Support

Before we start, please do specify the correct version of Admin Tools. Our version numbers have not reached the 2.5.x mark yet – and probably won't before early 2013. I have to know which version you're really using.

Now, Admin Tools doesn't in itself cause such a dramatic slow-down. The normal slow-down on a server as performant as the one you're describing should be 100-250 msec, about 40 times less than what you report. It is, however, possible that Admin Tools conflicts with another extension, resulting in a slowdown. It is also possible that one of the features which contact remote servers (the Project Honeypot integration, the Admin Tools notification plugin or the Joomla! update notification plugin) have a problem communicating with the remote server causing the slowdown. I would recommend disabling the Project Honeypot integration and those plugins as a starting point.

If this doesn't help we will have to make sure that the problem is indeed caused by Admin Tools. In order to do so, try the following:

1. Try setting the Error Reporting level in your Global Configuration to "None". Many errors are caused by harmless PHP Notices and Warnings being output to the browser, breaking anything which requires HTTP header manipulation such as Joomla!'s session management, AJAX calls and download systems.

2. Try to replicate the issue after disabling the "System - Admin Tools" plugin. If you can still replicate the issue, it is not caused by Admin Tools. Disabling that plugin means that Admin Tools code (including the Web Application Firewall) is not running on your site.

3. If you suspect an issue with the .htaccess file, replace its contents with the contents of the stock htaccess.txt file shipped with every version of Joomla!. If you are on GoDaddy please wait for 1-30 minutes for the changes to be effective. Then, retry loading the problem page. If you can still reproduce the error, then it is not caused by .htaccess Maker.

If doing any of the above resulted in the issue still occurring, it's not related with Admin Tools and I can't help you. If doing any of the above did stop the issue from occurring, we'll have to do some troubleshooting.

First go to Admin Tools, Web Application Firewall, Configure WAF. Make sure "Log security exceptions" is set to Yes; if it's not, set it to Yes and click on Save. Now try reproducing your issue. Immediately after that, please go to Admin Tools, Web Application Firewall, Security Exceptions Log and go to the last page. The last log entry should have the date and time of when the issue occurred. Please copy the Reason and Target URL here so that I can help you.

If, however, you do not see a log entry, or the Date and/or IP address do not match your last access, this problem is not caused by Admin Tools' WAF. In this case, you will have to do some .htaccess troubleshooting. You may need to read the general .htaccess troubleshooting page, as well as the page on finding out necessary .htaccess exceptions.