Windows 7 Connection Woes

[kalmarjan]

Well, here goes.

I have windows 7 on both my laptop and desktop. I just cannot get the connection test to work for me. I can connect to someone and download the ruleset, but I cannot get someone to connect to me. They always time out.

The connection test does not work for me. It never has.

I have been through all nooks and crannies, searched the forums inside and out.

I know the problem is with win 7.

I do not have any other firewall aside from the default.

I use my laptop at work as well, and the IP guy configured the router, but I still could not connect.

I am pretty computer literate, but ports and firewalls confuse me. I was able to get it done in XP and vista, but this latest area is really frustrating.

I have kept silent for a long time about this... but I feel this is the #1 reason that FG has not cornered the market.

I am sorry I don't know about how to resolve this issue. Thing is, I should not have to. I just want to get up and running.

Please, any available to help?

My stats:

Windows 7 Ultimate
Bell router/modem

I checked for rules, have tried all configurations. I am pretty much ready to throw in the towel, sad considering I have been with FG since the beginning.

[Stuart]

Totally failed with Vista re hosting a game .... 'tis why I have not GM'd in years. I totally agree that the complexity involved in getting past a router/defender/firewall/Norton/stealth ports etc etc etc is what is limiting the average casual rpg-er from using VTAs.

[Kalan]

Totally failed with Vista re hosting a game .... 'tis why I have not GM'd in years. I totally agree that the complexity involved in getting past a router/defender/firewall/Norton/stealth ports etc etc etc is what is limiting the average casual rpg-er from using VTAs.

Funny thing is what I run is Vista for hosting, and I've never had the issues described...

I think if you were to follow Doug's advice in the XP firewall thread, you may get it to work for Vista/7 as well...

[Spyke]

I had no issues under Win 7 Professional. I'm not sure what would be in Ultimate that might cause a problem. If you switch off the Windows Firewall are you able to connect?

If not, then it sounds like we're back to our perennial issue with cracking the port forwarding for your new setup.

Spyke

[Oberoten]

Check netstat -a to see if there is anything else runing on the port maybe?

In Windows 7 Premium it pretty much set up itself and I can't imagine that Ultimate version would be worse of so my bet is that it is something else runing and ruining the experience.

What kind of router and/or modem do you use?

- Obe

[Kalan]

Check netstat -a to see if there is anything else runing on the port maybe?

In Windows 7 Premium it pretty much set up itself and I can't imagine that Ultimate version would be worse of so my bet is that it is something else runing and ruining the experience.

What kind of router and/or modem do you use?

- Obe

From what Kal has told me - he's more or less ruled out the router as being the problem...

My guess is its the windows firewall (or some other firewall application installed) that we just can't see operating...damnably frustrating it is...

[kalmarjan]

I had no issues under Win 7 Professional. I'm not sure what would be in Ultimate that might cause a problem. If you switch off the Windows Firewall are you able to connect?

If not, then it sounds like we're back to our perennial issue with cracking the port forwarding for your new setup.

Spyke

Even with the firewall off, it will not pass the test.

[Sorontar]

If you take the router out of the equation and connect directly through the modem does it still fail?

[kalmarjan]

Check netstat -a to see if there is anything else runing on the port maybe?

In Windows 7 Premium it pretty much set up itself and I can't imagine that Ultimate version would be worse of so my bet is that it is something else runing and ruining the experience.

What kind of router and/or modem do you use?

- Obe
I cannot see port 1802 from either...

[kalmarjan]

If you take the router out of the equation and connect directly through the modem does it still fail?
Unfortunately, the modem IS the router.

It is a 2wire gateway 2701HG-G Gateway

[kalmarjan]

I also want to mention that this is with a CLEAN install of Win 7 from both machines.

I know the router from my work has port 1802 access (from my IT guy who tells me it is a problem with the settings in Win 7)

I am not strong at all with routers/TCP etc.

