Help the newb with his Linksys Router

Hey guys..im sure this has been asked before. i tried searching and couldnt find the answer on here so if im reposting just point me to the original....

I have 5 PCs all setup behind a linksys router. The problem is when i load CS 1.5 to connect to any server (because steam sucks) it just freezes and hangs. It tried to update to 1.6, ran thru all the servers and counted down to zero...said it couldnt connect then just exited the entire program.

Now ive yet to try quake 3, or wolfenstein online since i got the router. I tried disabling the firewall for my main computer only to allow it to connect, but no luck.

Eventually what id like to do is have a couple PCs playing CS online, while one hosts and allows others to connect to it

I know i have to mess with the port forwarding/triggering in my router. Im TERRIBLE with networking so if someone can take me through this id be very thankful.

THanks in advance guys.

Read the manual. All manufacturers make it a no brainer on how to forward port and open/close ports.

I haven't used steam but I don't see why you would need to forward ports to JOIN a game. As far as hosting a game, if all the people are joining are on the same LAN then you shouldn't have to forward ports for that either. You only need to forward ports (as far as I know) if your going to be hosting a server and someone from outside of your network will be joining.

MadSkillzMan said:

I tried disabling the firewall for my main computer only to allow it to connect, but no luck.

Click to expand...

OK what exactly do you mean by that? Did you put your main box in the DMZ? If that is what you did then the router is not the problem (or not the only problem). If you did not do that then you need to find out what ports to forward.

Also, are you using the routers DHCP server to assign IP#s to each box or are you using static IP#s? If you are using DHCP (which is the easiest way to set it up IMHO), you should be aware that your IP#s may change from time to time. For example, if you have two boxes switched off and the IP# on box one expires, when you switch on box two, it may get box one's number. Then when you turn on box one , it will get box two's number.

Also, this is not the best place to ask this question. You will usually get better answers on this type of stuff in IN&S...

Try turning your DMZ off. I used to have no servers with steam. I turned off the DMZ and damn, servers started pouring down on me like rain. I don't see why you should port forward anything.