So, I've narrowed down my XBox live issue.

[CPA]

So haven't been able to download the update needed on my machine for XBox live. I get the "XBox Live is not responding" error message. After several days of going back and forth with my ISP, my router company and MS XBox customer service, MS is saying it is either my crossover cable or my ISP is chopping off parts of the info that the XBox servers are sending. I need the crossover cable for my modem. It won't do jack without it. My ISP says I need this specific modem. I can't get anyone at my ISP to confirm that they are the bottleneck. So it looks like I'm stuck.

Anyone else have this similar problem or know of a resolution. Unfortunately, I have not found another ISP that serves my area and I hate to have to change to cable.

 

[SoylentGreen]

Have a friend on cable nearby to test?

Take your config there see what happens.

 

[yukichigai]

It may be an MTU issue. Some ISPs have MTU limits of 1492, whereas the modems are set to 1500+. This means you get packet loss guaranteed. If you hook up a router you can usually set an MTU limit on the router, thereby removing the problem.

What ISP do you have? They may be BSing you about the modem; chances are it checks by MAC Address, which many modems can fake.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
It may be an MTU issue. Some ISPs have MTU limits of 1492, whereas the modems are set to 1500+. This means you get packet loss guaranteed. If you hook up a router you can usually set an MTU limit on the router, thereby removing the problem.

What ISP do you have? They may be BSing you about the modem; chances are it checks by MAC Address, which many modems can fake.

When I had the router set up (I do straight modem, now) it was set at 1500 for MTU. Will they give me the answer if I ask them what their MTU limit is? What should it be at a minimum.

I use Consolidated Communications, which just took over TXU Communications. Small companies, so I don't expect anyone to have heard of them. They check by PPPOE, so I have to only have that setting in place in the XBox to connect. I can connect, it's that XBox can't send anything back.

MS did say that if I can hook up somewhere else and get the initial update done, then I could play seeing as no downloading is done after that, with the exception of content downloads, something I may or may not need.

 

[Ogg]

Damn just come on over tonight man...........
We'll set it up, update it, chat, etc....


Dont forget to bring the necessary cables and uh your wife! :thumbsup:




:beer:

 

[RagingBITCH]

Never had that issue. Could you download updates/play on Live on a normal/regular basis before?

And are you using DHCP on your router? If you are, I'd suggest resetting all your network settings on your XBox (not messing with the PPPoE stuff) and see if it works that way. I don't know why it'd need those settings if it's hooked up straight to the router.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Never had that issue. Could you download updates/play on Live on a normal/regular basis before?

And are you using DHCP on your router? If you are, I'd suggest resetting all your network settings on your XBox (not messing with the PPPoE stuff) and see if it works that way. I don't know why it'd need those settings if it's hooked up straight to the router.

no, I haven't been able to get any updates or play. I just tried getting in Live for the first time and have been trying for the last two weeks.

Yes, using DHCP. Have connected using PPPoE or using network settings. Either way, with the router, I can connect, but after several seconds of trying to do the initial update it craps out.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: Ogg
Damn just come on over tonight man...........
We'll set it up, update it, chat, etc....


Dont forget to bring the necessary cables and uh your wife! :thumbsup:




:beer:

You know I would man, but you live too far away.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Never had that issue. Could you download updates/play on Live on a normal/regular basis before?

And are you using DHCP on your router? If you are, I'd suggest resetting all your network settings on your XBox (not messing with the PPPoE stuff) and see if it works that way. I don't know why it'd need those settings if it's hooked up straight to the router.

no, I haven't been able to get any updates or play. I just tried getting in Live for the first time and have been trying for the last two weeks.

Yes, using DHCP. Have connected using PPPoE or using network settings. Either way, with the router, I can connect, but after several seconds of trying to do the initial update it craps out.

Just curious - when you do a network connection test in the XBox Live setup, does it give you an OK on all 4 parts of the test?

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Never had that issue. Could you download updates/play on Live on a normal/regular basis before?

