Yet another "my TF2 server won't appear in the server list" thread

[Stonos]

BASIC INFO
Server OS: Windows 7 64bit (but I'm also having the same problem with Vista 64bit and Vista 32bit)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 OCed @ 3.00GHz. No HT.
Ram: 4GB
Game(s): Team Fortress 2
Start Up Command: None. I'm running the DS via the "Tools" tab of Steam. 2009-06-18 UPDATE: I've switched to the console version of srcds. My command line now is: srcds -console -game tf +map dm_iceworld_b7
Admin Mods: None.

NETWORK AND BANDWIDTH INFO
Bandwidth: Up: 861 kbps (yes, I know, that's very low for a server), down: 17463 kbps
Local IP of Server: 192.168.1.8
Port Forwarding Screen Shot: No need for one. I have forwarded port 27015 (TCP and UDP) and verified that it is correctly forwarded.

------------------

I have been searching for a solution to this problem for many hours, but I couldn't find one. I could only find people who had a similar problem with me.

My problem: My server won't get listed in the Internet tab on the server browser. It also won't appear on game-monitor.
This is what I get on the console when I start the dedicated server:

srcds.exe Wrote:Connection to Steam servers successful.
VAC secure mode is activated.

As you can see I'm not getting the "Adding master server", and I can't understand why
If someone tries to connect to the server by typing connect <ip> to the console, it will work fine.

I'm not running any addons to make sure that they are not interfering with this.

I don't know why this is happening. I have tried to do many things to fix it (include internal IP in command line, port in command line, disable UPnP as instructed by Steam Support, use the "Delete local contents" on Steam to delete the DS and redownload it, etc), but I still can't get it to work
If I remember correctly, I also tried using the standalone version of the dedicated server tool in the past, but that didn't work too.

The funny thing is that this used to work fine about a year ago. I still have the same OS installation as last year, still have the same router, and still have the same ISP. I have no idea why it suddenly stopped working.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Wylker]

you should be using the console and running srcds via a command line, there are many many many known problems with the gui driven srcds.

try using the console version without a -port or -ip switch and report back

[Stonos]

Hmmm...
It seems that the console version will show the two "Adding master server" lines. Let's wait for game-monitor to update its servers list to see if I can find my server there...

Thanks

[Wylker]

Stonos Wrote:Hmmm...
It seems that the console version will show the two "Adding master server" lines. Let's wait for game-monitor to update its servers list to see if I can find my server there...

Thanks

It should only take a minute or two for your game to show up. Let's see if my theory is right. Can you tell me your ISP and what modem / router you are using?

[Stonos]

You've probably never heard of my ISP since I live in Greece, but anyway, my ISP is OTEnet and I've got a SpeedTouch 536v6 router.

My server still hasn't been listed on game-monitor

I'll leave the server open overnight and see if anyone joins. People used to join my server back in the days when it was working fine when I left it on overnight. If someone joins then it means that my server has been listed.

[Wylker]

can you go into your router and see what it says your WAN address is?

[Stonos]

No, nobody joined the server
I also couldn't find it in game-monitor nor Steam's server browser (not sure if I should have been able to find it in the latter one, but I think that when it used to work fine, my server would show up there for me too).

I've found out that my router was blocking ICMP ping requests, so I enabled them. That didn't fix my problem. I don't think that Steam uses a ping request anyway, because like I said, it was working fine about a year ago. As a result, I disabled pings again.

Something else: When I started my DS, this appeared in my router's event log:

Router's event log Wrote:Warning Jun 13 09:14:31 FIREWALL rule : Protocol: UDP Src ip: 93.124.41.52 Src port: 1100 Dst ip: 192.168.1.8 Dst port: 27015 Chain: forward_host_service Rule Id: 33 Action: accept


Warning Jun 13 09:14:31 FIREWALL rule : Protocol: UDP Src ip: 93.124.41.52 Src port: 1046 Dst ip: 192.168.1.8 Dst port: 27015 Chain: forward_host_service Rule Id: 33 Action: accept

(yes, it appeared twice).
That means that port forwarding is working correctly like it should. RDNS'ing that ip showed "sura.ru" :/

Wylker Wrote:can you go into your router and see what it says your WAN address is?

IP Address: 94.68.144.208 (port 27015)
But hurry up, since I've got a dynamic IP, and I don't know when it'll change!

[Wylker]

Oops I also meant to ask what model of modem you have.

[Stonos]

I don't use a modem (well, my router can also be used as a modem, but I use it as a router).
Here's a diagram of how I'm wired: http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5493/adsloverisdn.jpg (notes: Replace "ADSL USB Modem" with "Speedtouch 536v6 router" and "USB Cable" with "ethernet cable" to switch to computer.

[Wylker]

is that a modem + router all in one?

[Stonos]

Yes.

10chars

[Wylker]

Ok I wanted to confirm you are using the -console version now right? And you are not using a -port or -ip switch?

[Stonos]

Yes, I'm using the console version now, and not I'm not using a -port or -ip switch.

With the console version I do get the "Adding master server" text, but I still can't find my server on the list

[MjrNuT]

Stonos,

since your modem is also your router, is it able to DMZ the PC that your running your server from? If so, I'd suggest you try that. Just remember to disable all the port forwarding.

restart the modem

restart the SRCDS

Check the browser list.

[Stonos]

MjrNuT Wrote:Stonos,

since your modem is also your router, is it able to DMZ the PC that your running your server from? If so, I'd suggest you try that. Just remember to disable all the port forwarding.

restart the modem

restart the SRCDS

Check the browser list.

Hmmmm ... I get mixed results with DMZ.
I can see the server in the internet tab, but a friend can't.
EDIT: Someone joined the server, so it's visible in DMZ!

Even if DMZ works, I don't want to use DMZ for various reasons.

And by the way, even with DMZ, I had to forward the ports, because an uTorrent's Port Checker said that port 27015 was closed when I didn't have it forwarded.