TF2 bugs..."No internet games responded to the query"

gibber

Gawd
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
759
Ok, I just got TF2. Can't connect to any servers either through Steam or through the game itself. Steam lists TF2 servers, but if I tried to connect it runs the game then gives me an error "disconnected after 4 attempts" or such. If I try to get a list of servers from within the game I get: "No internet games responded to the query" after a while, tried stop/start again, no good.

I turned off my firewall, and I don't have any similar trouble with any of the dozens of other games I've played on this PC.

I've searched the forum, but, didn't find any advice that looked like it would help me (all I saw was "stop and restart the refresh server list", and a very old post about an update.

I've always found Steam to be glitchy and a pain in the ass, hated the idea of it from the start, but, I really want to try TF2 dispite that.

When I first tried to run TF2 it crashed my PC and made it reboot, that's a first and the worst I've seen any program run on this PC so far for more than a year.

Then, after a couple reboots, re-trys, it started stuttering and indefinately switching video modes, stuttering sound, and not letting me CTRL-ALT-DEL out, had to power cycle.

So, I turned off the second display (ATi 3850) which I really do NOT want to do. Now the game will run, and I can start a server. So, at least I can LOOK at the game and actually play it, but, only by myself without any other players. Ugh.

You'd think this game has been out long enough issues like this would have been erradicated/patched... :mad:

I'm behind a router, I'll try a direct connection to a switch instead.
 
Probably something wrong on your end. Most people who play this game including me rarely have problems.

check your TCP IPv4 settings and make sure things are right there. Most of the time when a programs causes your computer to reboot then its usually something wrong with the computer, maybe a driver problem. Update or roll back your ethernet drivers.
 
I have the problem where my Netgear WPN824v2 crashes/times out when steam searches for servers in TF2. Nothing they have suggested works for it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
 
My money would be on the router, you turned off your computer firewall, but your router has one also. There was a thread a bit ago (on [H]) where someone could not connect to any TF2 servers and it was his router's firewall.
 
Ok, I just got TF2. Can't connect to any servers either through Steam or through the game itself. Steam lists TF2 servers, but if I tried to connect it runs the game then gives me an error "disconnected after 4 attempts" or such. If I try to get a list of servers from within the game I get: "No internet games responded to the query" after a while, tried stop/start again, no good.
Anti-virus software can cause this, as can a firewall. Make sure both are off.

At the Steam support site, you can find a knowledge base article which explains which ports need to be open.

I've always found Steam to be glitchy and a pain in the ass, hated the idea of it from the start, but, I really want to try TF2 dispite that.
What specific problems have you had with Steam? When, and with which games?

gibber said:
I'm behind a router, I'll try a direct connection to a switch instead.
How did that turn out?
 
Anti-virus software can cause this, as can a firewall. Make sure both are off.

At the Steam support site, you can find a knowledge base article which explains which ports need to be open.

What specific problems have you had with Steam? When, and with which games?

How did that turn out?
That link is bad.

How did that turn out? Still not working.

The error messages are simply inexcusibly vague - it shouldn't just say "unable to connect to server" or such - it should say what IP it is trying to reach, exactly how it's failing, what ports it's using, what protocol, whether my PC is stopping it, or exactly where it's being blocked (like a traceroute). For a multiplayer only game, not being able to connect is a big deal.

Ok, now I'm connected to a netgear switch (just a switch, not a router) which is connected directly to the cable modem. (router is also connected to the same switch).

I'm using AVG antivirus. I had Comodo firewall (installed that a few months ago) turned that off and turned my Windows firewall on. Got the message about HL2 trying to access the Internet and selected "unblock" (Windows firewall).

I've had no trouble connecting with any of my other multiplayer online games.

Why would I need to turn AVG off to play TF2? That would be senseless, wouldn't it?

I'll stop AVG, I'll make sure all firewalls are off. I'll stop all my Anti-spyware programs too.

Do you think that Spybot Search & Destroy could have added an entry to my HOSTS file blocking a server needed for TF2???

I've run Hijack This and Rootkit Revealer and didn't find any signs that my PC is a zombie spam bot...

"What specific problems have you had with Steam?" Hmm, well, mostly back when HalfLife 2 was new? I had it crash one PC, had very slow updates sometimes when the server was too busy, one PC it just wouldn't work on (but everything else ran fine). At one point, it seemed like Steam would mean that you would have to be online to play (single player games) but I guess that didn't turn out to be the case? I saw a lot of people having problems with Steam for the first year or so but how long ago was that? I think I'm not remembering some of the issues I had, not something I wanted to remember.

I've got MS Defender, Spybot Search & Destroy, SuperAntiSpyware, AVG, Peer Guardian and Comodo Firewall Pro (both off), I've run Trend Micro Housecall, X-cleaner Micro, I even booted in safe mode and ran ComboFix etc. I'm running Windows XP Pro w/SP2 (legal copy) with all updates; and, I don't have any network issues with any other games/programs I run.

