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Network Issues, FFXI, and You: A GuideFollow

#1 Mar 10 2007 at 8:41 AM Rating: Excellent
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There are currently about 2 dozen threads on this network connectivity/R0/Lag/Connection refused issue.

Square-Enix stated that it most likely is a networking issue, so in the best interest of giving people good, clean information, here's some steps to recycle your network WITHOUT being uber-tech-savvy about it.

Step 1: Verifying your IP.

If the IP reset is what clears this issue, let's find out what that is, shall we?

-In Windows XP, click Start, then run.
*In Vista, just type cmd in the Search box
-Type in cmd
-Hit Ok
-In the command prompt window (That black thing that just camp up) type in ipconfig

Copy down the IP address and the Default Gateway. The Gateway is the IP address of what actually hooks you into the internet (The router's IP, modem's IP or server's IP it uses for you). Keep these numbers for reference.

Step 2: Determining your network

This is the easiest part. How are you connecting? That can be broken down into two neat categories:

- High Speed aka Broadband
- Dial-up

If you're on Dial-up, your journey ends here. Your IP address should be dynamically assigned unless you're one of the very few that actually uses a dial-up router (Yes, they do exist, and in wireless versions too). If you're one of those... check out the router section later. If you cannot connect via Dial-up, call your ISP or call Square-Enix to verify there's nothing unique about your situation.

Now, all you high speed types, time to determine HOW you connect.

- Through Telephone lines
- Through Cable
- Through Satellite
- Through Fibre Optic

Next, verify your "Network Topology", or "Where the heck all these wires go?!?"

- Do you have a modem inside your home for the connection or do you jack directly into a wall?
- Do you have more than one computer sharing this connnection via a router?

Once you have determined this, we can move on. I'll start with routers and networking first.

If you have a router, remove it from the system. Connect your system directly to modem/walljack and see if it resolves your issues. If it does, your issue is your router. As was previously stated, changing the MAC address, or the physical network identification of your device, can fix this. Call your router company on how to do this, or check out their website. The why behind this is that your ISP is holding an IP Address that is associated with that MAC address. Everytime you connect it, it will try to give you that address. Calling your ISP to release any MAC addresses they have will also clear this.

Also, for Linksys owners, check this thread:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10;mid=117354508239402212;num=37;page=1

Ok, if your issue is resovled, Congratulations! Otherwise, slog onwards with me.

Right, so we've gotten the direct connect to the modem, but what gives! We still cannot connect. Now we have to look at the modem. These days, a lot of modems are in and of themselves routers! But you can't disconnect it, or you have no internet connection. And likely you don't exactly have one to spare lying around.

So there are two ways to go about this:

- Contact your ISP for an IP reset
- Power cycle the modem

Since I can't tell you how to argue your way through the ISP...

Remove the power plug from the modem. Go have lunch. I'm totally serious. Leave it unplugged for an extended period of time so that your ISP releases your IP address on its own. A great way is to do this when you go to bed, and replug it in the morning. If you have fibre to your door or a modem you can't unplug... Call your ISP. No other choice.

So, how did it go? Still nothing? Onto the dreaded Step 3.

Step 3: Fooling with your software

Ok, so the first thing to do at this step, get your IP addy again.

-In Windows XP, click Start, then run.
*In Vista, just type cmd in the Search box
-Type in cmd
-Hit Ok
-In the command prompt window (That black thing that just camp up) type in ipconfig

Is it the same? No? Good. It shouldn't be by this time. So now it's a farked up setting on your system. Time to start resetting stuff. NONONONO!!! Put your OS CD down... we aren't formatting. Just set it down and back away slowly...

Ok, here's the series of commands you need to enter:

At the command prompt (see above if you forgot how to get there) enter this:

winver

Check the window that comes up. If it says that you are running Service Pack 2(SP2), enter this command:

netsh int ip reset ffxilog.txt

Service Pack 1(SP1), follow this:

EDIT: PRINT THESE INSTRUCTIONS OR WRITE THEM DOWN! This will temporarily sever your internet connection!

Click Start and then click Run.
The Run window appears.
Type regedit and click OK.
The Registry Editor window appears.
Click the "+" to the left of the following keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SYSTEM
CurrentControlSet
Services

Here we will delete the keys associated with your Winsock

-Scroll down to locate the Winsock folder.
-Right-click the Winsock folder and then click Export.
-The Export Registry File appears.
-Save the file in the Desktop as Winsock.reg. This backs up the key.
-Right-click Winsock and click Delete.
-The Confirm Key Delete window appears.
-Click Yes.
-Right-click Winsock2 and then click Export.
-The Export Registry File appears.
-Save the file in Desktop as Winsock2.reg. This backs up the key.
-Right-click Winsock2 and then click Delete.
-The Confirm Key Delete window appears.
-Click Yes.


