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Strange networking problem...

Shag

Senior member
I recently moved, and upon setting up my LAN again, I am encountering a strange problem. I have 5 pc's - 1 Linux router (using Freesco), and the rest are behind the router and connected via an 8-port switch.

Before I moved, everything was working fine throughout the LAN. Now, after the move, everything is working on all machines except my primary one. From my main machine (Windows 2000 SP2), I am no longer able to ftp out, nor am I able to play Counterstrike online. I've also noticed that this box does not see all of the other machines on the network (in Network Neighborhood), only 3 of 5 (including itself).

My first thought was that the router/firewall was blocking outgoing traffic, but that's really not viable, as that's not the way the firewall works (allows all outbound traffic), and nothing's been changed on it since before the move. With the ftp, reguardless of the client (including command line), it errors out immediately with the error:



<< > ftp: connect :Connection refused >>



It doesn't even appear to attempt to make the connection, it just knows it can't.

As for CS, the game is simply unable to make a connection to any server - it just keeps retrying.

All other outbound traffic is working per normal.

Anyone have any idea what might be causing this? It's starting to really annoy me, and I don't feel like reinstalling windows. I've attempted to remove the device and all the protocols and reinstall, but that didn't do the trick.

Any help/ideas would be appreciated.
 
Oh, and I forgot one other thing: the other computers behind the same firewall are able to ftp out just fine. It's only my main pc that is having problems...
 
And yet more info. Just discovered that I can't even ftp internally in the LAN. Something's really screwy here...
 
If it just started after the move then I'd bet that it's a problem with your Ethernet cable. Have you tried a different cable temporarily?
 
No, I haven't. If that were the case, though, why would I be able to do everything but these two things? I can surf the web, email, etc just fine from the same computer. If you still think that's a potential problem, I'll try it and see...
 


<< If that were the case, though, why would I be able to do everything but these two things? >>

Have you run ping tests between all your internal machines? Be sure and run using both IP and hostname (if you use those).
Some questions:
Using DHCP with all machines (except router, of course)?
What addressing info are you using?
Are you connecting using hostnames, WINS (NetBIOS, LanMan, whatever) names, or IP addresses?
Any internal DNS or no?
 
Well, I just tried ping test with strange results. From my main machine, I can ping all other boxes on the LAN. From any other box on the LAN, I am unable to ping the main box, but am able to ping all other boxes. I am, however, able to connect to the main box via ftp from any other box on the LAN. This seems quite strange to me.

I am using static IP's for all boxes on the LAN. I am using solely IP addresses to connect between machines. I do not have any WINS entries on any machine. I am running a DNS server on the Linux router, and all machines have that IP in their TCP/IP settings.
 
Are you running any firewall processes on the main box? Some of the longest threads posted happened because there was firewall code in the box (front-end turned off, but the process was running in the background). It sounds very firewall-ish....

Check your services carefully, just in case.

Scott

 
I just checked your rigs profile and saw that you are using a 3Com.

Pitch that f*cker in the trash. I'd bet money that's your problem. I've had a bunch of those NIC's do that to me.
 
We have a winner!! 🙂 As I was replying to ScottMac's message, saying that I didn't have any firewall processes running on the main machine, I remembered that I installed ZoneAlarm for a few days before I got my router moved to my new place. It wasn't running, but I figured I'd uninstall it, just for kicks, and see what happened. Well, I uninstalled it and voila! Everything back to normal.

ScottMac, you da man! 🙂 Thanks for the advice...

Oh, and Ben - I scrapped the 3Com NIC a while back for a D-Link one. Guess I need to update my profile, huh? 🙂

Thanks all!
 


<< Before I moved, everything was working fine throughout the LAN.>>
<<and nothing's been changed on [the router] since before the move. (and yeah everybody, I understand this didn't point directly to the issue.)
>>

Not to crack on Shag, but this is a nice reminder for everybody:
I've had more network troubleshooting issues than I care to remember that end up being something like this, and of course the first info we always get is: &quot;No, we haven't changed anything since last Thursday&quot; or &quot;yesterday&quot; or (usually) &quot;when this POS last worked you doofus.&quot;

Good call, Scott (as always)
 
<< > ftp: connect :Connection refused >>

that is your clue right there. A connection refused means the host DID communicate with you...it just told you to get lost. 🙂
 
you prefer D-link over 3com??????? wow..... 3com aint the greatest... but, dear god, they're better than D-link...IMO
 
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