NETGEAR problems... (again)

yes i know many problems have been reported with netgear routers - but i havent found a solution within those posts thats worked for me, and i have a slightly different router i think.

i've just moved home and have a new network / internet setup which has decided it hates guild wars. the game connects to arena net fine, and logs in fine, but gets stuck on 0% when trying to connect to a town. on my previous set-up, on the same computer, i had no problems, so it must be the new internet/network.

i'm on a wireless network, with a netgear DG834G router, and AOL as isp. i've opened the ports 6112 and 80 on the router, both incoming and outgoing, UDP and TCP, set up a static ip address, etc. with no success. Ive tried turning router off and on, and disabling firewall software (although it worked fine previously with it running), to no effect. i'm now out of ideas. anyone else still having this problem?

tech support havent been much help so far, so any help would be massively appreciated!

just to add: tried a reinstall of the game, but it gets stuck on "downloading" and doesnt do anything. frustrating...

AOL as an ISP? do they even do broadband via ISP? I thought they were a relay service now.... anyway to answer your question go buy a real router. netgear is awful.

AOL. Yes. Haven't you seen there Get AOL Broadband Adverts?

As for Netgear, I don't think they are that bad as most of the components in all of these Routers and Modems are made by the same chip manufacturers and repackaged with different features by companies like Netgear.
Ever wonder why most Mobos seem to have similar Chipsets built into them.
So, to state Netgear is aweful, might as well say all Routers are aweful.

Anyway, go here and check out your Router and see if anyone can help you with possible config setups and sort out your troublesome connection.

www.dslreports.com

Hope they have a solution for you there.

I don't have a television...so I haven't seen the advertisements.

to the OP you might need to turn on UPnP and Port Forwarding.

Linksys > netgear

They do adverts on the Web too.

I Had a Linksys too, it caused me no end of problems, then it died after 3 weeks. It was a major fault with that model, so I sent it back and went back to my original Router/ADSL modem. I have no problems at all with that one.
The wireless on it was useless, even after all the updates the guys at Linksys gave me to add on to it. My friend had exactly the same model and had all sorts of problems with his too. His went back as well.

Ok, I know there will be others there that use Linksys and I know they are supposed to be a top brand, but I hear a lot of bad points about them too.


For the Wireless, I went with another brand of Wireless Router Over both Linksys and NEtgear, because it got rave reviews and the Wireless actually worked no matter where i put it, and all the time and did exactly what it said on the tin. KCorp Lifestyle Series Gold edition.
Extremely Fast and Constant Wireless. Lets me go watch Wimbledon out in the garden during the week while I work on my laptop.
The Router/ADSL Modem i use is an Efficient Networks and it works flawlessly.
24/7. Only down time is when I get a power failure or there is maintenance on the Network.

yup AOL does broadband. just to say, the internet and router choice was not mine, i'm living at my parents for the summer just trying to make the best of it, but this is driving me crazy as i cant see any reason why its not working. cheers for the feedback, if you think of anything else let me know...

by the way, the netgear router im using has an ADSL modem inbuilt, not sure if this makes any difference. tried for about 3 hours last night playing with the configuration, but nothing seems to work

heres the router, and probable cause of my misery:
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=52244

to be honest, i'm a novice when it comes to router/ISP setup - so if anyone can suggest some changes i could make please do.

Have you tried connecting directly into the Router by ethernet instead of wireless, or are you already connected direct?

Also, go here www.dslreports.com amd check out the Netgear threads there. It's all to do with ADSL/Broadband kit, and there is a lot of useful info there, and they may have some thoughts on your issues there.

Could be anything to do with Firewalls on the router or your PC.

Also, you say you just moved house. Did you have an ADSL connection before you moved and was it working then with the same kit?

