For the life of me, I CANNOT forward a port.

[Dankk]

For the record, I use both YouGetSignal's Open Port Check Tool, and PortForward.com's own Open Port Check Tool. Both of them come up with a negative when I try to test port 25565 (the one I am trying to forward, for a Minecraft server).

Here are the steps I've already taken:

• I've given my computer a static IP address by changing the settings on my network card. So now it doesn't use DHCP.
• I've forwarded port 25565 in the config panel for my Linksys WRT54G router (both TCP and UDP), following the instructions from Portforward.com.
• I've gone to my modem's setup page and forwarded the exact same port for both TCP and UDP as well.
• I've added the port exceptions to Windows firewall, both TCP and UDP in the Inbound and Outbound exceptions. I know this doesn't have anything to do with it, because even when I disable Windows firewall COMPLETELY (along with my antivirus, MSE) it doesn't make a single difference.

So... what do I do now? I'm guessing the problem must be at the router or modem level. It's a bit deceiving reading all of these tutorials, saying that all you have to do is forward it on your router or whatever, when it's really not that simple. I know there is more to it than that, I just can't figure it out for the life of me. Sorry, I'm just really frustrated right now.

Do I have to give my ROUTER a static IP as well, and then forward the port on my MODEM with the IP from my ROUTER? (Does that even make any sense?)

As I said earlier, my router is a Linksys WRT54G. Also, my modem is a ZyXEL Q100, and my ISP is Qwest. I'm not sure if the ISP makes a difference though, because I remember having the same issues with Comcast.

Thanks in advanced.

 

[Sauro]

It might just be me, but after reading up a bit on this modem I am confused as to why it functions the way it does, but it may have to do with its authentication method.

I think your problem may be that both your modem and router are acting as routers with your modem doing dhcp to the WRT54G, so when you forward a port on your modem you're essentially forwarding it to nothing since the WRT54G is just getting a DHCP address from the modem. Go into the settings of your WRT54G and see what it has listed as its WAN address, if it's private then you may have to disable the routing functions, firewall, DHCP and give your WRT54G a static IP in the 192.168.0.1/24 (255.255.255.0 subnet mask) range so it's just acting as a switch. Alternatively you could follow this extremely uninformative pdf (http://www.qwest.com/internethelp/modems/q100/pdf/Q100_BRIDGE.pdf) and set it to bridge mode. Report back with that WAN address.

 

[spidey07]

Agree.

 

[Dankk]

Thanks for the reply. I too am wondering if it's an issue with the modem; my friend actually has the same router as me (the WRT54G) and he's not sure what the issue is, so maybe it's my modem.

Is WAN the same thing as an external IP address? This is what my router's status page looks like, if it helps:

Edit: Also, here's an example of what my modem's Advanced Settings look like. If you see any options on the sidebar that could lead to this getting solved, let me know:

 

[spidey07]

Yep. Your modem is doing NAT. Google around to see how to put it in bridge mode.

 

[Dankk]

Alternatively you could follow this extremely uninformative pdf (http://www.qwest.com/internethelp/modems/q100/pdf/Q100_BRIDGE.pdf) and set it to bridge mode. Report back with that WAN address.

I tried setting it to "transparent bridge" mode, it ended up totally breaking my internet and I had to restore my modem to factory defaults and run the configuration wizard again. Not too huge of a deal, but I don't wanna do it again unless I really know what I'm doing.

Yep. Your modem is doing NAT. Google around to see how to put it in bridge mode.

Thanks. I'm a total newbie when it comes to networking though, so I'm still trying to figure things out. If I understand correctly, when I properly set up the modem to be in "bridge" mode, I have to set the router to take over some of the duties that the modem once had, such as PPoE? So I can still have internet?

 

[Sauro]

Try this, in this order:

Turn off DHCP on the WRT54G. Turn off the Firewall on the WRT54G. Give your WRT54G the IP address 172.27.35.254 subnet mask 255.255.255.0 default gateway (if applicable) of 172.27.35.1. Plug your Modem into one of the LAN ports on your WRT54G, nothing should be in your WAN port. Give your computer the IP address 172.27.35.253 subnetmask 255.255.255.0 gateway 172.27.35.1. Log into your modem and forward the applicable ports to 172.27.35.253. Report back with your findings.

 

[kevnich2]

Yes, putting your modem into bridge mode will break your internet for a short while. This is likely because your dsl is using PPPOE for it's authentication and your router is in DHCP mode. You need to call your ISP and ask that either they put your modem into bridge mode and configure your router or give you the instructions to do it.

Ask specifically if they use PPPOE and if so, to give you your username and password. Configuring your router for this is easy and once it's done - you'll be good to go. PPPOE is basically how your authenticating yourself to your ISP for your internet. Currently your modem is handling that. By putting your modem into bridge mode, it removes this feature from your modem and makes it just a modem.

Something still has to do the PPPOE authentication in order for you to have internet. Your router is what needs to handle this function, which currently it's in DHCP mode. You would simply go into your router's internet/WAN setup and change it from DHCP to PPPOE and type in whatever your username and password is and hit save. Give it a few seconds and you should have internet back. But you do need your username and password from your ISP first.

 

[Dankk]

Yes, putting your modem into bridge mode will break your internet for a short while. This is likely because your dsl is using PPPOE for it's authentication and your router is in DHCP mode. You need to call your ISP and ask that either they put your modem into bridge mode and configure your router or give you the instructions to do it.

