Ports opened, firewall off, still can't connect

[kentronwing]

So my friend is trying to connect to a game that I am hosting. He was unable to connect so I opened my port(1802) and allowed the game run past my firewall, but he still can not connect. If anyone can help, it would be very much appreciated.

[zabulus]

Can you connect to yourself starting a second session on the same computer? He is using your external IP-address, right? You can find which one that is on www.whatsmyip.org

[Wargamer777]

And you mentioned you opened your port, did you open your port via windows firewall, or did you open it in your router/cable modem?

[Griogre]

And did you port forward the open port to the host's local IP or MAC address?

[kentronwing]

Well first off, I would like to thank you for your concern. I opened my port via the router, and then I turned off my firewall completely. I port opened it to the local IP adress.

[unerwünscht]

Ok, first thing to check and see is if someone else can connect to you, the issue is normally but not always an issue with the hosts computer.

If noone else can connect either, then there is a list of information that would be needed for me (or anyone else) to tell you the exact settings you need.
This list includes:
Modem Type, Router Type, Number of Routers, Number of Computers connected, Operating System (including service pack), any switches in the loop, any software firewalls, and Service Provider...

I should be able to get you up and running once I have all that information.

[kentronwing]

So I actually do not have another computer, so I can not check if another can connect.
Modem Type: arries
Router type: linksys wrt110
Number of routers:1
numbers of computers connected:1
operating system: Windows vista home premium,service pack 1
switches in the loop: ???? ( don't know, don't know how to check, sorry)
Software firewalls: the only firewall I have is the windows defender firewall, and it is off.
Service provider: my ISP is Cox digital cable (we got that bundeled with phone and tv!)

I am sorry if some these answers weren't what you wanted, but I am really not that technically inclined, thank you again for your patience and help.

[unerwünscht]

If you only have one computer do you need the router? If you are connected directly to the cable modem you will bypass the need for port forwarding, and entirely remove the number one issue most people have with getting Fantasy Grounds to work.

If however the router is need, I would first suggest finding someone here to connect to you for a quick test, your setup is the normal setup, and according to the information provided you have it configured correctly. I was expecting two routers, or DSL service from Verizon.

[kentronwing]

So the friend that was trying to connect to me was at his house, and he was unable to connect to me. Today when we tried to connect he was at his dorm room using their wi-fi, and for some reason, he was able to connect.

So uhhh...problem solved....I think...

[unerwünscht]

Gonna take a wiled stab in the dark and say your friend needs to turn off the firewall in his router/modem.

[kentronwing]

Im going to agree with you on that.

regardless thanks for your help, I am glad you spent your time to help.

[unerwünscht]

Not a problem, one of my many jobs in life was network administration and tech support for Verizon DSL. Networking works well when it works, but when it doesn't it can be a nightmare.

[Cearlan]

Unerwünscht,

I have tried several times to get my computer set up to run FG2 - I have a few Call of Cthulhu games ready to run, but cannot get the router etc to work in tandem. Every time I try it causes problems with my connection etc.

Here's hoping you can help me out though; for which you will of course have my gratitude. Here are the details of my set-up.

Modem Type / Router Type: - Netgear Rangemax ADSL Modem Router DG834PN

Number of Routers; - just the one

Number of Computers connected; Two with FG2 on it - my main and laptop (Main is; - Athlon 64 - 6000+ 3.02Ghz - 2 Gb Ram - Nvidea GeForce 8500GT and Lappie is: Asus A6K - 1.6 Ghz Turion 64 512 Mb Ram Nvidea Geforce GO 6200). Also a further two computers in the kids rooms - also PS3 connected to network but non FG2 involved.

Operating System (including service pack); - Windows Ultimate Vista + service pack 1 on main and XP home service pack 3 on lappie

any switches in the loop: - unsure what this means but I'll say none that I'm aware of

any software firewalls: - Windows (disabled) Panda Internet security 08 (will be upgrading it later this year - when pennies allow.

and Service Provider... Freeserve - which was bought out by some French company whose name I forget, who in turn were bought out by Orange.


Ok, first thing to check and see is if someone else can connect to you, the issue is normally but not always an issue with the hosts computer.

If noone else can connect either, then there is a list of information that would be needed for me (or anyone else) to tell you the exact settings you need.
This list includes:
Modem Type, Router Type, Number of Routers, Number of Computers connected, Operating System (including service pack), any switches in the loop, any software firewalls, and Service Provider...

I should be able to get you up and running once I have all that information.

[Spyke]

Cearlan, there are a few more bits of information that could be helpful.

I assume that you're trying to host FG2 on the main computer, and that the laptop is a client. Is that right?

Are you able to connect internally on your network, i.e. using the laptop to a host session on your main machine? If you can it would rule out a problem with the firewall on your main machine, and we could concentrate on the port forwarding on the router.

Spyke

[Cearlan]

Spyke,

Thanks for the reply.
No actually I am looking to do it the other way round. The lappie has the audio and webcam set up. so I'd be doing the word processing, photoshopping and so forth on the main and use lappie for FG, especially as I often travel away from home on courses etc. I have not been able to connect lappie to main, (I only have the one licence at present - but was watching the discussion over floating licences with interest - but I digress).
When I hhave tried it in the past I have even gone to the point of deleting Panda from main and lappie having set up, as best I could, the windows firewall. I had also set up Panda to allow FG2 through in and out so didn't expect any problems there.


Cearlan, there are a few more bits of information that could be helpful.

I assume that you're trying to host FG2 on the main computer, and that the laptop is a client. Is that right?

Are you able to connect internally on your network, i.e. using the laptop to a host session on your main machine? If you can it would rule out a problem with the firewall on your main machine, and we could concentrate on the port forwarding on the router.

