my apologies if this is not the appropriate location for this post. i shall move it to the correct place once i know where.



i have been recently asked to help troubleshoot an installation of DMX 3.5.6 on a DNN 4.4.1 portal. here is a clip the portal is getting from the event logs:

DefaultDataProvider: DotNetNuke.Data.SqlDataProvider, DotNetNuke.SqlDataProvider
ExceptionGUID: cc42985f-5ba4-4323-94f7-7568ed152f05
InnerException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
FileName:
FileLineNumber: 0
FileColumnNumber: 0
Method: Bring2mind.DNN.Modules.DMX.Controls.EntryPermissionsGrid.a
StackTrace:
Message: DotNetNuke.Services.Exceptions.PageLoadException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. ---> System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at Bring2mind.DNN.Modules.DMX.Controls.EntryPermissionsGrid.a(Int32 A_0, Int32 A_1) at Bring2mind.DNN.Modules.DMX.Controls.EntryPermissionsGrid.GetPermission(PermissionInfo objPerm, RoleInfo role, Int32 column) at DotNetNuke.Security.Permissions.Controls.PermissionsGrid.BindGrid() at DotNetNuke.Security.Permissions.Controls.PermissionsGrid.OnPreRender(EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) --- End of inner exception stack trace ---


i have been told that the issue started about a week ago. i am able to recreate the error. it happens when we try and upload a new file. i can create a folder without error. i am being brought in a week into the issue due to me being part of the original team that installed the portal for the end user. so i am trying to bring myself up to speed.

any pointers would be nice. and if i an update needs to be installed, like to version 4 or 5 i can pass that on to the end user. my only question with that would be is there a migration tool for all documents or will they move automatically after an upgrade.

please and thank you.

i was able to successfully upload a zip file and have it unzip. then i tried to repeat and it did not work.

the view i get is the page timing out when the upload does not work. i watched the network traffic on my machine when uploading and it appears an initial bit of information is sent and then nothing. i have timed the page and it times out at the 2 minute mark as expected from the setting in the web.config file.

i have confirmed the last time that DMX was used was last summer. and we can also still download files. i cannot copy and paste or cut and paste a file. i actually get an error on the page itself when i do that. it states, "A critical error has occurred. Object reference not set to an instance of an object." i can create new and delete folders without any error. i have tested with IE8, IE9, and firefox 3.6.15 with no difference in results.

i know its not an IIS issue. i have made the change in IIS to increase file size uploads. and i tested with a 88MB file via ftp to the same server.

i went into the file manager built into DNN and it can upload and download just fine. i can upload and download using the DNN document module without error.

i wonder at this point if some files for the DMX module have gotten corrupt. if a simple copy and paste of dmx module files may fix the issue.

so i tested with smaller files. and i am now consistently getting a post back page and not just timing out. each time i get this error:
A critical error has occurred.
Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

which is expected after what i find in the event logs. and i assume this is what is called the view state, as it has changed. the only module on the page is the DMX module. and it does not show in the container. its like its a blank HTML module on the page.

i have received an email from peter that informed me of what i thought was going on. there is a private function that does not seem to be passing security/role information properly. i do not have the source code for DMX so i am not sure what i can do to effect any change, or even pull into a dev environment and use a break point to capture the movement through those lines.

i have downloaded the DMX lite, which appears is version 3.7.0. a bit newer than what the one i am working but i was hoping close enough. i made a back up the current DMX files and started copying over the newer files. i not only copied the module install files but also the dll files in the bin. the only change i made was making the module and the site non functioning for a moment. oops, lol. so i put it all back.

IMO i have exhausted all i can do. even restoring a backup from the last known working copy. as that was 7+ months ago and the backups only go back 90 days. i am hoping a simple of a reinstall of the module will work, which unfortunately the install files are not held by the end user but by the original designers of the site. so maybe installing a copy of the DMX lite will work, i hope. i pray at this point that someone else has done this successfully. i did see in another post i found a copying of files did work, but i assume it was with the same version of the ones currently running.
http://www.bring2mind.net...v/topic/Default.aspx

Hi Josh,

I will tread lightly here, as there is clearly a lot I do not know about this portal. You state you are on DMX 3.5.6 and DNN 4.4.1, both of which are quite old, but that does not mean they shouldn't work.

