One of the primary root causes of the recent instability and performance issues with the overall site - and especially the Collector Zone - was determined to be a faulty memory module. This evening, that memory module was removed. Once that happened, I was able to successfully perform various tasks to check, repair and optimize the Collector Zone data as well as create an additional backup of important data.

At this time, the managed dedicated server is currently operating with half of its normal memory. An additional hardware change will be made soon in order to restore the server to previous memory levels. Once that repair is scheduled, I will inform everyone with an update in this topic.

Bottom line is that we're currently operating much better with half the memory, but only "good" memory! Plus, we'll be back to full strength soon! Then, I can finally begin to sleep again and all of you can point your browser in the direction of TCC and know that you'll once again be experiencing fast performance and stability.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during these periods of recent, less-than-acceptable downtimes.

Bob Williams
President & CEO
TradingCardCentral.com

A POX ON FAULTY MEMORY MODULES. Lucky I had some krispy kreme and NBA Finals to tide me over.

Krispy kremes stink!!! I'm into the real homemade donuts

No worries Bob. A small price to pay to enjoy all the TCC has to offer

Thanks Bob!

Now I can get back to our Box Breaks this week

You deserve a fruit basket.

Hard work and no play makes BOB a dull boy.

I believe this may be a first for the Collector Zone.

-Bob

As we get older our memory bvegins to become "faulty" we refer to it as Old-timers or as Denny Crane calls it "Mad Cow" , I had no idea that this same affliction could happen to computer chips and boards..

As an update...

The nightly backup process ran this morning without any issues - another very positive test since that process is memory-intensive and had been causing problems on many days recently.

So, it appears that we're moving in the right direction quickly!

I'll be following up with the hosting company later this morning about a schedule to complete the final hardware change (and possibly an upgrade to actually increase the memory level beyond its previous level).

-Bob

blasphemer!

Your a naughty boy.

Thanks for all you do Bob, hopefully this will end your headaches and allow you to enjoy the site again instead of it being "work"

Just as general information...

The nightly backup process will now begin at 4 AM EST and is normally completed in less than one hour. When the process first begins, you might notice a brief period (2-3 minutes) of "lagging" on the site. However, this process is now scheduled to take place during the slowest period of activity each day. Therefore, the extra "load" may not affect the members that are indeed active at that time.

Previously, the nightly backup process began at 1 AM EST. At that time, we often still have significant activity on the site and the "lagging" may have been more obvious.

So, this is one example of an improvement that was triggered by the recent issues.

-Bob

there are no krispy kremes around here although ive had them before and in the microwave they are soooooooooooooooo good

and thank you Bob there was a problem this morning but glad to see its fixed

Thanks for your hard work Bob!

I was mildly disappointed to see a "maintenance" message last night (no TCC ), but I knew it meant Bob was hard at work getting the past problems taken care of!

Thanks Bob for running TCC the way it should be run!!

As an update...

At some point between 10 PM EST and 11 PM EST (approximate) tonight, the site will be offline for approximately 5-10 minutes while additional memory is installed in order to bring the server back to its previous overall memory levels.

So, after tonight, we should be completely back to normal and striving for 100% uptime each day!

-Bob

P.S. Here are the server uptime percentages from yesterday and today (based on new automated monitoring service every 5 minutes): 99.695% and 100.000%

As an update...

The server was offline for less than 5 minutes at approximately 9:50 PM EST this evening. During that time, the server was restored to previous overall memory levels.

So, at this point, we are officially back to normal. Now, I'm finally off to enjoy the site as a collector again!

-Bob

I slept well last night. How about all of you?

-Bob

Got home from work at 2am, went to bed at 3am and got up at 9am......so about normal for a work day

I slept great last night!



Bob - a collector? Having fun? It will be nice to see this kind of Bob around again!

It will be nice to be that "Bob" again - even if only for a short period of time!

Sadly, operating a site (especially of this size) related to a personal hobby often means that you lose your ability to enjoy that hobby in the same way.

-Bob

Your efforts are certainly appreciated.... I have missed the site and am glad to see the many improvements in content and activity!!