ASP.NET web app works on some, not all, workstations

[JG@HG]

I have a client that has contracted with a bank to process checks over the
Internet. The solution includes a check scanner and APS.NET web application.

The application does not work for all workstations at the client site.
There are two laptop computers than can run the web application and all it's
functions w/o failure. They have been able to do this from day one w/o
modification.

No other PC workstations can run all of the web application functions. Some
page return an 'Internal Server Error' message. The page displayed is a
custom error page with no other details.

For some reason the owners of the web application have no clue why their
application will work for some, but not others.

Some facts:
All workstations are XP SP2
There is a mix of IE6 and 7 but this does not seem to be an issue because
each laptop has a different version (1 has IE7, the other has IE6).
Application will not allow browsers other than IE5.5 or higher (Firefox is
out)
The application requires an ActiveX control to interface with the scanner.
Check scanning is not an issue.

I have tried the following:
Disabling local Windows Firewall, Defender, AV
Running as local administrator

Has anyone seen something like this before?

 

[Eliyahu Goldin]

I have a scanning application that used to give me odd errors on posting
scanned images. The culprit was the browser who would take a cached version
of one of the pages instead of going for it to the server.

Start from finding out what server error causes the 'Internal Server Error'.
For that, you may need to ask the developers to provide better error
reporting or at least put the exception messages into the http response.
With that, you can use an http analyzer tool to see the errors. You can also
look in the server's http logs but they are not always helpful.

--
Eliyahu Goldin,
Software Developer
Microsoft MVP [ASP.NET]
http://msmvps.com/blogs/egoldin
http://usableasp.net

 

[JG@HG]

I'm going down that route as well. The challenge is that the bank does not
own the web app. I recently found out they have outsourced this piece. They
are working with that vendor at this time.

As for the cached scenario: My client claims they just tested the web
application on a brand new workstation that had never navigated to the site
before and still got the failure. Since I have not seen this test (plus it
was performed by an end user) I'm taking their results with a grain of salt
at this time. I will have someone a bit more technical than the receptionist
test before I come to any conclusions.

Thanks for the input!

I have a scanning application that used to give me odd errors on posting
scanned images. The culprit was the browser who would take a cached version
of one of the pages instead of going for it to the server.

Start from finding out what server error causes the 'Internal Server Error'.
For that, you may need to ask the developers to provide better error
reporting or at least put the exception messages into the http response.
With that, you can use an http analyzer tool to see the errors. You can also
look in the server's http logs but they are not always helpful.

--
Eliyahu Goldin,
Software Developer
Microsoft MVP [ASP.NET]
http://msmvps.com/blogs/egoldin
http://usableasp.net

I have a client that has contracted with a bank to process checks over the
Internet. The solution includes a check scanner and APS.NET web
application.

The application does not work for all workstations at the client site.
There are two laptop computers than can run the web application and all
it's
functions w/o failure. They have been able to do this from day one w/o
modification.

No other PC workstations can run all of the web application functions.
Some
page return an 'Internal Server Error' message. The page displayed is a
custom error page with no other details.

For some reason the owners of the web application have no clue why their
application will work for some, but not others.

Some facts:
All workstations are XP SP2
There is a mix of IE6 and 7 but this does not seem to be an issue because
each laptop has a different version (1 has IE7, the other has IE6).
Application will not allow browsers other than IE5.5 or higher (Firefox is
out)
The application requires an ActiveX control to interface with the scanner.
Check scanning is not an issue.

I have tried the following:
Disabling local Windows Firewall, Defender, AV
Running as local administrator

Has anyone seen something like this before?