Ask specifically if they use PPPOE and if so, to give you your username and password. Configuring your router for this is easy and once it's done - you'll be good to go. PPPOE is basically how your authenticating yourself to your ISP for your internet. Currently your modem is handling that. By putting your modem into bridge mode, it removes this feature from your modem and makes it just a modem.

Something still has to do the PPPOE authentication in order for you to have internet. Your router is what needs to handle this function, which currently it's in DHCP mode. You would simply go into your router's internet/WAN setup and change it from DHCP to PPPOE and type in whatever your username and password is and hit save. Give it a few seconds and you should have internet back. But you do need your username and password from your ISP first.

Ok, so I tried this. It didn't work. I waited for like 10 minutes, is this not long enough? To be sure about my PPoE username and password, I called Qwest for it (even though I already had it entered on my modem's config page) and wrote it down. Then I put my modem in "IPoE Transparent Bridging" mode, and put my router in "PPoE" mode, using my username and password. After that though, I had no internet.

Here's my modem's config page:

And, my router:

Is there something missing here? How long does it normally take?

 

[boomerang]

Are you powering the modem and router down and restarting them after making these changes?

 

[Dankk]

Are you powering the modem and router down and restarting them after making these changes?

I didn't think I needed to. I'll try it though. Thanks.

 

[Dankk]

Ok, so after making the same changes I did before (changing the modem to "IPoE Transparent bridge mode" and the router to "PPoE mode"), I completely power-cycled both the modem and the router. And I have to say... this made the internet work again! I have a couple of observations though:

1) Using the port check tools, with and without Minecraft server running, I still get negatives. Port forwarding still doesn't work.

2) Kind of random, but... I can no longer access my modem's configuration panel. Is this normal? I type 192.168.0.1 into the address bar, and apparently it doesn't exist. Is it supposed to do this in transparent bridge mode?

Thanks in advanced. :/

 

[kevnich2]

Ok, so after making the same changes I did before (changing the modem to "IPoE Transparent bridge mode" and the router to "PPoE mode"), I completely power-cycled both the modem and the router. And I have to say... this made the internet work again! I have a couple of observations though:

1) Using the port check tools, with and without Minecraft server running, I still get negatives. Port forwarding still doesn't work.

2) Kind of random, but... I can no longer access my modem's configuration panel. Is this normal? I type 192.168.0.1 into the address bar, and apparently it doesn't exist. Is it supposed to do this in transparent bridge mode?

Thanks in advanced. :/

Yes, when you make changes like that, always reboot so the changes take effect. As far as the modem not being accessible - yes that is normal. The modem is basically in dumb mode now, all it is now is a modem that connects your router with the DSL equipment. Your router is handling pretty much everything now. Make sure your power forwarding is setup correctly in your router as that is what's handling that now.

 

[boomerang]

How about a screen shot of the page or pages of the router's config screens for port forwarding? Might make it easier to help.

 

[Dankk]

Make sure your power forwarding is setup correctly in your router as that is what's handling that now.

"Power forwarding"? Is this a typo, or something I don't know about?

How about a screen shot of the page or pages of the router's config screens for port forwarding? Might make it easier to help.

Here's a screenshot of my port forwarding config. (BTW, I changed my PC's local IP to 192.168.1.143.) Also, Linksys provides the full interactive UI for all of their routers online, you can see the WRT54G here.

 

[boomerang]

Are you running a firewall other than the Windows firewall? Regardless, disable them all temporarily for troubleshooting purposes.

I prefer to have the router assign an IP address to a specific computer by MAC address, but Linksys does not provide for this in their firmware. At least this very popular Linksys model does not. There are no provisions to check devices connected to the router either so I ask, have you verified that the IP address you have assigned to the computer in question is in fact the IP address that it has?

Start>Run>cmd then Enter. Type "ipconfig /all" (without the quotes) and Enter. You will have to scroll up and the IP address will be to the right of IPv4 Address. My apologies if you know this already.

On your router, under the Security/Firewall tab, you may want to uncheck Block Anonymous Internet Requests temporarily as a troubleshooting step. The explanation for that setting, accessed by clicking More... in the right column has different wording for that entry but alludes to it blocking ports.

 

[Dankk]

There are no provisions to check devices connected to the router either so I ask, have you verified that the IP address you have assigned to the computer in question is in fact the IP address that it has?

Start>Run>cmd then Enter. Type "ipconfig /all" (without the quotes) and Enter. You will have to scroll up and the IP address will be to the right of IPv4 Address. My apologies if you know this already.

Yup. Next to IPv4, it says 192.168.1.143(Preferred).

Windows firewall is my only firewall, and MSE is my antivirus. Both are turned off.

 

[boomerang]

Yup. Next to IPv4, it says 192.168.1.143(Preferred).

Windows firewall is my only firewall, and MSE is my antivirus. Both are turned off.

I did some editing above. Don't know if you saw it.

 

[boomerang]

If the last paragraph in post #16 does not solve your problem I'd say there are one of two things going on. Either I've overlooked something which is entirely possible, or, your ISP is blocking that port.

 

[Dankk]

If the last paragraph in post #16 does not solve your problem I'd say there are one of two things going on. Either I've overlooked something which is entirely possible, or, your ISP is blocking that port.

Yeah, I had the "Block Anonymous Internet Requests" box unchecked from the beginning. Thanks anyway though. *Sigh* Maybe I'll try a couple of different port numbers.

 

[boomerang]

PM sent Dan.