I think something is wrong with my DSL PPPoE configuration

[PolymerTim]

OK, so all at once I have moved to a new state (Connecticut), clean installed WinXP Pro (used to use 2000), and got a new ISP. Now I'm having some problems and have no clue what is causing them. The ISP is SBC SNET DSL using PPPoE. So my comp is directly connected to the DSL modem (no firewalls or routers) and I have a home network running opn a second NIC with ICS working just fine. I'm still waiting for full speed, but I've been told it takes up to 10 days for the modem to optimize the connection. My problem is that a few of my programs can't seem to find the internet connection. When I try to run Everquest and the game attempts to find the patcher I get an error message saying that there is not internet connection, even though IE6 works fine. And the message is almost instantaneous so I think the problem is most likely internal to my computer or at most the DSL modem. Magelo also can't connect to it's patcher. That was my only problem until recently. My distributed.net client has been happily crunching RC5-72 packets and updating just fine over the new connection. A couple days ago I updated to the most recent version of the client and now it can't find the connection either. I tried reverting back to the copy that had worked, but it still can't find the connection. There's got to be something wrong with the configuration somewhere. Maybe it has something to do with ports, I don't know. I've got a tech request into EQ in case they can help, but they're are taking a long time, and I'm ansi. I'm not currently playing on EQ, so it's no big loss, but I just would like to know that everything is working properly. Let me know if you guys have any ideas or need any more specific info.

 

[ReiAyanami]

PPPoE sux it. i was able to get my belkin router to authenticate once and then never more. now the connection cant be shared and i have to plug it in directly into the modem. also it has downtime like atleast 5 min per day, vs 10 min every two weeks with roadrunner

i'll be dumping SBC DSL as soon as the contract runs out. no wonder they make u sign one. and only 3k ft away from the central office...

 

[PolymerTim]

OK, update from EQTech.

After a week of waiting for a response from EQTech support, I got an automated response saying exactly what they have on their website. They don't officially support any kind of router, but they do give some of their technical info in to aid in configuration. I didn't realize that all DSL modems were essentially routers, but I guess so. Here's part of what they sent me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We do not formally support the use of firewalls or proxies, including
home cable modem/DSL NAT routers and other Internet Connection Sharing
devices or software including campus or office networks. However, the
following information might be helpful if you need to troubleshoot a
connection that utilizes one of those technologies:

Patch Application:
A TCP connection is initiated from the player's PC (using ports numbered
>1023) to patch.everquest.com, port 7000. There are multiple IP
addresses for the patch.everquest.com clusters, and they may change as
the network demands, so check often using a DNS lookup tool if you
provide a specific firewall rule for patching.

EverQuest client:
UDP datagrams are sent to/from the player's PC (using ports numbered
>1023) from/to the EverQuest servers (using ports numbered >1023).
Additionally, ICMP Unreachables (ICMP type 3) are sent to/from the
player's PC from/to the EverQuest servers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right now even the patcher can't connect, so I'm assuming that something about my DSL modem connection is blocking ports. Can anyone help me out with this. I imagine this is a pretty common problem, but I haven't been able to find a solution yet. Please let me know if you have any ideas.

 

[NittanyLAncer]

Linksys BEFSR41...get one =P I went through 2 different routers bought in the last 3 months that didn't want to work till I went back to ol' faithful. They're pretty cheap now.....they're like 5 years old. It doesn't natively support PPPoE but the firmware update works great. In any event.....your program support.....

http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/app_port_list.htm#Games

That'll let you know pretty much everything about everything port.

I'll admit I skimmed......but if you list a DSL modem manufacturer model maybe we could help? Windows also has a pretty useless firewall in XP that wasn't in 2K. Network Places=>Properties and then whatever will be your connection (usually "Loacal Area Connection "?" "). In that's properties there's the "advanced" tab where windows' useless firewall is. I've never seen it do anything but keep programs I want to work from working.

Also check and see which connection is default......IE will look at every available connection...but Everquest might not, try changing it.

Try pulling out the NIC you have the network on.....rebooting...then trying Everquest.

Lastly.....unplug the network and call SBC. Do not tell them you have a network installed or even there. Whenever I deal with Earthlink I just fuksck it and pretend I'm on a PC instead of a router.

If none of that works you can PM me, I'll be happy to help without bumping this thread into oblivion.

And if anyone is looking into DSL....I'll hype Earthlink. They'll price-match competitors in the area (call up and say "Verizon/SBC/whoever is offering THIS at THIS....what can you give me"). I'm getting Verizon's $100/month service for $50/month. They actually might buy you out of your contract too......ya never know.

 

[PolymerTim]

Well I currently have a Speedstream 5100 and I have already turned off the XP firewall. I normally use the free ZoneAlarm, but I have it disbaled temporarily while I'm troubleshooting this. So what exactly does the Linksys BEFSR41 do that my modem doesn't? does it go between the modem and my computer and act as a firewall or does it take the place of the DSL modem? I'm really not familiar with routers other than their use as networking hubs.

I checked with Earthlink and they don't service my area yet with DSL or cable.

The link you provided is interesting, but basically links to the same info I got in the email from EQTech. I'm pretty sure the problem is with the ports being blocked, but I don't have any idea how to get them unblocked. I think with typical firewall routers, you have control over that, but with this DSL modem, I don't even know if that is possible. How can a DSL modem block ports without giving the ability to unblock them. That's what it sounds like to me anyway. That's what makes me think there is some simple way around this, but I may be wrong. I've got an email in with SBC DSL who I probably should've contacted in the first place. We'll see what they say.

