debugging on the server

Well I decided to go back to the Windows version (that runs on my local Apache) and I am having the same problem. This is the line that is failing:

               $checkLogin = $this->user->getRows($con);

The value of $con in my debugger is:
$con = {array}[2]
   returnType="single"
   conditions= {array}[3]
       email="[email protected]"
       password="y...."
       status="1"
The call to getRows() is failing with an error of severity 8. It says "Undefined property: Users::$user"

Does anyone know why this would be failing or what severity 8 means? This code has been working for a while. Perhaps it was an accidental change to the php.ini?

proof that an old dog can learn new tricks