Directx 9.0b, directplay and Win XP

Hello all, I am having connection problems with
Directplay in windows XP Pro.

Computer:
I have an AMD 2200+ in an Asus a7v333 mb, 512 Mb RAM, and
a Geforce ti4600. I am running win 2k pro as the only OS
and have been using Directx 9.0b for a while now. In an
effort to fix my problem, I have updated my VIA drivers,
my vid card drivers, my BIOS and my NIC drivers.

Problem:
I cannot play any multiplayer games in Mechwarrior4
Mercs. I called MS about it and after a long long time
they tell me my directplay isnt working, with which they
will not help. When I go to dxdiag under the network tab
it says everything is ok, but if I start a test session,
start another dxdiag, and try to connect to myself I
cannot. I also cannot connect to other people, and others
cannot connect to me. My ISP tells me all ports are open.
I have deactivated my software firewall. I am not behind
a router nor any hardware firewall.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? I have tried
just about everything MS's web site suggests; including
using sigverif and removing all unsigned drivers from
startup. I was having this problem in win 2k so I
reformatted and started from scratch with a clean install
of win xp. No help. While using w2k I tried
uninstalling directx 9 and reinstalling directx 7.
Directplay would work under dx 7. No version of dx later
than 7 seems to have a functioning directplay on my
machine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in
advance.

Hi Ryan,

Since your situation seems more hardware/driver related, start
with Step 5, then go through Steps 6 to 8 before anything else.
I hope this helps. Please post back if you have any questions! :-)

And Ryan, step 5 involves updating your drivers. Even though
you've done it already, please try updating them again using the
method I put up on my site, in case my method works for you.

1. To see if it's a software conflict: Temporarily disable Startup
programs one at a time, starting with Firewall, Antivirus, and ad
blockers using: http://new.jtsoft2001.com/windows/startup.php

You can lookup what a program does before you disable it here:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startu...tartup_full.htm

2. Run a virus scan at: http://housecall.antivirus.com Afterwards
Download & Run Spybot from: http://security.kolla.de to find any
Trojans, Adware, or Spyware which could clog up your system.

3. Click My Computer / Rightclick the Drive & Choose Properties
/ Run the "Disk Cleanup..." / Next Click the "Tools" Tab and run
the "Error-Checking" and "Defragmentation" utilities.

4. Go to the Windows Update site for everything under Critical and
Recommended: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
Except: Q811943 which reportedly may cause systems to slowdown.

5. Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
Checklist of Solutions at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk

6. Dust your fans, vents and components using a 1/4" paintbrush
and a hose vacuum. Use compressed air for hard to reach places.
Set a housefan to blow cold air into your case to expose an over-
heating issue.. If it works add more fans or replace defective ones.
Use this Mainboard Monitoring Utility: http://mbm.livewiredev.com

7. A faulty power supply can cause STOP errors, random reboots,
and black screen lockups. One way to test for that is to remove all
extra devices, network cards, extra RAM sticks, modem, scussi,
sound card, unplug CD drives (if not needed to verify CD), and then
try the game again. If the problem is solved look into a 400 watt P/S.

My system used to freeze up due to leaking capacitors on my mother-
board. This shows what it looks like and how to replace them, although
I replaced my board instead: http://www.overclockers.com/tips1081/

8. Test your RAM using: http://www.memtest86.com/memt30.zip
after you extract that zip file, click on the README.txt file for the
instructions on how to create the boot floppy to test your RAM.
* Allow Windows to control your pagefile at a "system managed size".
Be sure there's enough space for the pagefile size to = 1.5 * your RAM
Bonus Tip: Set the pagefile to it's own partition or hard drive if possible.
References: http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php is a good site about this as is:
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/...es/03june16.asp

9. If your system restarts by itself as a result of a STOP error, use the
steps in this article to stop that behaviour and identify the cause:
http://www.mvps.org/marksxp/windowsxp/bsod.htm

9b. Click Start / Control Panel /Administrative Tools / Event Viewer /
Click the Applications listing on the left / in the right pane look for
yellow or red symbols and doubleclick them to identify any problems.

XP: If you install this 32 bit Update: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=821558
you will get articles with fixes to load up automatically when you click the link
"For More Information" they give you in the body of the message in Event Viewer.

10. Click Start / Run / then type: sfc /scannow and press ENTER
to replace any damaged system files -or- Run Setup.exe on your
Windows 98/Me/XP/2000 CD to reinstall Windows over itself without
erasing your programs and data. Once everything works fine reinstall
updates one at a time from: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com while
testing the game after each update, in case an update caused the problem.

11. If you have room on one of your partitions, use it to install another
clean installation of Windows which you can gradually update with the
appropriate chipset, video, and sound drivers, as well as Direct X, but
with no extras including themes, firewalls, antivirus, etc. You may have
to reinstall the game(s) for use with that partition, but it's well worth it.

12. If you don't have enough space for step 10 I suggest you at least
create a new administrators account with no themes, firewall, antivirus,
or any other software or startup programs installed for that account. If
this solves the problem, then you should switch over to the new account.

--
Cheers,
Jimmy S.

Additional Support Resources: My Zone.com Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk
Microsoft Online Tech Support: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=376
Game FAQ's: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________


"Ryan" <adamsre@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:1512101c3855d$b867d0d0$a601280a@phx.gbl...
| Hello all, I am having connection problems with
| Directplay in windows XP Pro.
|
| Computer:
| I have an AMD 2200+ in an Asus a7v333 mb, 512 Mb RAM, and
| a Geforce ti4600. I am running win 2k pro as the only OS
| and have been using Directx 9.0b for a while now. In an
| effort to fix my problem, I have updated my VIA drivers,
| my vid card drivers, my BIOS and my NIC drivers.
|
| Problem:
| I cannot play any multiplayer games in Mechwarrior4
| Mercs. I called MS about it and after a long long time
| they tell me my directplay isnt working, with which they
| will not help. When I go to dxdiag under the network tab
| it says everything is ok, but if I start a test session,
| start another dxdiag, and try to connect to myself I
| cannot. I also cannot connect to other people, and others
| cannot connect to me. My ISP tells me all ports are open.
| I have deactivated my software firewall. I am not behind
| a router nor any hardware firewall.
|
| Has anyone else experienced this problem? I have tried
| just about everything MS's web site suggests; including
| using sigverif and removing all unsigned drivers from
| startup. I was having this problem in win 2k so I
| reformatted and started from scratch with a clean install
| of win xp. No help. While using w2k I tried
| uninstalling directx 9 and reinstalling directx 7.
| Directplay would work under dx 7. No version of dx later
| than 7 seems to have a functioning directplay on my
| machine.
|
| Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in
| advance.
|