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  • Subject: Can't join specific people's parties...
Subject: Can't join specific people's parties...
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There's like...2-3 friends I have that I can NEVER join their parties, and vice versa. These specific people...no one else...just them. It's been like this for about 6 months. Anyone know how to fix this?

  • 06.20.2007 4:44 PM PDT
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do they have their party set to private, closed, invite only, or anything like that which woul dprevent you from joining?

  • 06.20.2007 5:12 PM PDT

that happens to me too!!!

i heard that its just bad connection between the 2

question: can you play with them if sumone else makes the party???

  • 06.20.2007 5:13 PM PDT

usually the problem is that someone doesn't have their NAT settings set to open and it prevents their xbox from communicating correctly to allow parties. And sometimes, you have to actually configure several firewall ports on your actual router to open them in order to allow your xbox to connect better.

  • 06.20.2007 5:19 PM PDT
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Yeah, I can play with them if someone else invites us.

So about this NAT configuations...how would I go about doing that? I'm not computer illiterate or anything, just not sure how to go about fixing this lol. Also...anyway to tell who's settings aren't configured correctly...mine or theirs?

  • 06.20.2007 5:58 PM PDT

Posted by: spartennum117
DEE DEE DEE you make special ed look like Harvord

Posted by: MistaMarko
So about this NAT configuations...how would I go about doing that? I'm not computer illiterate or anything, just not sure how to go about fixing this lol. Also...anyway to tell who's settings aren't configured correctly...mine or theirs?


You will find that in your router's configuration. There will be an entry for it on one of the pages used to configure it.

One thing I have noticed is that it is not always NAT problems that cause this. I have a friend who I know has NAT settings properly taken care of and I know I do as well but we can rarely join each other. Every once in a while we can but it is not often.

  • 06.20.2007 6:02 PM PDT

you might need to call xbox live and see if you need to open specific firewall ports on your router?

  • 06.20.2007 6:04 PM PDT
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While that sounds like an idea...it only happens with 2-3 people...so then why does it work with the other majority of my friends? I mean what is it about these few people?

  • 06.20.2007 6:12 PM PDT

i can't really give you the specifics of why it would help, but i had the same problem with one of my buddies. I could be in a party with him if someone else was party leader, but as soon as it was just me and him it boots both of us out. when i opened my firewall ports it fixed everything

  • 06.20.2007 6:18 PM PDT
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Posted by: FatDaddy109
i can't really give you the specifics of why it would help, but i had the same problem with one of my buddies. I could be in a party with him if someone else was party leader, but as soon as it was just me and him it boots both of us out. when i opened my firewall ports it fixed everything


And what ports would these be? I've got a Lynksys wireless g router. I've tried this before but it didn't work. I assume I did something wrong. I've also read that it could be DMZ settings. Also, it can be fixed by setting your xbox on a "static ip". The details were unclear as I'm not the most cpu literate person.

[Edited on 06.20.2007 7:06 PM PDT]

  • 06.20.2007 7:06 PM PDT
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Posted by: MistaMarko
There's like...2-3 friends I have that I can NEVER join their parties, and vice versa. These specific people...no one else...just them. It's been like this for about 6 months. Anyone know how to fix this?
This is caused by either you or your friends having a weak connection in which you may not party up with them and vis versa. This also may be an issue with Xbox Live, your internet service provider, and/or your network address translation (NAT). My suggestion would be to contact your service provider, reset your modem and/or router, contact the Xbox Live Technical Support Team here, and/or learn more about your NAT here and see what you can do to resolve the problem you are having.

  • 06.20.2007 7:11 PM PDT

typically if you have a Linksys Wireless G router then you have to do the following:

1) find your default gateway, by going on your computer and right clicking on your connection and selecting status and then the support tab
2) open an internet browser and use the default gateway as the address (i.e. http://192.168.1.1 )
2a) you may be required to use a password which you either set up when you first installed the router or the password is admin (just leave the user name blank)
3) go to the Applications & Gaming tab
4) apply the following settings:

Applicaiton Start End Protocol IP Address Enable
Halo 2 88 88 UDP ***.***.*.1 yes
Halo 2 3074 3074 UDP ***.***.*.1 yes
Halo 2 3074 3074 TCP ***.***.*.1 yes


5) save the settings



hopefully that works for you

[Edited on 06.20.2007 7:16 PM PDT]

  • 06.20.2007 7:15 PM PDT
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So those instructions you just gave...what does all that mean and what is it doing?