And are you using DHCP on your router? If you are, I'd suggest resetting all your network settings on your XBox (not messing with the PPPoE stuff) and see if it works that way. I don't know why it'd need those settings if it's hooked up straight to the router.

no, I haven't been able to get any updates or play. I just tried getting in Live for the first time and have been trying for the last two weeks.

Yes, using DHCP. Have connected using PPPoE or using network settings. Either way, with the router, I can connect, but after several seconds of trying to do the initial update it craps out.

Just curious - when you do a network connection test in the XBox Live setup, does it give you an OK on all 4 parts of the test?

Yes, it then goes to a screen that says it is downloading XBox Live update to my system and not to shut off the system. An empty bar is present, but it never fills up. Instead, after about a minute I get the message "XBox Live is not responding. Please try again later." According to MS this message should normally come up during the billing screen, if there is a problem. But, regardless, they believe it is either the crossover cable hindering the transfer of data or my ISP cutting off chunks of info. What is the minimum MTU that my ISP should be allowing in? Also, what does MTU stand for exactly and what does it do?

 

[yukichigai]

First off, if you haven't customized your router setup you need to. I'm not sure what ports XBox Live uses to receive information but it could very well be that you need to forward some ports. If you can find out what ports it uses go into your router's configuration utility and forward them to the XBox. (Should be able to do it by name, but you may need to do it by physical port, internal IP or MAC address) If you can't find out the ports try setting it to "DMZ Mode", or Demilitarized Mode, meaning every bit of data requesting a port will be sent to your XBox unless you have an existing port forwarding rule in place.

Secondly, if your XBox is getting an IP assigned by DHCP you should try giving it a static internal IP, like 192.168.0.5. Sometimes this helps things. If you do that it'll also be easier to setup your router to forward ports to the XBox.

MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Unit, and it's to do with the total amount of data that can be sent per packet. 1492 is the most common setting; try setting your router's limit to 1492.

Finally, I know your ISP says you need a crossover cable, but if you're going through a router you shouldn't. (unless you have a really weird modem) Try using a straight cable if nothing else works.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
First off, if you haven't customized your router setup you need to. I'm not sure what ports XBox Live uses to receive information but it could very well be that you need to forward some ports. If you can find out what ports it uses go into your router's configuration utility and forward them to the XBox. (Should be able to do it by name, but you may need to do it by physical port, internal IP or MAC address) If you can't find out the ports try setting it to "DMZ Mode", or Demilitarized Mode, meaning every bit of data requesting a port will be sent to your XBox unless you have an existing port forwarding rule in place.

Secondly, if your XBox is getting an IP assigned by DHCP you should try giving it a static internal IP, like 192.168.0.5. Sometimes this helps things. If you do that it'll also be easier to setup your router to forward ports to the XBox.

MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Unit, and it's to do with the total amount of data that can be sent per packet. 1492 is the most common setting; try setting your router's limit to 1492.

Finally, I know your ISP says you need a crossover cable, but if you're going through a router you shouldn't. (unless you have a really weird modem) Try using a straight cable if nothing else works.

Did both of the suggestions in the first paragraph. no go.

Tried setting it to a static IP. no go.

MTU was set at 1500. didn't play with it, but can try.

I have to use the crossover when I go straight through the modem (Zyxel 640) or through the router.

 

[edro]

Take your modchip out. jk.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: edro13
Take your modchip out. jk.

I wish it was that easy, but I have not modchip to begin with. sigh, all I want is my XBox Live.

 

[yukichigai]

Okay, now try doing everything at once, except switching the crossover cable. Make sure your router is set up to recognize the XBox assigning itself an IP. There should be a section in the configuration utility that will let you assign an IP by MAC address. Assign it to the XBox's MAC address, and keep it to something simple. Also, I can't remember exactly what is in the XBox settings but if there are Gateway and Netmask settings make sure they match up with that of the Router. Gateway should be set to the router's internal IP (probably 192.168.0.1) and the Netmask should be whatever the Router is set to. (likely 255.255.255.0 or 255.255.0.0) Also, forward both TCP and UDP, as I'm not sure which the XBox uses. (may use both)

Go to DSL reports on a computer with DMZ mode enabled for that computer -- or with the modem connected directly to the computer -- and tell me what you get. The ISP may be blocking ports required by XBox Live.

