RootsChat.Com
General => Technical Help => Topic started by: Rosemarie on Tuesday 17 August 04 19:27 BST (UK)
-
Hi Everybody
Apologies if this subject has been dealt with before but does anybody know whay's going on with the Family Search site for the 1881 Census? Sometimes it works but mostly it says something about 'maintenance' and it's been like this for weeks now.
Rosemarie.
-
Hi Rosemarie,
Yes I have found the same, sometimes I have ignored it and it worked!!! The 1881 census is also available free online at the site below. Although it is fee paying for other entries it is not for the 1881. Just register and away you go. Hope this may help you.
Regards, Frances
http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/
-
Thanks for that info Frances.
I've come across the site you recommended and assumed it was all pay-per-view but I'll check it out more thoroughly now The Family Search site is a wonderful resource but it's been so erratic lately and I've wasted so much time that it's really frustrating- it's difficult to type with my fingers crossed all the time too!
Rosemarie.
-
Hi there,
The LDS FamilySearch site has been displaying this message for some time now. I have been ignoring it, and you may have to click a couple of times, but it will eventually work. I suspect they have been experiencing heavy traffic, rather than an actual problem.
Kazza.
-
I have the 1881 census on CD, if you are having no luck with the LDS site, I can do some lookups for you.
Post your requests here and I will get to them as soon as I can. This evening hopefully.
Tom
-
Hi Tom
Thanks for your generous offer but I won't impose. My own research seems to have stalled for the time being but I'm indexing a piece of West Derby 1871 and have been using 1881 and 1901 to try to verify some of the names which are less clear than I would like - that's a euphemism for illegible! It's a bit tedious and has slowed me down but I hate putting question marks and using the other two censuses has helped in a number of cases.
I'm off to Melbourne at the end of the month for six weeks (baggage handlers and check-in staff at Heathrow permitting) so I've been racing to get the piece finished before I go and the problems with the 1881 site haven't helped. Furtunately I'm almost done now and hope to submit it this week.
Thanks and best wishes, Rosemarie.
-
I noticed this problem too and noticed it seems to be worse if you are searching and include a first name....
-
Hi
When using the LDS 1881 site I've clicked over and over again, often without success. The most anoying thing though is when it eventually works after many tries, I click on an individual and when I click to return to search results I'm returned to the home page. Then I can't get it to work yet again.
I've wasted hours trying to get info I'd have had immediately in the past. I've always been amazed at how quick it's been.
Nothing's forever I suppose!
Best wishes, Rosemarie..
-
Hi Rosemarie... when you click on a name to view the individual or the family... hold the SHIFT key down when you click and the page will open in a new browser... then when you close it... you are still at the same spot. Saves quite a bit of time.
Peter.
-
Hi John
Thanks for the hint on opening items in a new browser. I hate to admit it but I didn't know anything about that. Returned today from holiday in Mebourne and at present I feel as though my brain's gone AWOL so when it feels normal again, or as normal as it ever gets, I'll check out what you've suggested.
Regards, Rosemarie.
-
I have found that you can often access the 1881 census details if you get to them "through the back door", so to speak.
What you need to do is, instead of selecting 'Census', select 'All Resoucres', then when the results are listed for your search, scroll down until you get to the 1881 British Census. You can normally now view the results.
Obviously this method won't work if you are researching common names as not enough results will show up on the 'All Resources' results page, due to lack of space.
Hope this helps
Amy
-
I use it the way Amy describes also... but don't forget to select the OVER 25 if it is displayed at the bottom of each section. Then click the REFINE SEARCH at the top and narrow down your search by adding more criteria.
Cheers, Peter
-
evening all!!
anyone found freebmd ''service not available'' tonight?? Been getting this message for about an hour now!!
as you were soldier!
sue ;)
-
I get the same. Want to try the chatroom instead? Ticker wants more bodies.
-
I suspect that a lot of the internet genealogy sites are fairly overloaded at the moment with that TV programme (about celebrities finding their roots) spurring a bit more interest in the general public. Freebmd often overloads though, and you just have to be patient and try again some other time.
