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CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge - More Technical Difficulties
I don't want to alarm anybody, but it appears the unthinkable has happened - the CNBC mock trading site is... not working. At least it isn't for me.
True, it hasn't really "worked" since the contest began, but at least you could submit equity orders if you were patient enough. It might just be a traffic issue, given that we're in the final hour of the trading day, but when I log in I'm first told I have no portfolios. I click "Create New" and the system's memory is temporarily jogged - up come my 5 existing portfolios with the correct names, values, and gain/loss information. And no sooner do I click on one of them, than I'm told "Portfolio not found."
Fun!
To be perfectly honest, this error is only occurring about 80% of the time. Occasionally, I can actually get into a portfolio. And upon attempting to reallocate, instead of the tedious trade confirmations that usually pop up, there's a new one called "Your pending order has failed."
Good times.
But the real excitement begins when you try to close out of a portfolio you've just failed to reallocate. Perhaps out of a well-earned sense of having failed its end user, the system simply does itself in and blurps out a final error message before completely crapping out.
Microsoft JScript runtime error '800a01b6'
Object doesn't support this property or method
/challenge/resources/lib/asp/datafunctions.asp, line 209
Update: Lots of you (possibly all of you) are encountering the same problem, based on the comments coming in, here and on the other recent posts. Sounds like it started at about 3:30, which would tend to support the theory that it buckled under the weight of too many simultaneous traders trying to get their orders submitted by 4:00.
I'll update this post with any response from CNBC.
See all related posts in the CNBC Portfolio Challenge archive.
Handcrafted by Flip on May 16, 2008 |
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Comments
I am getting the same runtime error. Probably a volume issue. Very frustrating when I am trying to reallocate funds before Monday.Posted by: Dave Dur | May 16, 2008 3:52:29 PM
Yup i'm getting the same error... WOOHOOO!Posted by: Khaled | May 16, 2008 3:57:29 PM
Some commenters in a couple other posts are reporting the same issues. I've just emailed CNBC customer care and would recommend you do likewise, so they'll realize this was a widespread (if not universal) problem. For reference, this was my note:To Whom it May Concern:I'll update this post with any response.
In attempting to reallocate my 5 portfolios this afternoon, I have run into various errors, including "Portfolio not found" and "Your pending order has failed."
After many attempts and multiple logout/logins, the system finally returned this error message, before failing completely:Microsoft JScript runtime error '800a01b6'Now, anything I do returns this error message. I know the system has encountered technical troubles already this week, but I haven't seen such a complete failure as this during trading hours before. Obviously, I'm concerned because today's trades (if submitted before 4 pm, which now appears an impossibility) will be the first trades that impact the Week 2 performance and therefore that constitute 20% of the performance used to determine the Week 2 winners.
Object doesn't support this property or method
/challenge/resources/lib/asp/datafunctions.asp, line 209
The system going down (for at least some, if not all players) on Friday afternoon will tend to systematically disadvantage players who have been employing a short-term, high-turnover trading strategy under the assumption that the system would be available as advertised during market hours.
Can you please advise as to whether today's technical problems are known issues and how the resulting impact on traders' performance will be handled?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Best,
Flip Pidot
Posted by: Flip | May 16, 2008 3:58:52 PM
The web site started having problems about 3:30 PM. Changes to your portfolio(s) before that seem to be safely saved on their database, but realtime processing of web forms of any sort on the CNBC Portfolio Challenge site have been hosed since then. UR out of luck it seems if you waited until the last minute to make changes! :( -bmoosedPosted by: B Moose | May 16, 2008 4:00:04 PM
Ditto. Only people with nothing better to do, that includes people with no real money to trade, will have the time to waste on this.Posted by: suhaas | May 16, 2008 4:02:04 PM
Hey Flip, the way I understand it. This week beagn on Monday, week 3 on Tuesday, but all other weeks start on Sundays, so it doesn't make any difference whether you execute your trades today or tomorrow, as long as you do it before Sunday. Yeah I was having the same problems, but it's probably because it's the final day of the week. So how's everyone doing at some point I was 28, 54, 73, 1400ish but I managed to screw them all up.Posted by: guest | May 16, 2008 4:30:38 PM
Guest - I think you've got it slightly wrong. It's true that the weekly marking period runs from Sunday-Sunday. But that means the first session that impacts your weekly score is Monday's session. And the positions you have on Monday morning become set in stone at 4 pm on Friday. Any trade you submit after 4 pm on Friday will not execute until Monday at 4 pm, at which point your performance for that week is already 20% in the can.Posted by: Flip | May 16, 2008 4:35:08 PM
It appears that my suspicions (too much traffic) were right. It is working again. But I doubt they'll do anything about it. It was somewhere in the terms that such blah blah is not their responsibility. EnjoyPosted by: Al | May 16, 2008 4:43:33 PM
Oh well...I messed up again. Thanks.Posted by: guest | May 16, 2008 4:44:58 PM