Who makes your router? What ISP do you use? Who makes the modem they're forcing you to use? And what type of Broadband is it? (DSL, Cable, etc.) If it's DSL, do you connect via PPPoE or PPPoA?

Also, who told you that a crossover cable is needed to use your modem? And have you tried with a straight cable? Sometimes they don't tell you the truth....

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Okay, now try doing everything at once, except switching the crossover cable. Make sure your router is set up to recognize the XBox assigning itself an IP. There should be a section in the configuration utility that will let you assign an IP by MAC address. Assign it to the XBox's MAC address, and keep it to something simple. Also, I can't remember exactly what is in the XBox settings but if there are Gateway and Netmask settings make sure they match up with that of the Router. Gateway should be set to the router's internal IP (probably 192.168.0.1) and the Netmask should be whatever the Router is set to. (likely 255.255.255.0 or 255.255.0.0) Also, forward both TCP and UDP, as I'm not sure which the XBox uses. (may use both)

Go to DSL reports on a computer with DMZ mode enabled for that computer -- or with the modem connected directly to the computer -- and tell me what you get. The ISP may be blocking ports required by XBox Live.

Who makes your router? What ISP do you use? Who makes the modem they're forcing you to use? And what type of Broadband is it? (DSL, Cable, etc.) If it's DSL, do you connect via PPPoE or PPPoA?

Also, who told you that a crossover cable is needed to use your modem? And have you tried with a straight cable? Sometimes they don't tell you the truth....

XBox gave me the 2 UDP and 1 TCP port to open, which I did with the router. No go, so I pulled off the router and went straight through the modem.

tried DMZ, but no go with that either.

Zyxel makes the modem. I cannot connect with a straight cable, I've tried. I must use a crossover cable. DSL is the type I use and I connect using PPPoE settings.

Just called my ISP again, and contradicting what they told me before, the PPPoE setting is not needed in XBox. They said just to keep everything automatic. Which I've tried and it's failed.

How exactly do I set the DMZ on the modem and then tell which ports are being blocked?

 

[yukichigai]

Erm, I meant DMZ on the router. I think I understand the problem now.

DMZ mode is just a router function that turns off all firewall protections to a specific computer. The end result is that when a port request gets sent to whatever IP your modem is operating at it will get sent to whatever computer has DMZ mode enabled. (unless port forwarding is enabled for another computer on that specific port) The modem will not have DMZ mode since it is just a modem, unless it is some sort of modem-router combo. (Somewhat common with modems that come from ISPs)

If you connect the modem straight to your computer you don't need to set anything on the modem to test for open ports. If you have a firewall program on the computer though you should turn it off while you're testing though. All you need to do is go to DSL Reports and run their portscan test. Should give you a good idea of whether or not your ISP is blocking any traffic to you. (It will flat-out say if a port is blocked/etc.)

What I suggest you try is set DMZ mode on the router, pointing to the XBox. (It may be called something else; look for something that makes it fully visible to the public or something similar.) Once that's done go into your router's maximum MTU settings and set it to 1492. Make sure the settings are saved and try again.

I need to know what company makes your router, and what ISP you use. Certain ISPs like Bigpond require special settings to connect properly, beyond what's on most normal routers. My D-Link 614 actually has a section of the settings menu devoted to bigpond and other "special-needs" ISPs.

 

[yukichigai]

Oh yes, your ISP is full of crap saying that you don't need the PPPoE settings on the XBox, at least if you're connecting directly to the XBox from the modem. If you're going through the router that's true, since the router takes care of the problem.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Erm, I meant DMZ on the router. I think I understand the problem now.