Post your machines specs too. I would check out the website though.

thanks for the help, will check the site now. yeah the frustrating thing is the game worked perfectly on the same computer on my previous network setup, which used a switch, ADSL Pipex broadband and direct ethernet connections.

i havent added any software / firewalls since then - so the problem must be with the new network / internet setup, as thats the only things thats changed. (i've tried disabling all software on my computer just in case, but to no effect.)

havent tried connecting directly to the router yet (lack of cables could be a problem), but not sure if this would make any difference - my comp picks up the network fine, everything works perfectly except for GW.

oh - i also tried installing the game on another computer on the network, with the same stuck on "downloading" results during install - so im pretty sure its the router/ISP setup. also - UPnP is enabled on the router, and i've set it up for forwarding the ports 6112 and 80 to my comp.

edit: just to say im in the UK, if that makes any difference!

I'm in the UK also. Which ISP are you using?

With regards to the cable, i would suggest getting hold of a Cat 5(Ethernet) cable and test it out. This way you would be certain it's ADSL/Router problem and not just a wireless issue.

They aren't overly expensive to buy, and you can get them cheap. Quite surprised you didn't get one with the ADSL/Router. They normally give a cable if you get any that have ethernet capability.

Check the cable thing first before messing with Wireless, it helps in resolving issues a lot more easily, as there are other factors to take into account with wireless over Cable connections.

well its not that i havent got cable, but the fact it wouldnt reach the modem at the moment - i dont want to move it as itll probably annoy my parents. but i will try give it a go probably later, to see if its a wireless issue.

The ISP is AOL broadband.

As far as AOL goes, I don't touch it with a barge pole. They may have all these fancy things they like to add to your machine for security etc, but I find there software very intrusive into how your PC performs and it's a pig to remove it, without having to rebuild the PC. So many people report problems after trying to remove AOL, that they have to rebuild there machine.

I go with BT Yahoo, and it's a top class service. May be slightly more money than some others, but the fact I'm up 24/7 and don't appear to have any problems other than if power cuts or maintenance is performed.

Not saying AOL isn't running ok, I just think there software gets in the way too much. You can get better software out there that does exactly the same thing, but doesn't cause any problems.

Anyway, I'll wait until you get the cable checked, as there is no point finding if it's wireless until you have checked the direct connection.

yeah i totally agree with what you said about AOL - just installed their latest "update" to find about 5 programs had suddenly infested onto my toolbar, web browser, life. i really dislike any program that worms itself into your system like aol does. as i said before, it wasnt my choice of ISP!

anyway, ill try dirct connection later tonight, and let you know how it goes. cheers for all the advice.

YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

just tried a bunch of stuff, and (without much hope) started up GW, only to see it connected without any fuss. i'm gonna try and retrace my main steps to help any that are having a similar problem. not quite sure what change it was that finally allowed the game to work, or whether it was a combination thereof, but i may try to narrow it down later on.
so this is for those with NETGEAR DG834G router.... (please bear in mind, i am a long, long way from a tech expert, so please dont take my final word for anything!)

router config:

*forward the correct ports on your router - you can learn how to do this pretty easily, see http://www.portforward.com/ - make sure 6112 is being forwarded to your ip (you may need to setup a static IP, instructions can be found on website also)

*after you have ensured that all the required ports are being forwarded to your computer, try checking "Disable Port Scan and DOS Protection" in WAN setup if you're still having problems - found a guy on www.dslreports.com (thanks dirkiess!) for which this made a big difference. Edit: i have just run GW succesfully with Diasble Port Scan ON (ie. unchecked), so i do not think this causes a problem.

*make sure UPnP is turned on.

*in WAN setup i changed MTU size to 1400 - but this is ONLY FOR AOL, as this is the size they use (its usually 1500 i believe) - not sure if this made any great difference

Software on your computer:

*make sure your windows xp firewall is configured properly - go to the network settings, and add services for the 6112 port

*if you have firewall software on your comp, either configure it to allow the correct ports, or disable it (though proper configure would obviously be better!). I run mcafee firewall, and it works fine with the game if configured properly.

*if all else fails, try disabling all other running programs, especially the dreaded virus scanners or anything norton...you never know.


thats all i can remember at the moment, though i may edit this post later with more. if you need any further info on any step i mentioned, ask and ill try my best to help - i know the pain brought by lack of GW.

right, now maybe i can stop obsessing about this problem now and do some work ive been putting off for 3 days