opening ports for multiple ip's

[ripken204]

i have a netgear mr814v3 and i want to play age of empires 2 over lan. the problem is that i need to open ports otherwise the 2 comps cant connect to eachother. but my router will only allow 1 comp to be assigned to an open ports, otherwise i get a port conflict error. now what am i suppose to do here? disabling the router firewall does nothing and setting up dmz does nothing(unless im doing that wrong).

[tain]

Both PCs are on the same network segment? Then the problem is more likely to be a software firewall on one or both PCs. The XP firewall, perhaps? Disable that to see if you can then connect.

[ripken204]

they are disabled. would the router be blocking the ports if the activity is only happening in the lan?

and why would disabling the firewall not open all of the ports? what else would keep them blocked?

[tain]

they are disabled. would the router be blocking the ports if the activity is only happening in the lan?

It shouldn't be. Your first post looked like you might have enabled some port forwarding. Turn that off for now.

and why would disabling the firewall not open all of the ports? what else would keep them blocked?

Do you have basic connectivity? Can you ping each other? Can you browse each other's network shares? How do you know that the ports are the problem that prevent you from playing the game with one another? Can you swap the router with a hub or dumb switch to rule out a bad router config?

You didn't answer my first question about being on the same segment. Are we talking about two PCs behind a single router?

[eyeball]

if you are on a LAN that would suggest you are on the same subnet as the other pc's therefore port forwarding has nothing to do with it. try looking at any software firewalls you have, they will be causing the problems

EDIT: sorry TAiN just read your posts... they pretty much say what i just said anyway lol

Edited November 27, 2006 by eyeball

[jcarle]

I concur, unless you're going to play THROUGH the router, you don't need port forwarding. It has not affect or bearing if you're playing strictly BEHIND the router (within the lan).

[ripken204]

they are both on the same router. both software firewalls turned off. is just strange... i was able to fix it by using ipx and uninstalling some windows networking thing. but the normal lan play just doesnt work.

the lan play works fine over hamachi if were using comps on different networks. but it deosnt even work for hamachi if were on the same network.

[tain]

Of all the stuff you tried, the only that worked was going to IPX? Really strange. Sounds like maybe this is an older game...

[jcarle]

Sounds like subnet mismatching or routing issues.

[cluberti]

Well, since IPX isn't routable and IP is, it's most likely going to be a routing issue (I know, surprise that we have the issue at the router ). I'd say you probably simply have a router with some limitations in it's functionality.

[jcarle]

Should'a bought a Linksys.

But if you want to try to save yourself with this, try a ) updating the router's firmware to the latest version, then b ) resetting it to factory defaults followed by c ) a cold reset ( remove power, wait 5 mins, put back ).

Edited December 8, 2006 by jcarle

[ripken204]

it has the latest firmware, resetting things does nothing. so i guess its in the routing... but do u guys have any clue what it could be? it prolly just the game, ill try another game later.

[tain]

I personally think that it could just be the game. Game networking is finicky in my experience, especially in older games.

Can you browse each other's network shares? How do you know that the ports are the problem that prevent you from playing the game with one another? Can you swap the router with a hub or dumb switch to rule out a bad router config?

Depending on how this pans out, you may need to do a "hard reset" on your router or reload the default values.

[ripken204]

well it just must be the game. ipx is fine for me. i may get a switch or something something, thx guys.