DMZ mode is just a router function that turns off all firewall protections to a specific computer. The end result is that when a port request gets sent to whatever IP your modem is operating at it will get sent to whatever computer has DMZ mode enabled. (unless port forwarding is enabled for another computer on that specific port) The modem will not have DMZ mode since it is just a modem, unless it is some sort of modem-router combo. (Somewhat common with modems that come from ISPs)

If you connect the modem straight to your computer you don't need to set anything on the modem to test for open ports. If you have a firewall program on the computer though you should turn it off while you're testing though. All you need to do is go to DSL Reports and run their portscan test. Should give you a good idea of whether or not your ISP is blocking any traffic to you. (It will flat-out say if a port is blocked/etc.)

What I suggest you try is set DMZ mode on the router, pointing to the XBox. (It may be called something else; look for something that makes it fully visible to the public or something similar.) Once that's done go into your router's maximum MTU settings and set it to 1492. Make sure the settings are saved and try again.

I need to know what company makes your router, and what ISP you use. Certain ISPs like Bigpond require special settings to connect properly, beyond what's on most normal routers. My D-Link 614 actually has a section of the settings menu devoted to bigpond and other "special-needs" ISPs.

the router is made by zyxel, Model 640. I used the DLink 6147 router and still couldn't get the update to happen. Even enabled DMZ, to no avail. And my DSL provider is Consolidated Communications.

 

[yukichigai]

Hrm, so if I understand this correctly your router is a router/modem combo? Ehh... not good. Those things usually have minimal configuration capabilities, if any, and compatibility isn't usually very good. That could be half the problem.

Just so you know, Zyxel may be keeping you on that modem by tracking your MAC address. If that's the case many routers and/or modems made now have MAC address-cloning capabilities. You may need to do this in order to get your router to work.

Unfortunately a lot of this is out of my realm of expertise. If you can't get this info from Zyxel you'll have to find another XBox live user who's done this.

EDIT: Sorry, I see now you meant that your ISP is Consolidated Communications. That's who I meant.

I would say your best bet is in buying a new modem that can clone MAC addresses but there's no guarantee that's how they're tracking you.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Hrm, so if I understand this correctly your router is a router/modem combo? Ehh... not good. Those things usually have minimal configuration capabilities, if any, and compatibility isn't usually very good. That could be half the problem.

Just so you know, Zyxel may be keeping you on that modem by tracking your MAC address. If that's the case many routers and/or modems made now have MAC address-cloning capabilities. You may need to do this in order to get your router to work.

Unfortunately a lot of this is out of my realm of expertise. If you can't get this info from Zyxel you'll have to find another XBox live user who's done this.

EDIT: Sorry, I see now you meant that your ISP is Consolidated Communications. That's who I meant.

I would say your best bet is in buying a new modem that can clone MAC addresses but there's no guarantee that's how they're tracking you.

I think I have confused you or I'm confused.

The Zyxel modem is what I use to contect to the internet. I do not believe it has router capabilities. I have hooked up a DLink router to it hoping to help with the problem (and to allow my computer and XBox to have access concurrently). Are you saying that the Zyxel modem is actually a combined modem/router? That wouldn't make sense since it only has one cable port.

I have tried cloning the MAC address, but that doesn't help.

 

[yukichigai]

Okay, yeah, I was confused there. If your Zyxel modem is in fact a modem then that shouldn't be the issue. Try running the portscan test at DSL Reports with a computer connected directly to the modem.

I'll think of other possible problems in the meantime.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Okay, yeah, I was confused there. If your Zyxel modem is in fact a modem then that shouldn't be the issue. Try running the portscan test at DSL Reports with a computer connected directly to the modem.

I'll think of other possible problems in the meantime.

Will do later tonight. Thanks.

 

[imported_FishTaco]

Are you sure about those model numbers? Could you double check those. Also check the firmware versions of your modem and router.