu forums, there was no server 503 huh, as you got locked out of UU forums and ryan had to add you back on right

In my case, it seems to have been my modem or ISP. I couldn't get to UU with my computer or tablet, but could get to UU when away from home. Resetting the modem seems to have cleared it up, or at least I haven't had the problem for the last 2 weeks.

Thank you!

Thanks all. Your responses have been very helpful. Based on what you wrote, I believe the problem is with either my ISP or my modem. I have anti-malware software (first Kaspersky and later Avast) on my Mac and the 503 error occurs on it and my iPad when used at home. When both are remote, no problem. I'll follow up with my ISP and hopefully post again in a couple of weeks. _/\_

Happened to me about the same time frame. I had access to my home wifi as well as a guest wifi with just a quick change. Guest wifi connected my home wifi did not...........multiple times in quick succession. I also thought it was just the site being busy, but this test said it was me! I pulled my router power and battery and left it off overnight. In the morning my ISP had assigned me a new IP and I haven't had a problem since.