[Spyke]

I know the router from my work has port 1802 access (from my IT guy who tells me it is a problem with the settings in Win 7)
The issue isn't so much opening the port on the router as making sure that the router is then passing the information from that port to the correct internal IP address on your network for your local machine.

I'm at work at the moment, but for reference later if anyone wants to help out I think the manual for the modem/router is at https://www2.windstream.net/downloads/links/twowireuserguide.pdf.

Spyke

[Zeus]

And here's portforward.com's visual step-by-step guide for configuring port forwarding for a generic application on the 2wire modem/router.

https://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/2wire/2701HG-G/default.htm

[kalmarjan]

And here's portforward.com's visual step-by-step guide for configuring port forwarding for a generic application on the 2wire modem/router.

https://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/2wire/2701HG-G/default.htm

Sweet! I turn off Windows firewall, follow the instructions at the link for my desktop, and Voila! Success.

So, the desktop now connects without win firewall. Not feeling so hot about that.

My laptop (which is where I will be using FG the most) is still no dice. I can see the rule for FG on the router, it is working fine.

It doesn't even take the time to figure it out... it returns a failure right away.

Ixs there a setting in Win 7 that I am not seeing?

[Spyke]

Are both the laptop and the desktop attached to the same modem/router? If so, they will have different IP addresses, and the router will be port forwarding to either the first or the last on the list, but not both.

Spyke

[Spyke]

With regard to the Win 7 firewall, we'll need to work out why that's blocking the desktop. Alternatively you could install a different firewall and let that configure itself the first time you run FG.

Spyke

[ddavison]

Sweet! I turn off Windows firewall, follow the instructions at the link for my desktop, and Voila! Success.

So, the desktop now connects without win firewall. Not feeling so hot about that.

My laptop (which is where I will be using FG the most) is still no dice. I can see the rule for FG on the router, it is working fine.

It doesn't even take the time to figure it out... it returns a failure right away.

Ixs there a setting in Win 7 that I am not seeing?

Have you tried turning your Win 7 firewall back on and trying again to see if it still works? Also, as others have stated, you will only be able to forward port 1802 to one of your computers or laptops behind your router. That is normally okay unless you plan to host two games simultaneously. You don't need to port forward the laptop if it just connects as a player instance.

[kalmarjan]

Are both the laptop and the desktop attached to the same modem/router? If so, they will have different IP addresses, and the router will be port forwarding to either the first or the last on the list, but not both.

Spyke

Yes, at home they are on the same network.

I followed the instructions to let the port 1802 be wide open. Will that only be for the desktop then?

[kalmarjan]

With regard to the Win 7 firewall, we'll need to work out why that's blocking the desktop. Alternatively you could install a different firewall and let that configure itself the first time you run FG.

Spyke
I bet that would work. I want to figure out though what is wrong without installing a 3rd party application.

[Spyke]

Yes, at home they are on the same network.

I followed the instructions to let the port 1802 be wide open. Will that only be for the desktop then?
The rule for the port forwarding will only apply to one of the machines (as they will have different internal IP addresses). Even if you set separate rules for each only one will be used, so you can't forward the port to two different machines at the same time.

You can update the rule as required to point to the machine you want to GM from, of course.

Spyke

[kalmarjan]

Have you tried turning your Win 7 firewall back on and trying again to see if it still works? Also, as others have stated, you will only be able to forward port 1802 to one of your computers or laptops behind your router. That is normally okay unless you plan to host two games simultaneously. You don't need to port forward the laptop if it just connects as a player instance.
When I turn the Win 7 firewall back on, FG II does not work. That is the reason behind my thinking that it is Win 7 that is the issue here.

I want my laptop to be the one that hosts the game, not the desktop. This is important, because I travel.

I also think there are a lot of people with this issue aside from me. Checking on the boards leads me to believe that. I am looking forward to resolving this issue so I can move on. (And develop with you again!)