Now, for either of these, restart your computer.

Service Pack 2(SP2): You're done for now.

Service Pack 1(SP1): Follow this:

-Click Start, and then Control Panel.
-The Control Panel window appears.
-Double-click the Network Connections icon.
-The list of available connections is displayed.
-Right-click Local Area Connection and left-click Properties.
-The Network Connection Properties window appears.
-On the General tab, click Install.
-The Select Network Component Type window appears.
-Click Protocol, then click Add.
-The Select Network Protocol window appears.
-Click Have Disk.
-The Install From Disk window appears.
-Type C:\Windows\INF and then click OK.
-Click Microsoft, then click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click OK.
-The Network Connection Properties window appears.
-Click Close.
-Restart the system.
-Click Start, then click Run.
-Type netsh int ip reset ffxilog.txt in the Run line and click OK

WHEW! Now go update to SP2 so you never have to do THAT again.

Try now. Still no good? Let's get back into command, and we'll give her one more go:

Enter in:

ipconfig /flushDNS
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /registerDNS


I know some of that might be overkill, but that's everything internet related I can even THINK might be related.

Try now. no go?

Well, that's when you call your ISP/SE again or the vendor of your computer and hope you get someone nice to try something more.

Advanced TS links: For those who want to try more thinks
http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/firewalling/routerindex.htm
http://oyah.net/news.php
http://technophobik.co.uk/#


Hope this helps some of you out there.

edit for clarity and added the warning
edit to include a good link ^.^
edit for more clarity
edit for links

Edited, Mar 10th 2007 4:00pm by Pawkeshup

Edited, Mar 13th 2007 10:42pm by Pikko
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#2 Mar 10 2007 at 9:13 AM Rating: Default
Effin Kudos my friend

good job breaking that down.
#3 Mar 10 2007 at 9:25 AM Rating: Decent
Ken Burton's Reject
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/blush
/bow

Trying to help out. If they said it's IP-related, and that doesn't work, I'm not sure what else will. Hopefully it will stem the tide of "OMG I CAN'T CONNECTZ" posts.
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#4 Mar 10 2007 at 9:32 AM Rating: Default
one can only hope to stem that tide
#5 Mar 10 2007 at 10:02 AM Rating: Decent
Ken Burton's Reject
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Giving the ol' girl a bump!
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#6 Mar 10 2007 at 11:00 AM Rating: Decent
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459 posts
Quote:
If you have a router, remove it from the system. Connect your system directly to modem/walljack and see if it resolves your issues


Here's a problem: I tried this last night and the connection from modem>anything but my netgear router wouldn't work. Couldn't get any connectivity on my PS2, PC, laptop, etc; When I tapped it back into my netgear router everything worked fine! -__________-
#7 Mar 10 2007 at 11:04 AM Rating: Decent
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Do you have DSL?

If so, your router might be logging in for you.

No DSL?

Your ISP is using MAC filtering (Don't laugh, some do).

Case #1: Call your ISP to re-setup your connection with any device and try
Case #2: Call your ISP and request an IP Address reset.

And yes, EVERY ISP can reset your IP address serverside. Request to speak to a supervisor/Tier 2 support if they refuse you.
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#8 Mar 10 2007 at 12:22 PM Rating: Good
Ken Burton's Reject
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Ze bump!
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#9 Mar 10 2007 at 3:20 PM Rating: Decent
SP1 and SP2 means?
#10 Mar 10 2007 at 3:22 PM Rating: Decent
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Service Pack 1
Service Pack 2

I'll edit in a couple.
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#11 Mar 10 2007 at 3:23 PM Rating: Decent
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Pawkeshup wrote:
Do you have DSL?

If so, your router might be logging in for you.

No DSL?

Your ISP is using MAC filtering (Don't laugh, some do).

Case #1: Call your ISP to re-setup your connection with any device and try
Case #2: Call your ISP and request an IP Address reset.

And yes, EVERY ISP can reset your IP address serverside. Request to speak to a supervisor/Tier 2 support if they refuse you.

An easier solution would be to turning your modem off for 15ish seconds, then back on, and then plugging in the new device.
#12 Mar 10 2007 at 3:28 PM Rating: Good
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Why even bother to make this, though? Doesn't it seem like the common problem here has something to do with the recent update SE did? The forums aren't normally flooded with people having connection issues like this.

