Hi!

The tabs are technically plugins, so I suspect that there is some problems with the plugin loading. You can check by going to Admin mode -> Config -> Tool Settings -> Plug-in Manager. You should see the "EPiServer User Interface", and if you click on it and select overview you should see a long list of tools. If it's missing it means that the plugins hasn't been loaded.

As for finding out why they haven't been loaded I would first check the bin folder of the site and make sure that there is a EPiServer.UI.dll there. Second I would enable the EPiServer logging, at least warning level, and look for any errors that occur during a startup of the site. It's during startup that the system checks the dll:s in the bin folder for any plugins, and tries to load them.

Regards

Per Gunsarfs
EPiServer Development Team

right, first problem.

under Admin mode -> Config -> Tool Settings i only have one option "Search Configuration".

I will enable logging and see where that points, but any ideas based on that?

There definatly is a problem when trying to load the plugins. Very hard to say why though, without further information.

During start up of the site we scan all assemblies in the bin folder for plugins, and try to load them. Something must be going wrong during this phase. Most likely some form of exception that disrupts the loading, and puts the site in a faulty state. So be on the lookout for any exceptions that seems to occur during the initialization phase.

It could be a good idea to open a case with our support team as well. They have more experiance with what could cause errors like this.

Regards

Per Gunsarfs
EPiServer Development Team

it was because we were "not" scanning some assemblies, as an outcome of trying to speed up initial start up.

removed the UI dll and like magic, its all back to how it should be,

thanks for your help, it worked.