Hi Mike,
| After installing Windows SP2, my Age of Empires series games ceased to work
| over the network. The Windows Firewall was disabled upon installation. I
| can play a single player game, but cannot connect to another player to start
| a multiplayer game. No firewall or any other network issue. All other
| network games play fine under SP2 except Age of Empire II. Any ideas?
When LAN games don't connect, there are a few variables to consider, for
example check for a patch at:
www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a
1. Disconnect from the Internet by physically unplugging the cable or DSL
line, and then since there's no longer danger of outside attacks, turn off
your software firewall (Norton's, McAfee, Zone Alarm, Outpost, ICF,
etc.) as these firewalls could be blocking data to and from your system.
2. If you use a router, it could be blocking you as well:
Routers have built-in port blocking firewalls based on NAT technology.
DirectX games require that ports be open in order for the data packets
to be able to travel from one system to another. Here's How to Configure
a router for Multiplayer:
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/PortRoute.html#howto
3. If Step 1 applies to you, but you want an alternative solution, pick up a cross-
over cable from your local supply shop to directly connect one computer to
the other on a 2 player LAN, especially if both computers are close together.
4. If you have multiple network adapters, the game might be using the wrong one
To verify this behavior, click Start / Control Panel / System / Hardware Tab
/ Device Manager, click the + next to Network Adapters, right click the adapter
which accesses the Internet, and "Disable" it from the right-click menu. If that
works, open Control Panel / Network Connections, click Advanced / Advance
Settings / click the LAN Connection and then the UP arrow to change it's priority
so it's at the top of the list. Test your Internet games to see if they work this way.
5. Read Steve Winograd's Page:
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm
And troubleshoot your network using :
http://www.michna.com/kb/wxnet.htm
6. Universal PnP might need to be disabled in your router, or in Windows XP:
a) To enable or disable UPnP in XP, click Start / Run / type: services.msc
and you can then right-click Universal Plug and Play on the list to Start it.
b) Consult your router manual for the UPnP instructions for your model.
7. Network Adapter drivers may need to be updated on one or all machines.
8. You may need to specify the target IP using a game specific method.
Consult your game manual or readme file in the game directory. For MS
games:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;gmsnetw
9. You might be specifying the Public IP instead of the Private (LAN) IP.
To easily find the Public and Private IP numbers of the computer you
are using, visit:
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~trw/games/nat_or_not.php
For more in depth troubleshooting, try this MS Network Troubleshooting article:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/russel/02april08.asp
--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
Game FAQs:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite:
http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call / Contact
MS Support at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
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