Personally, I've found that if I zone into Giddeus or East Sarutabaruta, my receive rate drops to 0. Many people, including my LS leader, are having the same issue. This is happening all across the country.

Sure, it isn't affecting some people, but it's affecting enough to where SE should take notice and not just say that it isn't their problem, but rather, our ISPs....

I applaud you for going through the trouble to make up that guide, and under normal "onesies" and "twosies", it'd be good, but this is beyond our ISPs. The common thread that all the people have in common is FFXI. I can connect to the internet just fine. Even to POL. I just can't do much in the game without getting booted.
#13 Mar 10 2007 at 3:30 PM Rating: Decent
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Some ISPs link your MAC address to your IP. Yes, plugging another device in will force a new IP for THAT device. However, if the modem is a modem/router combo, it has its own MAC address which can cause the same IP to be refreshed.

It's an issue I hit on before which can cause problems. However, MAC-IP association is more problematic for some cable companies.
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#14 Mar 10 2007 at 3:34 PM Rating: Decent
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Step by step 100% through your guide even though a lot of it I've already tried over the past day and a half just in case I missed something. Still nothing. Still R0 in the exact same zones, nothing has changed. I have a new MAC address, new IP, nothing is different. The only step I can not verify is directly connecting my computer to the modem, because I am on a shared network and my computer is not the master. Running CAT5 is also not an option due to the modem being located completely in a different area. The only access I have to the modem is the ability to turn the power off and on, I can't move it or hook anything different up to it. I'm not the admin of the wireless router either so I can not remotely change anything about that. I've tried cycling power to the modem and router for 5 mins, 10 mins, and all the way up to 10 hours (overnight). The IP address I receive in the command prompt changes but the IP address I receive on web pages such as whatismyip.com has not changed. As I am not the account holder I can not call the ISP and manually ask for an IP reset.

Short of these limitations, I've done everything possible that I can on my computer to change my IP and anything else I can think of to get a different result. While I wish I was the primary account holder and was able to directly connect without a router or even had the ability to call the ISP for a different IP, these are not options for me and I would assume a large amount of other players as well. I'm extremely angry at square-enix over this. They can try to blame the ISP and say it is not their fault all they want, but the fact remains that Thursday I was playing their game perfectly normally with no problems, then Friday I and several others all have issues. Whether or not the problems are caused by IP address issues, the fact is Square changes something that caused the issues, regardless of if they meant to or not. The wide range of ISPs involved proves that the only thing everyone has in common is the fact that we all play FFXI, placing the responsibility on Square. Whether or not they admit it or not, I don't care, I just want them to realize this and fix it. If you have any other ideas please feel free to tell me them.

Edited, Mar 10th 2007 6:36pm by Zekyr
#15 Mar 10 2007 at 3:34 PM Rating: Decent
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Pawkeshup wrote:
Some ISPs link your MAC address to your IP. Yes, plugging another device in will force a new IP for THAT device. However, if the modem is a modem/router combo, it has its own MAC address which can cause the same IP to be refreshed.

Some? I don't know of any modern ISP that does not use the MAC address of the device at the point of demarcation to generate the private IP used before NAT translation. That isn't the issue.

The issue is that his modem is expecting that same MAC address, etc. Turning it off for 15 seconds will reset this, and it will take a new one, before requesting the new NAT ip.

He already mentioned he had another router involved, and that it was a regular modem - if he had a combination device, he would have been fine connecting anything new in, as it would have been a private IP address being provided from the start, and not need a MAC address at all.
Quote:

It's an issue I hit on before which can cause problems. However, MAC-IP association is more problematic for some cable companies.

#16 Mar 10 2007 at 3:39 PM Rating: Decent
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I'm not talking demarcation, I'm talking filtering. Different process.

Basically some ISPs will not grant an IP address to any other device save one that have a MAC ID for. You cannot alter that in the modem, so if the modem is also a router, you have to have them release it.

Actually, as a side note, this is more of an issue for one service using another's line. One issue I had revolved around an internet provider using another cable company's lines. The motherboard and onboard NIC had changed, so the service would not see and refer the computer to the ISP properly. Had to get the ISP to associate the new NIC with the customer's static IP.
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#17 Mar 10 2007 at 3:45 PM Rating: Good
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Pawkeshup wrote:
I'm not talking demarcation, I'm talking filtering. Different process.

Basically some ISPs will not grant an IP address to any other device save one that have a MAC ID for. You cannot alter that in the modem, so if the modem is also a router, you have to have them release it.

