MSN Messenger vs My Router

[Marztabator]

Ok, here's the deal. I share a broadband connection with the parents by means of a Linksys 4-way router.

On MSN Messenger 6.2 lately, however, I've suffered from irritatingly slow file transfers, more noticeable with big files, and a message at the top says "If you are experiencing a slow file transfer, please click here" or something like that. I click it, and get this page:

http://help.msn.com/EN_US/HelpWindow_msg.a...nger&ContactUs=

Fair enough, I click the second option, "Configure your network for instant messaging and file transfer" and get taken to the following page:

http://help.msn.com/!data/en_us/data/M...ileTransfer.htm

I click the second option - "Configure your network for file transfer" - and get this piece:

1. Open as many TCP ports as you can between 6891 and 6900.

2. Configure the TCP ports so that sockets on a port remain open for an extended period of time.

Note

If you are transferring files to a person who is using MSN Messenger 5.0 or earlier and you are using a network address translator (NAT), file transfer will not work unless you have a Universal Plug and Play NAT (UPnP NAT). If you are not sure what type of NAT you have, check with your computer manufacturer or NAT vendor.

The problem is, I haven't the slightest fricking clue how to go about doing this. Attempting to add said port range to my Port Forwarding settings in the Linksys setup didn't help either.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can somebody tell me if there's any 100% solution besides bashing the router to death with a large hammer and resorting to direct cable modem connections from this point on? Cheers.

[trickytwista]

i use msn 6.2 and have nps transferring at hig speeds with my linksys router......model u got? btw i didnt have 2 change any settings in router....i notice by default that upnp is set 2 on

[matrix0978]

1. Open as many TCP ports as you can between 6891 and 6900.

Go to your router settings '192.168.1.1'

Click on the advanced tab at the stop. And click on the forwarding tab.

Then in the empty space put 6891 'to' 6900 and under protocal put it under both.

[Marztabator]

I believe I did that already Matrix but it still wouldn't speed things up.

Am I supposed to have the UPnP service switched on btw?

I'm not sure if there's a way for me to identify the type of Linksys router in XP...

[Marztabator]

Oh yeah, and under help in Port Forwarding...

You must disable the Router's DHCP function to utilize port forwarding.

This is easy enough to switch off but it didn't really help me anyway.

[sven]

check the upnp setting like said before. thats my router works and i havent had a single problem with msn 6.0+. if not, invest in one, because thats the future, never having to forward ports, its all down automaticaly(hopefully trojans dont learn this)

[Marztabator]

I've tried all suggestions - adding port forwardings, turning UPnP on...... and still I get the slow transfer rate problems.

Is it Linksys being really, really horribly crap with MSN all of a sudden?

[brian873]

Not an answer to your question, but have you maybe thought about using a FTP server. there are lots of good free software packages that would be ideal for home use.

hail hail

[sebbe1991]

http://portforward.com/ <-- Tutorial how to open ports on almost all routers