Problem Joining MP Games

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Tue May 22, 2007 7:57 pm

Ok I'm baffled as to why this is happening, but I've tried everything I can to fix this and it still has me on the ropes. I cant join Multiplayer games at all.

At first I would get to the black screen that says \"receiving data\" and just sit there. I could hear ships and weapons but I didn't get any further. I re-installed Descent, even cleaned all the registry entries before re-installation and now I get, \"error unable to initialize game module\"

Any ideas?

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Tue May 22, 2007 8:05 pm

Did you actually delete the directory prior to re-installation? (As you know, uninstallers are infamous for leaving ★■◆● behind.)

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Tue May 22, 2007 8:22 pm

Yup deleted the directory plus I manually ran regedit and hunted down all the stray D3 entries I found. Once again I deleted everything and re-installed. Now I'm back at the black screen \"receiving data\". WTF!?$#@@
I'm on my third re-install and I'm about to go postal.

I reinstalled video and sound drivers too... no go.
I'll try re-installing my nic card but I don't think this is the problem.

I was playing fine the other week and did nothing to my system that would bring this on.

Stumped

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Tue May 22, 2007 8:33 pm

I highly doubt it is the windows firewall causing problems, but it isn't impossible. I've also had my system hang on \"receiving data\" before, especially on linux servers. Is it to the stage where you can hear game sounds playing if you press the fire keys? Did you reboot at some point between these reinstalls?

One more thing you can try is force it to use a different port by putting -useport # in the command line (# = any number between 1024-65535).

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Tue May 22, 2007 8:48 pm

Tried reinstalling the NIC card drivers... nope. I can hear the game sounds but no responses to trigger etc. Useport didn't work either.

I've rebooted so many times I've lost track now. Really really bizarre problem as I have done nothing to the system at all.

Going to try SFC and see if any files corrupt.

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Wed May 23, 2007 12:00 pm

Ran SFC and had one file corrupted but it had nothing to do with anything important so that wasn't it. Re-installed Direct-X, still nada. On a lark I booted to my XP partition and tried running the D3 install there. Crashes at load screen. OK now this is getting weird. Boot back to 98 and as it is booting up I'm thinking my video card is dying or some other hardware issue because by now I had re-installed D3 and every driver at least 3 times by now. On a lark I decided to check my Router settings... Voila. Somehow my port forwarding table had been wiped and replaced with three entries all having to do with MSN and messenger. So if anyone else gets the problems discussed check your port forwarding.
The thing that gets me is I don't ever chat on MSN or even use messenger, so that means I either was hacked or internally someone was on my system. I'm leaning towards the internal issue as I have recently been converting AVI to VOB and been leaving my system running while away at work. I've also forgotten to lock the bedroom door on several occasions recently.
In order to get into the router the person needed a fairly complex user name and pass. Which was stored in my desk. I'm very upset to think someone thought it OK to come in my room, rummage through my desk, use my system, erase my port forwarding and add theirs. All they had to do was ask. I know who it would be too as my other roommate has his own router and IP addy and can take care of his own forwarding. Come to think of it he asked me last week, \"We are behind a firewall right?\" He must have had port forwarding problems.

*Now this explains why after an 8 hour session of converting last week I ended up with 1 good VOB and five 0 bit VOB files. When he comes back from Vacation hes in for an earful and a serious warning about trespass. I'll point out if he wants to emigrate to this Country AND keep all his teeth that he better not get any criminal code violations.

What a spiel!

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Wed May 23, 2007 12:14 pm

Wow...

That's a pretty serious thing, if indeed he got into your stuff for the router password, and played with the settings.

I'd be seriously pissed.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Wed May 23, 2007 12:28 pm

Odd, you normally don't need port forwarding on the router to play D3 (if it's a NAT firewall), only to serve a game..

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Wed May 23, 2007 12:38 pm

I'm shocked and angry, but I think he may have had a friend over that knows about forwarding as I'm pretty sure he is not savy enough on the technical end. Why they would erase all my other entries is beyond me unless the dude knew enough to be dangerous and wasn't aware he was doing anything bad.

Went over the log files and found my system accessing MSN on an afternoon last week while I was working from 6 am to 9 pm every day. Soooo internal. I'll point out he is responsible for his guests actions on our Network and if I ever find him or one of his guests in my room he better pray someone calls the RCMP and that they get here fast. Hes 12 years younger and quite fit but I'm certain I still could rip off one of his limbs and beat him with the wet end. I have alot of patience but a short fuse.

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Wed May 23, 2007 12:49 pm

Ya Grendel I thought so too. But I am up again...
Maybe its a networking or Router Bug, or maybe the Direct X re-install did it and it needed another boot or two for all the dll's to register... I dunno but I got tired waving the Voodoo Chicken around, (actually I did pull out an old V3 to replace the vid card in case it was bad

)

I was busy with sourcing all day so far so I'll try and run D3 and see if it works on the XP partition now.
/me runs D3

Lol! Corrupt video drivers for sure now, this one I know how to fix though.

Thanks for the help people

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Wed May 23, 2007 1:30 pm

Heh, your roommate is lucky that you don't live in the states as he'd be facing possible jail time for that.

The Lion · Post by **The Lion** » Thu May 24, 2007 4:00 pm

UPnP-capable NAT devices can have portmappings automatically added and
removed, no username/password required. Windows has API functions for it,
MSN and some windows filesharing programs use it, and DirectPlay will also
automatically use it to open ports for DirectPlay games.

I've seen some portmapping entries with a description containing \"msmsgs\" or
something like that in the UPnP portmapping table, no doubt having been put
there by msn messenger for file transfer purposes.

However, on the routers I know, this UPnP table is separate from the table
containing the manually specified mappings, and I don't know what program
would wipe all entries before adding its own, or at all.

But, no doubt there are lots of differences between implementations...

I think on most routers you can disable UPnP in the configuration.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Thu May 24, 2007 10:55 pm

How about this... your router got reset to factory default settings somehow. I know my Netgear router has a few standard built-in port forwarding definitions. Power surge, maybe? Recent upgrade to firmware?

There should be a config option in the router to reset to factory default. Try it and see if it has those forwarding settings on by default before you lop your roommate's head off.

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Fri May 25, 2007 1:27 am

I figured he used a port mapping program as I recall trying one years ago that didn't require a user/pass. My router defaults to a blank table when reset but the ports were checked active and forwarded to his IP. Also the router is on an UPS so that wasn't it. I usually turn off UPnP but recently I've been using utorrent and my ISP throttles filesharing, so I encrypt and use random ports to throw them a curve ball and get decent speeds. Regardless he f*xed with my router and caused me alot of grief. I'll just turn off UPnP as I'm sure thats how the scripting tools get in.
I'm tempted to run some scripting tools myself now.