Eventhough I am content with my folio's, it is extremely aggrevating that had I wanted to change a stock before market close that i would not have been able to. This makes the challenge weighted in the favor of those who were able to access their holdings and make changes. Not to mention the fact that you cant short, change positon throughout the day, or for that matter after hours to get something the next market open, this mock trading game is becoming a mockery to even high school stock market simulations. greg g. at optionsmatrix.blogspot.comPosted by: optionsmatrix | May 16, 2008 5:56:49 PM
Is it me or for a slight second I think I saw the winner- Joseph somethingPosted by: guest | May 16, 2008 7:05:36 PM
nope sorry it's James FoxPosted by: guest | May 16, 2008 7:08:45 PM
The stupid sliders are killing me! It takes me multiple tries to get exactly the percentage I want, and that time is valuable when it's getting on to 4:00. And if we buy after the close, why can't we get the next morning's price?? Oh well, it's good to read that I'm not the only one complaining...Posted by: Kim | May 16, 2008 9:11:23 PM
Same exact error for me from 3:30 pm (est) on today! I couldn't update any portfolio. I have had numerous other problems as well over the week. The programming for this "contest" is mondo buggy & the "rules" and instructions need helps. For CNBC, this is a major no no.Posted by: mike | May 16, 2008 11:05:42 PM
Same Errors for me. At 3:15 pm I received "edit not confirmed" message when attempting to make changes. At 3:30 pm, "Portfolio not found". And finally " Microsoft JScript runtime error '800a01b6' Object doesn't support this property or method /challenge/resources/lib/asp/datafunctions.asp, line 209" Until 4:00pm. After that I could access fine but it was too late to make changes. Hopefully oil will continue to rise on Monday "Did I just say that?". Go Energy.Posted by: Rich | May 17, 2008 1:40:01 AM
You think you've had problems!!! I have only been able to get into my portfolios twice since the contest has started! I have only been able to get the the bonus buck questions once since it started. When I try to use the drop down menus it just goes back to the same home screen. This is a screwed up mess & I have quit playing as of today (Saturday May 17th) Here is is Saturday morning & I still can't access my portfolios. Wjew this is frustrating. The answer from CNBC tech support is "Read the FAQ's" they are stupid & is probably coming from India! They won't respond to my emails anymore because I told them to fix there damn problem! HA!Posted by: Tim | May 17, 2008 10:53:57 AM
This contest is humbling. In my actual, real-life portfolio, if I could get a six percent return (about half that without trivia) week over week, I'd be dancing in the street until arrested for disorderly conduct. Or public drunkenness. Or public nudity. (It's hard to say what I'd be arrested for; it would be one hell of a party.) To the point, six percent is good for 40,000th place! I'm going to TD to scour the calander a bit tomorrow, and stop saying things like "I'll strip SNE out this afternoon, and make changes that last hour; I have all day to think about it."Posted by: Axe | May 17, 2008 12:16:10 PM
Actually, I went to answer my final question, about 3:10 PM, got thru-did the question. Check portfolio and says I have not created any portfolios. Sign out- resign back in. Now have portfolio, go to trade, brings up wrong page. Well, sent CNBC a nasty gram email telling them this is the second time you screwed me. Also only gave me 60000 bucks for all the questions but I know answered all correctly including the weeky question. Great web page Flip!!!!Posted by: Randy | May 17, 2008 4:11:35 PM
Same problems when changing stocks on Friday. Flip, thanks for your help with the trivia answers.Posted by: Jose | May 18, 2008 11:44:17 PM
Same problems. Response to my report was "...fixed." I wanted to practice currency trading, so since stock trading is a waste of time I'll go to cash until currency trading is back. Flip's prize poll pointed out that I didn't want the weekly prizes anyway. Anyway, here's the schedule you have to follow as I see it: For Monday's trading, make portfolio changes before market close on Friday but not the last hour because of likely system failure. For Tuesday's trading, make portfolio changes before market close on Monday , etc. For Wednesday's trading, make changes before market close on Tuesday, etc. Thursday ---- change on Wednesday etc. Friday --- change on Thursday, etc.Posted by: Mel | May 19, 2008 8:55:43 AM
I have never been able to move the slider to allocate a percentage of a stock since day one of the contest. What a joke for a contest that cannot be played by many players.Posted by: Gerald | May 19, 2008 3:12:57 PM
Flip, Could you ask your readers if any other contestants are having problems with the $ numbers reported under the "Market Value Intraday Change" column? On two occasions including the morning of May 20, before the market opened at 9:30, three of my five portfolios reported huge negative number losses of $32,000 to $78,000. My end of day totals for May 20 showed stock gains plus the Bonus dollars for each of the three portfolios, but my portfolio totals were grossly lower! Go figure! I am beginning to wonder how so many people have made over $300,000 in 7 trading days. I have emailed CNBC and wanted to know if other contestants are losing money mysteriously as well. Does CNBC read your technical difficulties comments. I sure hope somebody figures out what is going on. Thanks.Posted by: Jean | May 21, 2008 2:02:39 AM
It seems, Jean, that you are NOT THE ONLY one having this problem. I've found that I was short several thousand, but was not able to produce the proper back-up to prove my point. This has happened to me week after week, so now I copy All my portfolios on a daily basis. Hope this will encourage others to do same and THEN present these errors to nbc(notice I used SMALL letters, because they don't deserve to be CAPITALIZED)Posted by: DESI | Jun 4, 2008 10:54:07 AM
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