Viewstate error

[No one]

Here is the view state error I am getting on a Windows 2003 box:
-------------------------------------------------

Unable to validate data.
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the
current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information
about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.Web.HttpException: Unable to validate data.

Source Error:

An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current
web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the
exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.

Stack Trace:


[HttpException (0x80004005): Unable to validate data.]
System.Web.Configuration.MachineKey.GetDecodedData(Byte[] buf,
Byte[] modifier, Int32 start, Int32 length, Int32& dataLength) +195
System.Web.UI.LosFormatter.Deserialize(String input) +60

[HttpException (0x80004005): Authentication of viewstate failed. 1) If
this is a cluster, edit <machineKey> configuration so all servers use
the same validationKey and validation algorithm. AutoGenerate cannot be
used in a cluster. 2) Viewstate can only be posted back to the same
page. 3) The viewstate for this page might be corrupted.]
System.Web.UI.LosFormatter.Deserialize(String input) +118
System.Web.UI.Page.LoadPageStateFromPersistenceMedium() +101

[HttpException (0x80004005): Invalid_Viewstate
Client IP: 198.173.17.221
Port: 37368
User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1;
..NET CLR 1.1.4322)
ViewState:
dDwtNjU1NzEzMDgxO3Q8O2w8aTwxPjtpPDM+Oz47bDx0PDtsPGk8MT47PjtsPHQ8cDxwPGw8VGV4dDs+O2w8Oz4+Oz47Oz47Pj47dDw7bDxpPDA+Oz47bDx0PDtsPGk8MD47PjtsPHQ8O2w8aTwxPjs+O2w8dDw7bDxpPDA+Oz47bDx0PHA8cDxsPEVuYWJsZWQ7VmlzaWJsZTs+O2w8bzxmPjtvPGY+Oz4+Oz47Oz47Pj47Pj47Pj47Pj47Pj47Pu78vTz5oFNjQ1/NqsSMBiJFXHDm
Http-Referer: http://www.fineartsfund.org/ePledge-Test/Login.aspx
Path: /ePledge-Test/Login.aspx.]
System.Web.UI.Page.LoadPageStateFromPersistenceMedium() +442
System.Web.UI.Page.LoadPageViewState() +18
System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain() +447

 

[Alvin Bruney [MVP - ASP.NET]]

is this a consistent error? if it is transient, you may want to just ignore
it. The fixes for this permutation of viewstate issue isn't really worth the
time and effort investment.

--
Regards,
Alvin Bruney - ASP.NET MVP

[Shameless Author Plug]
The Microsoft Office Web Components Black Book with .NET
Now available @ www.lulu.com/owc, Amazon.com etc

 

[No one]

This is a VERY consistent error, but it only happens in the production
environment. This application was recently migrated from Win2K server
to Win 2003 server. Interestingly enough, it seems to happen with IE
more so than Firefox. But the client is down till this is fixed.

Thanks

 

[Andrew]

is this a clustered environment or web farm?

if so:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q312906

-Andrew

 

[No one]

No, a single server with one CPU.

is this a clustered environment or web farm?

if so:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q312906

-Andrew

 

[No one]

Actually, I did this for the test area on the production box. It seems
to be working, but I've not tested it thorougly (I'm traveling for
another client). I have looked into turning the session storage into
using the database. Will this help?