-
itoo tried for hours to get on with no joy
JOE
-
seemed to be working OK a couple of hours ago :) but it didn't tell me what I wanted to know :(
-
I've been trying off and on for an hour now and just tried again and it is still not working. Just went my computer of kid free and I really want to find something.
Jacquie.
-
FreeBMD hasnt been working all day today was not working for long last night either annoying as that is the only site that is free that you can link peoples marrages if you only know one partner think i will have to look elsewere to see if there is any other sites the same
-
Doesn't anyone use the FREE part of Ancestry.com to find BMD's?
It's certainly quicker.
-
You have to register now.
Does that cause any problems?
bearkat
-
I'd be happy to do a look up on Ancestry BMD if you give me some details.
Cheers, India :D
-
All marriages after 1837 are free to view on Ancestry and baptisms although like freebmd they don't give parents. All you have to do is have a login in name and password but it won't cost you. Anjo
-
The main problem with searching for marriages on ANCESTRY is that you can only enter one of the couples names in the search criteria I think.
-
Sue
I think freebmd doesn't like the question you are asking half the time, give it less options, narrow the search right down and suddenly it decides to talk to you!
Anyway, have you tried the VIEW IMAGES OPTION on freebmd which is a series of dropdown boxes (you input nothing) which reveals the original GRO b/m/d index. Not all years are there but certainly enough to keep you interested and it goes upto 1910 with the odd years missing.
When you go on freebmd, you press the red search button which is down a bit and left, this being what you normally do! once on the input page you will note above the boxes the VIEW IMAGES OPTION.
Have a go
Regards
Bryant
-
Hi Bryant.
I wish I knew how you could do the . option search ou are talking about as it doesnt work when I try it any ideas please
-
Sylvia
The VIEW IMAGES is a series of dropdown boxes (you input nothing) which reveals the original GRO b/m/d index. Not all years are there but certainly enough to keep you interested and it goes upto 1910 with the odd years missing.
When you go on freebmd, you press the red search button which is down a bit and left, this being what you normally do! once on the input page you will note above the boxes the VIEW IMAGES OPTION.
The dropdown boxes are as follows:-
1/ Birth Marriage or Death
2/ Year
3/ Quarter
4/ Letters of name
after going through those dropdown boxes you choose a delivery medium to display, I personally use the one immediately to the right of the dropdown boxes which is "display as PDF file" you then click on that two or 3 times and BINGO.
It sounds complicated but it isn't, you don't input anything, its all done by dropdown boxes!
"One little point" I use broadband, I don't know what it would be like using dial-up ?
Have a go
Regards
Bryant
-
I actually emailed Free BMD re the problem on Saturday and received this reply this morning:
On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 13:22:47 EDT, you wrote:
Hi
Q: I've been encountering problems using the search facility all day today, Saturday 16th October 2004. A page appears with the message "service not
available" as opposed to the more usual "server busy".
A: This was due to a database server problem.
Q: Any idea when this is likely to clear?
A: The problem was cleared within 30 seconds of us checking the server yesterday morning.
Unfortunately, FreeBMD doesn't have 24/7 support, and problems cannot be cleared instantly, particularly at weekends.
We would ask all our users to be patient if a problem occurs. We will fix it as soon as humanly possible, and e-mails reporting it as a problem won't result in us being able to fix it any sooner.
--
Dave Mayall
-
Personally I think the "view images" option is what is slowing the whole site down in the first place.
-
hi bryant have tried what you said but afraid it doesnt work on my computer perhaps i have the wrong software as i still have windows 98 and a dial up network
-
is it me or is anyone else having probs using the LDS website?
Finally found ahuge lead and go to the family search and bang! its not working >:(
isnt it always the way!
-
I keep getting "search not available due to maintenance" but find if I click again I often get where I want to be!
Jill
-
I got that before but now I get internal error messages :(
It wont let me search any catagory, IGI, Census, Ped file etc etc
-
Same here...internal message thingy once I fill in the IGI search form & press 'search'. 'Spose, just be patient >:(
Jane
-
S'pose Ive waited this long for this lead so may as well wait a tads longer
I'll go and pace the room again I think :)
-
I've been getting these errors more and more often. Possibly a result of traffic increasing on their databases?