[kalmarjan]

A question,

Will I be able to travel with this program? If I am in a hotel room, will I be able to host a game?

A lot of hotels will leave a set of ports open so that people can game. (At least, that is the current trend...)

[Spyke]

A question,

Will I be able to travel with this program? If I am in a hotel room, will I be able to host a game?

A lot of hotels will leave a set of ports open so that people can game. (At least, that is the current trend...)
I've never been able to host from a hotel, though it is possible if you set up VPN software such as Hamachi with your group beforehand.

Just opening the ports doesn't solve the problem. The traffic on the port you are using has to be routed to your specific machine ("forwarding").

Playing from a hotel room is no problem, of course (and makes a work trip much more enjoyable).

Spyke

[Spyke]

When I turn the Win 7 firewall back on, FG II does not work. That is the reason behind my thinking that it is Win 7 that is the issue here.
It's not so much a Win 7 issue as simply a need to open up the port on the firewall you are using on your local machine, which in this case happens to be the Win 7 one.


Use the machine that connects successfully when the Win 7 firewall is switched off.
Make sure you are logged into Windows on an account with admin access.
Press the Windows Start key and type "Windows Firewall" in the search box. You should see a control panel option "Allow a program through Windows Firewall" near the top of the list. Click on this and you'll get a list of the applications that the firewall is blocking/permitting.
If Fantasy Grounds II appears in the list, check that there are ticks in all the Name, Home and Public boxes. (Only tick Public if you need to use FG2 outside of your trusted networks.)
If FG II isn't on the list, click Allow Another Program (if that's greyed out, click Change Settings first) and select FG II from the new list that pops up, or Browse to find it.


Let us know if that does the trick!

Spyke

[Oberoten]

Actually this thread got me thinking about writing a base-up manual for FG including the most common questions. The FAQ at the Wiki is sadly little added to so ... from now on?

https://oberoten.dyndns.org/fgwiki/

I have started working a manual into the front-page with links to various common tasks.

- Obe

[Oberoten]

Spyke? Is it okay if I take your text here on the Windows 7 firewall directly to the Wiki?

- Obe

[Spyke]

If you want to be sure that your home router always forwards the traffic to your laptop then you'll need to set up a static IP address on your laptop and update the port forwarding rule on your router to point to that.

This is because the router will by default be handing out IP addresses on a first come, first served basis ("dynamic addresses"). Some routers reserve IP addresses for machines for a while, but sooner or later the address will change, and at that point the port forwarding rule will become invalid.

If you set a static IP address then you can be sure that your router will use this for your laptop, and you can then update the forwarding rule so that it will always hit the laptop.

Again as Administrator under Win 7:


Click the Start key and type "View network connections" in the Search box.
Run this and right click on the one that relates to your local network connection.
Choose Properties.
Select the one that's like "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and click Properties.
You can then choose to use a particular IP address. The exact number you choose will depend on the format of the internal addresses handed out by your router. Typically you would only be changing the final number. For example if the default address of your router is 192.168.2.1 (this number goes against "Default gateway") you might choose 192.168.2.50 as your static IP address.
The only thing you need to be careful about is that the number you choose is outside the range allowed for dynamic addresses in your router settings. (If you can't see what this is, choose a number from the high end of the range.)
The Subnet mask is likely to be 255.255.255.0.
Click OK a couple of times.
Restart your machine.
Update the port forwarding on your router for port 1802 to match the internal IP address you have chosen for your static address.


I'm not a network expert so if anyone else wants to chip in with advice, please do!

Spyke

[Spyke]

Spyke? Is it okay if I take your text here on the Windows 7 firewall directly to the Wiki?

- Obe
Yes, though it would be good to get confirmation that it works for Jason.

Spyke

[kalmarjan]

I will be following up this thread with a post on the New Savage Worlds Online. If we can get this resolved, that will be great. I do not have my laptop with me right now, so I will try this tonight.