Spyke

[Spyke]

You won't be able to connect your main machine to your laptop unless you have separate licenses on the machines (if you try it you should see a 'License conflict' error).

Connecting across your home network is the simplest case, so can help us track down the problem. First we need to be sure that you're reading your local IP address correctly for the laptop (which I'm sure you are... but anyway...). When you start FG2 your local address is shown in the box on the right on the host screen. You can also find it by opening a command prompt, typing ipconfig and pressing Enter.

Does this change for you from time to time? If so this could be the reason why your port forwarding is failing. We can set a static IP address on your laptop to get round this, if so.

Without a separate license to test the connection, the following trick might work to see if your FG2 host session is opening its port correctly, and is not blocked by a firewall.

On your laptop, start FG2, note the internal address, and open a campaign as the host (note you must actually start the campaign, not stop at the host screen). For this example we'll assume your internal address is 192.168.1.1.

On your main machine, open a Windows command prompt (type cmd in the Run box), then type in the following and press Enter (replace the IP address with your own):

telnet 192.168.1.1 1802

If port 1802 is not open on your laptop you should see an error message telling you that the connection has failed. If it is open then you'll get a blank telnet window, which you can close.

If the connection failed then the problem is on your laptop, and we need to make sure that port 1802 is open on the firewall(s). If it succeeds then the problem is probably with your router and we need to look at the port forwarding (you need to pass port 1802 to the current internal IP address of your laptop).

Spyke

[Cearlan]

Connecting across your home network is the simplest case, so can help us track down the problem. First we need to be sure that you're reading your local IP address correctly for the laptop (which I'm sure you are... but anyway...). When you start FG2 your local address is shown in the box on the right on the host screen. Does this change for you from time to time? If so this could be the reason why your port forwarding is failing. We can set a static IP address on your laptop to get round this, if so.



I believe it does change as I had them set up onto auto. However now set up to 192.168.0.5 ; done via;

open network connections> wireless network connection>(rightclick - properties)>Internet Protocol(TCP/IP)>Properties
On dialogue box 'use following IP =192.168.0.5; Default Gateway 192.168.0.1' then 'Use following DNS server 192.168.0.1 + 192.168.0.2'





telnet 192.168.1.1 1802

If port 1802 is not open on your laptop you should see an error message telling you that the connection has failed. If it is open then you'll get a blank telnet window, which you can close.


When I tried the above I got the following;
"C:\users\Norm\telnet 192.168.0.5 1802
'telnet' is not recognised as an internal or external command, operable programme or batch file."



If the connection failed then the problem is on your laptop, and we need to make sure that port 1802 is open on the firewall(s). If it succeeds then the problem is probably with your router and we need to look at the port forwarding (you need to pass port 1802 to the current internal IP address of your laptop).

Spyke

TYhanks very much for your help Spyke - very much apprecciated

Norm

[unerwünscht]

Step 1: turn off ALL hardware in the loop, from the wall out, in order of priority low to high. This would mean you turn off the modem first, then the router, then gaming consoles etc.. up to the desktop then the laptop last.

Step 2: Turn the modem back on. Let it fully cycle (wait 1 minute).
Step 3: Turn the router back on. Let it fully cycle.
Step 4: Turn the LAPTOP on. Let it fully load windows, and verify your internet connectivity (Load a non caching webpage www.yahoo.com does not cache).

At this point with only the modem, router and laptop on go in and verify all of your network settings. Specifically the settings regarding static/dynamic IP allocation, and port forwarding.

If all of that looks good then turn on the other computer you plan to use with FGii, after it has fully loaded you are fine to turn on the other systems and units.

If you are still unable to connect two computers to one another with fantasy grounds, then we should move onto network trouble shooting. To do this you will need to know the IP address of the two computers in question, and that of the router. I (and others) have made a few tutorials on how to do this.

Once you have that information goto the laptop and click on the "Start" button then click on "Run". This will open an dialog window, type "cmd" without quotations and hit enter. It will open a DOS command window.

In this window you will want to execute the following commands.
ping 192.168.1.101
tracert 192.168.1.101

replace 192.168.1.101 with the IP address for your other computer.

The ping should return information that looks like:


Pinging 192.168.1.101 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from ........
Reply from ........
Reply from ........
Reply from ........

Ping statistics from 192.168.1.101:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, lost = 0 (0% loss)

If instead it says:

"Request timed out" or any number of other errors, you are having an issue with connectivity or synchronization. Let us know and we can work with you further on this issue.

the tracert command should return something like:


Tracing route to 192.168.1.101 over a maximum of 30 hops

1 <1ms <1ms <1ms 192.168.1.1
2 <1ms <1ms <1ms 192.168.1.101

Trace complete.

To read the data lines: the first number is the number of the hop, the 2-4 numbers are the time in milliseconds it took to complete the trace tests, and the final sets of numbers are the IP addresses involved in the trace. For the purpose of what you are doing there should be 2 and only 2 hops. The first being your router, the second being the other computer.

If instead of milliseconds you see "* * *" you are running into a firewall, and will need to reconfigure the firewalls on both computers, and double check that there is not an active firewall inside the router.

Hope this helps, any other questions feel free to ask.

[Cearlan]

unerwunscht,

Thanks for the reply - I'll look into it later tonight if I get a chance, if not tomorrow night. Appreciate the help from both Spyke and yourself.

Take Care,

Norm

[Cearlan]

Sorry, but my son has commandeered the laptop as he revises for his GCSE's.

As soon as I'm able I'll have a look at it - Thanks to both unerwunscht and Spyke for their time and efforts,

Norm

[Cearlan]

Sorry, but my son has commandeered the laptop as he revises for his GCSE's.

As soon as I'm able I'll have a look at it - Thanks to both unerwunscht and Spyke for their time and efforts,

Norm