Actually, as a side note, this is more of an issue for one service using another's line. One issue I had revolved around an internet provider using another cable company's lines. The motherboard and onboard NIC had changed, so the service would not see and refer the computer to the ISP properly. Had to get the ISP to associate the new NIC with the customer's static IP.

I understand the difference, all I'm saying is that there is absolutely no reason to believe that is what is going on in the specific situation the person is having trouble with. It just doesn't make any sense.
#18 Mar 10 2007 at 3:45 PM Rating: Decent
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Teh best link when it come IP stuff i am goin to post this in every thread that has to with this topics you can forward ports close ports create static IP's all with these tutorials,
#19 Mar 10 2007 at 3:48 PM Rating: Decent
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Ok, in my rampant trying to field every post I could (Bless you Pikko and your thread locks ^.^) I've skipped a few responces:

Order:
I made this guide because SE is not helping people with this. I can understand why. They do not have a magical fix to provide, the issue is complex if doing these steps resolves people's issues. They have to limit what they support to some degree because they are a game company, not an ISP. Their "techs" read from scripts given to them. I'm mostly trying to get people playing the game they love as best I can.

Zekyr:
Graspee hit on that it most likely is related to DNS settings. Do ipconfig /flushDNS on your system. If this is a no-go, try asking the router's owner to flush the router's DNS cache. Again, PM or post if this works.

JackJeckle:
I'll toss in all the links I have as well in the main post.

Edited, Mar 10th 2007 3:49pm by Pawkeshup
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#20 Mar 10 2007 at 3:53 PM Rating: Good
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Pawkeshup wrote:
Remove the power plug from the modem. Go have lunch. I'm totally serious. Leave it unplugged for an extended period of time so that your ISP releases your IP address on its own. A great way is to do this when you go to bed, and replug it in the morning.

I tried this a while ago, having tried every other solution in all of the on-going threads. Including harassing my ISP. I checked ipconfig just now and I finally had a different IP. I'm able to play now. I strongly suggest that anyone with a yet stubborn problem exude some unnecessary patience and perform the underlined.

For the record, I have cable (Comcast). I unplugged my router some time ago and haven't tried it with that yet.
#21 Mar 10 2007 at 3:59 PM Rating: Decent
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Quote:
JackJeckle:
I'll toss in all the links I have as well in the main post.


Thank you like I said this site helped my out a ton has every router brand I have ever seen plus more. It shows a step by staep picture of what "your" screen should look like as you go along.
#22 Mar 10 2007 at 4:02 PM Rating: Decent
thank you for your thourough explanation. i did everything, but it still doesn't work. I still think this is SE's fault somewhere.
#23 Mar 10 2007 at 4:03 PM Rating: Decent
Chaning IP didn't work for me, I had to change MAC address. Which makes no sense on why that would work. I switched to my backup NIC and it worked fine... wtf. If you connect straight to the internets network card to modem... the quick 10$ fix is buy a new network card.

Things that didn't work
New OS (XP instead of 2003)
reinstall ffxi
unpluging modem for long time
renewing IP

Edited, Mar 10th 2007 7:04pm by Ineptvagrant
#24 Mar 10 2007 at 4:06 PM Rating: Decent
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Ineptvagrant wrote:
Chaning IP didn't work for me, I had to change MAC address. Which makes no sense on why that would work. I switched to my backup NIC and it worked fine... wtf. If you connect straight to the internets network card to modem... the quick 10$ fix is buy a new network card.

Things that didn't work
New OS (XP instead of 2003)
reinstall ffxi
unpluging modem for long time
renewing IP

Edited, Mar 10th 2007 7:04pm by Ineptvagrant

You were changing your private IP address, not your public one. Your ISP assigns it in a process that depends on your MAC address. By changing it, your ISP gives you a new public IP address.

There are two types of IP address: Public, and private. Public IPs are routable on the internet, while private are not. It's part of a scheme used to conserve the limited number of IPv4 IP addresses available.
#25 Mar 10 2007 at 4:34 PM Rating: Default
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Phoenix, check out this thread:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10;mid=11735711615957995;num=8;page=1

Cthulhu has the right of it I believe. The IP address refresh is more of a work-around than a fix.
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Olorinus the Ludicrous wrote:
The idea of old school is way more interesting than the reality
#26 Mar 10 2007 at 4:50 PM Rating: Decent
Better watch out Chtulhu, SE might try to hire you.

Great guide Pawkeshup.

Thanks for all the help trying to get these guys and gals in game.
Its refreshing to see people give advice that some would charge for.
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