You also indicate someone has told you the system was functional "last summer" which I presume means they could upload files to DMX "last summer". So something has changed. DMX isn't going to just break, unless someone has damaged the DMX files, or something is wrong with the database, etc.

However, I suspect it is just as likely someone has installed one or more third party modules which has inadvertently broken DMX. I would definitely not start attempting DNN or DMX upgrades until you get the portal working properly again at the current revision of everything. I think you would just cause yourself further trouble.

Since you were involved in the original implementation, can you determine what modules may have been added since then, and of course, when they were added? That may help you unravel the situation.

You may also want to run a DBCC CHECKDB operation on the database to make certain it has no errors.

The DNN Event log might also help you find if modules were installed since last summer.

I hope you can pinpoint the problem.

Rob

since the portal was originally installed approximately 3.5 years ago the only installation of any more modules was 3 years ago of the DMX module. the DMX module was working up till the last time they tried to upload any files which was late last summer. i did confirmed this with the people that use it day to day managing the content.

the company i used to work for that installed it kept all the module installation software. that company is non-responsive as well when it comes to attempts for help.

i will keep in mind the DB check you recommend. all other functionality in the site works. every single other module i have tested. i can add, delete, move pages, content, and random other modules without error. i can even download files from multiple instances of DMX on the site. i cannot copy and paste though. it seems the change involved with upload and/or moving files is the issue for some reason. and has been mentioned by peter donker in a direct email to me it is likely the site not able to pass a variable referencing the security role of the individual attempting to upload the files.

as for what has changed, that still has me stumped. with backups only going back 90 days i may not be able to go back far enough to a working copy.

i talked to the one of the powers that be about the situation. if i cannot fix this issue by tuesday i am to find an alternate document management piece so a bid process can be completed by the end of the month.

Hi Josh,

Since Peter is suggesting it likely involves an issue with the user's security role:
-Definitely run the dB check operation since security role info is obvisously stored in the dB

-If you are logged in as a "Host" user for your troubleshooting, that could be part of the problem you are seeing. I seem to recall security role issues with host users because of the lack of any security roles associated with them.

-Try logging in as a Portal Admin, or better yet, a standard user in the correct security role.

-Check what security roles are allowed to add content to the DMX module and the related security settings on the module.

-Ensure you can create a new test user added to appropriate security role

-Ensure you can create a new security role and add to the DMX module with the correct permission for adding content. Add the test user to this new role.

Perhaps Peter has a DMX 3.5.6 PA he can provide to you. I don't know if installing over the existing module is recommended, but at least you could ensure all the DLLs and other module specific files are good by simple copy paste operations. (Although that method has no affect on dB tables associated with the module.)

You are likely to have trouble finding a new module you can safely install on DNN 4.4.1 siince most modules have dependencies on later DNN 4 or DNN 5 versions.

Rob Ralston
SilverBullet Technologies LLC

ok, i tested out uploading with various users and various roles. i tried an admin, no go. i tried a limited user with edit permissions on the module and on various folders, no go.

i do not have direct access to the SQL management console. i have asked the IT support staff to run the recommended DB command.

Well, I have run out of ideas short of Peter providing the DMX 3.5.6 PA and advising you on how to ensure all the files are correct (install over exisiting or do the copy/paste).

Were you able to create new users and security roles to test with?

Looks like you have run into the proverbial "nothing has changed" situation, when something must have changed.

Sorry I could not help further.

Rob Ralston
SilverBullet Technologies LLC

This is pretty hard to debug as it is a combination of products that are years old. The only way forward is probably to take a copy of the site to your local machine ans start playing with it there. Given this product is this old I can't promise I can help you with this as it can be extremely time consuming. But you can contact us by email to discuss a best way forward with costs involved.

Peter

after more testing on this site using other components it appears to be a DNN issue not a DMX issue. as i am starting to see issues throughout the site that i did not with just random testing earlier on. i have run the DB check with no errors found. i found a copy of he site in their archive taken right after the original install of DMX, copied the module installs files over and it did not work. i also tried an upgrade to a newer version of DNN with no luck. and i did try moving to 4.9, 5.1, and 5.5 all with errors.

i have gotten the client up to a functional point to complete a current project by months end as planned. at that point we are going to discuss a rebuild using dnn 5.6.x and a new DMX module.