Cannnot add add-on central server. Firewall/proxy setup?

[Sketch]

I downloaded version 9.0.27 last week and have been enjoying it thoroughly. I have the game installed on two separate machines. On the first one, I added Padresfan's add-on central server without a problem and am also really enjoying those mods despite getting issue BZ 1446. Thanks to everyone who contributed to them.

On the second machine, though, I cannot add the server at all. I am using the same link, but the server nor its downloads appear in add-on central. I also don't receive any error message. Disabling the firewall is not an option, but I suspect that's what's causing the block. I was able to license the game by entering proxy info, but I'm not sure that info is being used across the rest of the application. Is there a separate place where I need to set this up?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[rasnell]

make sure the period is not at the end of the link that you copied and also see if your antivirus has a firewall or shield and turn it off.

[Sketch]

Thank you for the suggestions. Link was copied through Firefox's "Copy Link Location," and pasting into Notepad confirms no ending period. Antivirus and Firewall programs are both Symantec. I get the same symptoms with AutoProtect and Protection Agent disabled. No new server on the list, no new downloads, and no on-screen errors.

Is this there any way to enter/confirm proxy info for the game outside of the licensing function?

[rasnell]

That's my limit of ability to help. I'm hoping another one of our volunteers can think of something more to troubleshoot.

You know, it did take me three attempts to refresh the list in add-on central and to download and install. Maybe it's not connecting to a busy server and we just don't see the error. I did have problems with first two attempts and then it worked and I changed absolutely nothing in my steps.

[battists]

Originally Posted by Sketch

Thank you for the suggestions. Link was copied through Firefox's "Copy Link Location," and pasting into Notepad confirms no ending period. Antivirus and Firewall programs are both Symantec. I get the same symptoms with AutoProtect and Protection Agent disabled. No new server on the list, no new downloads, and no on-screen errors.

Is this there any way to enter/confirm proxy info for the game outside of the licensing function?

Sketch, outside of the game, can you reach the XML file you have a link for?
For example, if you enter that URL into your browser, can you hit that file?

[Sketch]

Thanks for the response.

I get the .xml file in both Firefox and IE, but I cannot ping www.jazzrack.us. Firefox and IE are using the same proxy, and if there's a way to set it up for Windows' command line I'm not sure how to do it. The machine is running WinXPPro SP2.

Would I be able to test this on an unlicensed install? I've already installed/licensed on two machines, but I have access to a third one which can access the 'Net both inside and outside a VPN that uses the same proxies. I could probably unlicense/uninstall one of them, but if I can troubleshoot on an unlicensed one it'd be more convenient.

[battists]

Originally Posted by Sketch

Thanks for the response.

I get the .xml file in both Firefox and IE, but I cannot ping Welcome to the Frontpage. Firefox and IE are using the same proxy, and if there's a way to set it up for Windows' command line I'm not sure how to do it. The machine is running WinXPPro SP2.

Would I be able to test this on an unlicensed install? I've already installed/licensed on two machines, but I have access to a third one which can access the 'Net both inside and outside a VPN that uses the same proxies. I could probably unlicense/uninstall one of them, but if I can troubleshoot on an unlicensed one it'd be more convenient.

I'm fairly sure you could use an unlicensed version to test this; anyway, it wouldn't hurt anything to try. Even if you end up having to shuttle licenses, you're still going to need to install the software.

Anyhoo, I'm confused (not unusual). You can access the XML file on Padres Fan's server (jazzrack) but you can't ping that server? How the heck is that possible?

Obviously, I agree that there's something peculiar going on here that is not specific to OOTP.

If you look in the data\addons folder on your PC, what does the addons.xml look like? Is the jazzrack server listed in there? If you compare those two files on the PC that works vs the one that doesn't, is there any difference?

What happens if you bring the addons.xml file over from the working PC to the non-working PC? Does it work then?

Thanks!

[Sketch]

Originally Posted by battists

Anyhoo, I'm confused (not unusual). You can access the XML file on Padres Fan's server (jazzrack) but you can't ping that server? How the heck is that possible?

Because the web browsers have proxy info set up, so I can access websites outside the firewall. I've used other applications that support a proxy (Exact Audio Copy, et al.) without issue. OOTP's licensing app has an area where I was able to enter a proxy, so I was able to license the game on the problem machine.

Ping doesn't have this setup available (AFAIK), so it can't get outside the network firewall. For the record, I can't ping google either, but the website comes up without a problem. If proxy setup is avaialble for for ping, I don't know how to do it. I'm tempted to try this application and see if I get through that way.

If you look in the data\addons folder on your PC, what does the addons.xml look like? Is the jazzrack server listed in there? If you compare those two files on the PC that works vs the one that doesn't, is there any difference?

What happens if you bring the addons.xml file over from the working PC to the non-working PC? Does it work then?

jazzrack isn't listed on my problem machine's addons.xml; only OOTP developments is listed. If I recall correctly, the good machine's addons.xml had the jazzrack server listed and all of its add-ons.

I'll start with the application I linked to, try the third machine test, and copy the good addons.xml to the problem machine. Thanks for the quick reply, battists.

[Sketch]

Originally Posted by Sketch

I'm tempted to try this application and see if I get through that way.

This worked. This program allows see to externally setup a firewall for OOTP, and the add-ons list came through in a flash.

As for troubleshooting this long-term: if any volunteer has access to a closed VPN, I would suspect they could duplicate this problem rather easily. I suppose I'm of the mind that any application that connects to the Internet should 1) have proxy setup available and 2) return some sort of error message if it can't connect to a given server/address.

Thanks again for your ideas and support, and I'm happy to discuss this more if you're still curious about setup or the problem.

[battists]

Yay!

Uh, glad to be of service?

[Sketch]

LOL!

So are 'logged issues' specifically bugs, or do they include enhancement requests (which is probably how I would classify it if I were an OOTP Dev)? Obviously I'm more attached to this than probably anyone else on the forum, but I think it deserves eventual review.

[Nutlaw]

Originally Posted by Sketch

LOL!

So are 'logged issues' specifically bugs, or do they include enhancement requests (which is probably how I would classify it if I were an OOTP Dev)? Obviously I'm more attached to this than probably anyone else on the forum, but I think it deserves eventual review.

Uh, I'm also confused by all of this, but if you write up a concise explanation of exactly what you'd like to see, we can see about logging it.

[Nutlaw]

As the original poster has not responded to this thread in five days, this thread will be closed for housekeeping reasons. If you need any further assistance with this matter whatsoever, please don't hesitate to post a link to this thread in Tech Support and we will be happy to continue to help you. Thanks.