Normally I go back and research once or twice and get what I want, well at least the results anyway.
All the best,
Pam
;D
-
i tried to get on there early hours this morning and was getting the same thing! Annoying aint it!
Still we get the info for nothing so we should'nt complain too loudly, i suppose.
-
its been the same for me today lds so i went and watched footy instead
PSwish id carried on trying :(
-
it was the same for so i gave up and watched footy on telly
P S wish now i had carried on trying :(
-
FreeBMD are currently displaying the following message:
At the moment. FreeBMD is a victim of its own success.
So many people are trying to search that we are having trouble coping with all the searches.
If your search fails, please try again later.
Alternatively, you can try searching a copy of the FreeBMD database at Ancestry.com
FreeBMD is least busy between midnight and 06:00 (GMT)
Work is in hand to commission additional database servers to handle the excess demand. The additional capacity should be on-line in late November or early December
So there is still hope. ;D
Kazza.
-
Is it me??
For a couple of months now I haven't been able to open up the census on familysearch, I have had to complete details for a baptism/marriage which also brings up the entries on the 1881 census and go in that way. Clicking on census brings up half the page and a message saying the site is under maintenance.
Today, exactly the same thing has started to happen with Ancestry. I have completed the details on the search screen, clicked search and then get a page telling me this site is under maintenance. I persevered, went back to the previous page and then hit search again. Sometimes it lets me in - most of the time it won't.
I have checked the boards as far as I can for a thread on a similar topic but can't find one. If I missed one - my apologies.
A word of warning! My computer vocabulary is limited to the words "computer" and "keyboard". Could someone draw me a diagram please?
Thank you in advance
Eileen
-
Hi Eileen,
No,its not you ;D
The familysearch(LDS) site has been undergoing maitenance for ages now,it's quite a hit or miss affair :(
I've also had similar problems with Ancestry of late,but they never seem to be offline for too long,hopefully it's because they are adding lots of new counties to the collection,but don't hold your breath! ;D
Best wishes,Mick ;)
-
I suspect the problem is the sites are busy.
On the ancestry site not seen the problem, but they may be loading more data. If they are then the computers on the other end are trying to do more things at once than they normally do.
A bit like trying to cook complex food while trying to do other jobs, one or the other normally suffers.
I think the Family search is over worked as well and the maintenance error is simply put up by the system automatically when it does not get a response from the data servers quick enough, I find 6am on a sunday morning is best for response on both ancestry, family search and FreeBMD.
America is in bed and most of the UK are not up yet.
-
Eileen
Its not just you, its me too!
Ancestry seem to be doing some maintenance today as it has been a bit hit and miss. I have also had some problems with family search. Come back to me if you continue to have problems tomorrow and we can then consider if its some other problem at your end.
Hope this helps.
-
Hi eileenb,
Have also been having the same problems with the LDS site and just received a very strange notice from it. The notice reads: Your access to FamilySearch.org has been temporarily suspended. Your computer has sent a large volume of requests to the site and as a result access LDS from this location has been temporarily suspended.
This is weird since I have used the site for a year and most of my research comes from it.
I closed out on the site and came back an hour later and I was allowed access.
Very strange---- anyone else have this happen?
Renee :)
-
The problem on the Family Search site is not "maintenance"; that is just a euphemism or figleaf for the inability of the site to cope with ever-increasing traffic.
The same applies to freeBMD, which will return error messages if it's struggling to deal with the number of users (as it often is, in my experience) -- hence its persistent claim to be a "victim of its own success" (that is to say, so successful that it fails to deliver a consistent and reliable service to its users).
TNA's documents online site also seems to have suffered with the volume of users trying to access WW records over the last ten days.
-
Thanks everyone. I feel a bit better now!
If I have any further trouble with either of them I'll be straight back.
Eileen
-
FreeBMD and FamilySearch are both completely free which is extremely unusual and perhaps why the traffic is so heavy. FreeBMD in particular exists only because very many people around the world have given enormous amounts of time to transcribing the records.
Because FreeBMD doesn't charge for access it has to fund the purchase of the raw data and improvements to access as funds become available.
There is always 1837online.
Rosemarie.