i have recently set up a website for a client, which is hosted on 1&1 MS hosting , business package. since its launch 4 weeks ago we have had a lot of problems with them - a large 'service unavailable' message keeps appearing when trying to access the website.

the first time i rang 1&1 customer support i got a very confusing response (basically the guy didnt know what was wrong) and said he'd refer the problem to the 'level 2' team who would attempt to resolve the problem within the next 48 hours. my client almost hit the roof when i told him this and his PA rang up and unleashed her scottish wrath on 1&1 and the problem was fixed within 10 minutes, although they would not tell us what the problem was or how they fixed it!?

Since then the same problem continues to happen every few days and the PA has to ring up everytime and get them to do what ever it is they do to fix it - apparently they just reset something!? But they still continue to provide us with no answers to what is causing this problem.

the website consists of 10 Flash movies, which load text from an access database using an ASP script. there's also a forum, which i got from here (http://www.webwizguide.info/web_wiz_forums/default.asp?mode=asp)
So as you can see there's nothing overly complex on my website, which would be causing the problem!

my client is very keen to move hosting package, which i am reluctant to do as i'd rather find out what the problem is and try to fix it. but with the way things are going i think i may have to change! the site on average recieves between 5 to 10 thousand hits a day.

any ideas to what the problem could be? the site seems to be working at the moment, but keep an eye out for the evil 'service unavailable' message!:angry:

Use asp2php and convert your database to MySQL.

You'll be much happier not using Windows anymore. :D

Afterthought: Windows is solid if the host knows what they are doing. 1&1 offered three years free hosting.. Doesn't sound like they have a clue. :rolleyes:

Good luck!

thanks for that, i reluctantly opted for MS hosting because i was told that the shop software used on their original site used ASP. It turned out that that it uses CGI-scripts, but that discovery was made after the hosting package was bought. ooops

the next obvious question then is: what linux hosting company should i use?

Tons of options out there.
Depends on your needs and budget.

As biggulp said, it definitely comes down to what you're looking for. Have an idea of what you're going to need?

1&1 have been around for several years now, but this community only seems to have noticed them recently. In short, 1&1 is fine for an average Joe who wants to keep his website online without any hassle or regular fees. They simply harvest the masses.

Originally posted by Floyd
1&1 have been around for several years now, but this community only seems to have noticed them recently. In short, 1&1 is fine for an average Joe who wants to keep his website online without any hassle or regular fees. They simply harvest the masses.
They have only recently moved in to the US/Canadian market. Until about 3 or 4 weeks ago they primarily sold hosting in Europe.

Plus their ad campaign at WHT :D