EDIT: I didn't change the filters in TF2, when I looked for servers using Steam with the filter set to show TF2 I could find plenty of servers, just can't connect to ANY of them.

So, the Steam server browser can see the games, but TF2 can't.

My router is "Universal PnP" and I saw a thread where that caused an issue for someone, but, as I'm not going through the router now, that shouldn't make a difference?

Can I manually update TF2, or is that just automatically taken care of by Steam? (I think that's the case).

Should I try to rename my TF2 .exe?

EDIT2: I'm reading through threads here: https://support.steampowered.com/kb...29;♥♥♥♥9828-SFLZ-9289
(Thanks for the tip about support.steampowered.com)
 
I've got MS Defender, Spybot Search & Destroy, SuperAntiSpyware, AVG, Peer Guardian and Comodo Firewall Pro (both off), I've run Trend Micro Housecall, X-cleaner Micro, I even booted in safe mode and ran ComboFix etc. I'm running Windows XP Pro w/SP2 (legal copy) with all updates; and, I don't have any network issues with any other games/programs I run.

Turn all of that shit off, and see if it works.
 
Which free AntiVirus software should I install since they suggest I may have to uninstall AVG. It's dissapointing, I like AVG, it didn't seem to be as much of a resource hog as Avast! was :(

I'm running F-Secure Blacklight now to search for hidden bots etc...

Turn all of that shit off, and see if it works.
Doing that now, killing ALL non-essential procceses...

Any quick tip on which network monitoring program I could use to analyze TF2's network traffic, see exactly what it's trying to do so it might help me figure out where it's failing?

EDIT: Blacklight says:

Scan complete.
No hidden items found.
 
OK, uninstalled AVG, Comodo Firewall, turned off some stuff w/Hijack This, turned off all security software - and - it works.

I'm going to re-install either AVG or Comodo, not sure which, then test again.
 
That link is bad.
Yeah. Something goes wrong when I paste it into the forums; bunches of characters turn into hearts, but only after I post. Here it is again:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb...29;♥♥♥♥6776-MYXU-0480

Why would I need to turn AVG off to play TF2? That would be senseless, wouldn't it?
Anti-virus programs work by hooking running processes. They intercept calls the programs make to sniff out their system calls and guess what they're doing. Sometimes, they guess wrong. Sometimes, they don't even hook the calls correctly. The server browser works by contacting a few servers, then fanning out to contact more and build a bigger list. To some virus programs, this looks like malicious behaviour.

Do you think that Spybot Search & Destroy could have added an entry to my HOSTS file blocking a server needed for TF2???
I haven't heard of that happening before.

"What specific problems have you had with Steam?" Hmm, well, mostly back when HalfLife 2 was new? [...] I saw a lot of people having problems with Steam for the first year or so but how long ago was that? I think I'm not remembering some of the issues I had, not something I wanted to remember.
That was more than three years ago. Since then, we've almost completely re-written Steam and deployed hundreds of additional content servers. While there are still some problems, the situation is vastly improved.

I've got MS Defender, Spybot Search & Destroy, SuperAntiSpyware, AVG, Peer Guardian and Comodo Firewall Pro (both off), I've run Trend Micro Housecall, X-cleaner Micro, I even booted in safe mode and ran ComboFix etc. I'm running Windows XP Pro w/SP2 (legal copy) with all updates; and, I don't have any network issues with any other games/programs I run.
Not to be argumentative, but there are millions of people using Steam at the moment, all able to find servers and play games. Since you're having problems, there's something about your configuration that's going wonky. If we can find it, then I'm sure you'll be able to play, too. Odds are, it has to do with some of these tools you're using.


Should I try to rename my TF2 .exe?
You don't have a TF2.EXE; the game is implemented in HL2.EXE. I'm not sure why you'd want to rename it.


Can I manually update TF2, or is that just automatically taken care of by Steam? (I think that's the case).
Steam takes care of it. You can force Steam to do it right away, if you want.

EDIT2: I'm reading through threads here: https://support.steampowered.com/kb...29;♥♥♥♥9828-SFLZ-9289
(Thanks for the tip about support.steampowered.com)
The hearts thing happened in your post, too, to that similar URL.

So, the Steam server browser can see the games, but TF2 can't.
If Steam can find the servers but the game can't, then you know your firewall or anti-virus software is blocking HL2.EXE from hitting the network, but allowing Steam.EXE to get out (and back in).

Since links are not working because of a bug in HardForum, you'll have to find it yourself... but there's a support article titled "Servers appear in Steam Server Browser but not in Game Server Browser" which explains that issue.
 
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