session cookie

[StInnocent]

After setting up SSO server, following steps in video, generic login any visit to the root of sso installation displays: "Session ID expected. Most likely causes: Pressing the back button, clicking a URL that launched a new web browser, using a non-official client, or a bad or incorrectly configured web proxy. If you clicked a URL in an e-mail, it opened a new web browser, and you got this error, then try this solution: Copy the URL and paste it into the address bar of the other web browser. Sorry for the inconvenience, but this behavior helps keep your account secure from hackers."

Also, occasionally, "Invalid session ID specified." with no session id specified (i added a dump to the code to see if bad data or no data vs. cond to display message. )

a cookie is shown in the header that contains nothing:
sso_server_id=(nada)

no errors in access log or otherwise.

halp?