Techhelp needed

[Rhodan]

Hey guys I could do with some help here. Whenever I try to host , or even participate, in an online game ( not just SPWAW) I run into a wall. It simply won't work. I have a sneaky suspicion it has either to do with my ISP or my router, I suspect the latter.

This is the situation, I run a home network, mostly on Windows XP. Connection to the internet goes through my router/hub. Now my own computer is configured as DMZ, which should mean it connects to the Internet without interference from the router and it's ( supposedly) build in firewall. My software firewall, Zonealarm, is turned off whenever I try to connect as is the build in firewall inside Windows XP.

Still something seems to block the attempts to connect.

I had a look at the software that came with the router, but I can't find anything in there that is named firewall or somethign similar. I could really use some help from someone solving this mess , since I am getting a wee bit tired of having to turn down invites to play online.

Thanks in advance to anyone that is willing to help

[IBTyrone]

Hey Rhodan.

The first thing you need to do is drop to a DOS prompt (START/PROGRAMS/ACCESSORIES/COMMAND PROMPT) and then type in TRACERT along with a url or IP address, preferably one that you have not been able to connect to for your online games. Actually, you might want to try another one that should work first, like your ISP or Yahoo. The command should look something like:

C:\>tracert www.matrixgames.com

I'm using Windows 2000, but I think tracert is part of XP. After you hit ENTER, the machine should respond after a couple of seconds with:

Tracing route to www.matrixgames.com [66.55.131.20] over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 <10 ms <10 ms <10 ms 10.1.1.1 (or some similar IP address which is your own router)
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 * * * Request timed out.
4 * * * Request timed out.
5 * * * Request timed out.

As long as you are able to route correctly you will get responses like #1. When you hit a firewall it will give you the Request timed out response. The traceroute should give you an idea of where you are being blocked. If you are getting blocked at #2 or #3 it is probably your ISP doing the blocking. If it is farther out, do a lookup on the IP address immediate preceding the timed out request. My money is that it is your ISP. You might also want to try a ping just to see if you can "see" the machine on the other end.

Hope this helps.

[Belisarius]

IBTyrone's suggestion should work.

You can also try the other way around, so to speak: PING!!

ping localhost (works? OK, your net card and TCP/IP protocol is fine)
ping gateway (works? your ISP is probably fine)

It's usually the gateway that screw things up for me.