My DSL connection is the default connection. I tried shifting around the order in the network connections / advanced settings / adapters and bindings and in the provider order, but that had no effect.

Extra Thought: The weird thing is that my distributed.net client was working fine on the new DSL until I tried to update it. Now neither the new nor the old version works. I know that program uses TCP port 2064. I wonder why it could get through before and not now.
I'll try taking out my other network card and modem just to eliminate that possibility and I'll let you guys know what happens. May be this evening before I can get to it. Thanks for the help.

 

[NittanyLAncer]

Try disabling WinXP's firewall. IT really is a built in piece of flaming poo. I never even noticed it until I tried to do some direct sends of some stuff. And I believe they default that thing to "on."

SBC might have an idea and as I said just don't tell them about the network. IT's a network bridge.....so it won't effect anything. IF we know the name of the manufacturer and a model number we can try looking it up (look for a white tag on the bottom, most of those things are made by Connexant or something). Try typing 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. Most of the time those IP addresses go to whatever is doing firewall or routing work.

Side thought....what software did they give you to install? I'm wondering if they gave you a dialer program, something like WinPoET or whatnot. Anything where you enter your username password essentially. A lot of those dialer programs have built in firewalls. You probably wouldn't even notice it if it auto-starts. Looking in the taskbar for anything strange. If not :

Look in "Network and Dial-Up Connections" in the Control Panel. Is there a "PPPoE Mini-Driver" or something there? See if you can off that things firewall (I think it has one). When I first posted I forgot that the network setup wizard now has PPPoE as an option, and that's what it uses.

The router just gets rid of the network bridge. You hook everything into the router and then the router into the modem. The router will also remove the need for using the PPPoE mini-driver or whatnot. The router will sign in with your username/pass combo and keep you connected. Removes the need for a dialer. The particular model I use will actually force the connection alive (which is nice....it makes me be online and keep the same IP etc. for near 2-3 weeks).

I would bet against it being the modem. Modems rarely have firewalls. That's what routers and firewalls are for. I'd bet it's something in your OS config. The fact that upgrading a program made it not work makes sound even more like an OS problem. XP will just flag any program it thinks is being evil.

Good luck!

 

[PolymerTim]

I mentioned it's a SpeedStream 5100 but to be specific it is an Ethernet ADSL modem made by Efficient Networks.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the XP firewall is already disabled.

I tried typing into IE6 192.168. (0.0 , 0.1 , 1.0 , 1.1) and those pulled up nothing. I had tried that before to see if my modem was acting like a router and apparently it isn't.

Software came with the modem, but upon suggestions from other DSL members, I have completely uninstalled all of it and the connection is now made through XP's PPPoE and I have to initiate it each time I reboot.

Under my network connections there is nothing like a "PPPoE Mini-Driver".

Oh well, hopefully I'll get a response from my DSL provider today or tomorrow.

 

[PolymerTim]

I finally figured it out!!!

After stumping many different tech support guys, I finally stumbled across the source of my problem, which turned out to be a lot simpler than I thought. I didn't mention it in this particular thread, but I have previously installed ZoneAlarm. When I set up the new DSL account, I disabled it so that it wouldn't cause any problems. Since some of my programs were having trouble, I decided not to turn it back on until I got the problems figured out. I took Zonealarm out of my startup folder and restarted my computer. Nothing from Zonealarm appeared in the task manager so I assumed nothing from it was running.

As a last resort, I was looking through my list of services to see if anything might be disabled that would cause the problem and, lo and behold, TrueVector service was running. I had no idea that this continued to run even if Zonealarm wasn't started. I stopped the process and my programs immediately worked. Then I restarted the process and started Zonealarm. As soon as I tried to run one of the programs, I got the familiar pop-up requesting permission for the program.

Maybe this is obvious to some, but I sure learned a thing or two. Apparently, without Zonealarm running to give permission to unknown programs, the TrueVector service just blocked them. And apparently when the TrueVector service is running, there is no indication of it in the task manager, only in the services listing. So, ironically, the one thing I was avoiding because I thought it would complicate the problem, was actually the solution.

Thanks to all who gave ideas and suggestions.

 

[EeyoreX]

Originally posted by: ReiAyanami
PPPoE sux it. i was able to get my belkin router to authenticate once and then never more. now the connection cant be shared and i have to plug it in directly into the modem. also it has downtime like atleast 5 min per day, vs 10 min every two weeks with roadrunner

i'll be dumping SBC DSL as soon as the contract runs out. no wonder they make u sign one. and only 3k ft away from the central office...

Incidentally, I find PPPoE to be excellent. I have had no trouble connecting with my cheap@$$ Hawking Tech router using SBC DSL service. I have also heard nothing but great success and experiences with many others who use PPPoE. I am guessing user error is the problem, and not PPPoE.

\Dan

 

[dbwillis]

I had great service for 2 yrs with SNET DSl in Naugy CT...I never ever used there PPPoE software, I connected via the Linksys router...

 

[EeyoreX]

I had great service for 2 yrs with SNET DSl in Naugy CT...I never ever used there PPPoE software, I connected via the Linksys router...

... which most likely connected via PPPoE.

\Dan