  • 06.20.2007 9:02 PM PDT

I don't know exactly how routers work but I know that they have firewalls built into them when you install them on your system and these firewalls work through certain "ports". When I was having the same problem you expressed in the first post, I finally called XBox Live and asked what the problem was. He ran me through a series of tests and finally figured out that I needed to open those 3 ports on my router. He gave me the port numbers and the Protocol (UDP or TCP) but wasn't allowed to tell me how to configure them. So I looked up a tutorial online and the instructions I gave you was the collection of knowledge I gained from the experience.

Hopefully this gives you the reasoning you are looking for, and more importantly is a solution to your problem. Best of luck.

[Edited on 06.20.2007 10:42 PM PDT]

  • 06.20.2007 10:40 PM PDT
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I've seen this problem, and I don't think it has to do with strength of XBL connection. 2 people I know have this problem, but they rarely have any lag issues. I've actually got quite a poor connection (30 kbps DL), but I've never had this problem. It has something to do with either your router or your firewall. I don't know what's wrong, but unless you're fairly network-savvy (or you have the help of those who are), I don't think this problem is easy to fix.

  • 06.20.2007 10:58 PM PDT

any luck for anybody yet?

  • 06.21.2007 9:22 AM PDT
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Posted by: MistaMarko
There's like...2-3 friends I have that I can NEVER join their parties, and vice versa. These specific people...no one else...just them. It's been like this for about 6 months. Anyone know how to fix this?

You really didn't give any detail on the error so I really don't know what to tell you.

if you're running off a router and you're getting "Network Error" it's you're router because i used to have the same problem
if this is the problem simply remove the E-cord from the modem to router and change the set up to "modem>xbox" instead of "modem>router"
once you've done this you may need to unplug your modem for about a minute then after that you should be able to join your friends.

[Edited on 06.21.2007 9:58 AM PDT]

  • 06.21.2007 9:57 AM PDT

Posted by: Mod4FunNotToChet
[quote]Posted by: MistaMarko
remove the E-cord from the modem to router and change the set up to "modem>xbox" instead of "modem>router"



i forgot that this was the easy way to do it and it definitely will work if the router ends up being the problem. The only flaw is that your router will no longer be connected. so this solution is the easy fix unless you need to keep your router connected (like I did, so my family could still use the wireless internet)

  • 06.21.2007 10:00 AM PDT
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well do they got it on invite only, or closed?

  • 06.22.2007 2:14 AM PDT

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get... but you can bet it will be chocolate.

router might be restricted. Happened to my friend alot till he got a new router... no problems anymore.

  • 06.22.2007 4:47 AM PDT
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A lot of this stuff does have to do with your NAT settings, but telling someone that they're NAT settings are too strict tells the normal computer user absolutely nothing at all. Everyone's routers and home network configurations are different. Also, certain ISPs have specific ports blocked that can make it difficult for a box-to-box connection to happen. If anyone is still having connection issues, please feel free to PM me or add my Windows Live Messenger accout poker_code17@hotmail.com

I do IT work and networking for a living, so feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Keep in mind, specific questions are always the easiest to answer.

  • 06.22.2007 6:07 AM PDT

Posted by: b01000100
Posted by: MistaMarko
So about this NAT configuations...how would I go about doing that? I'm not computer illiterate or anything, just not sure how to go about fixing this lol. Also...anyway to tell who's settings aren't configured correctly...mine or theirs?


You will find that in your router's configuration. There will be an entry for it on one of the pages used to configure it.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that by that, but I have never heard of any method of altering your NAT behaviour directly. I have never come across any router which actually gives you an option to set the status of your NAT.

It is by forwarding ports that xbox live uses to your console, or putting your console in a DMZ, that people generally fix their NAT problems.

  • 06.22.2007 6:15 AM PDT

RIP Halo 2.

Both of you need to set a static IP for your Xbox and put that IP in your respective router's DMZ. This will open the NAT.

  • 06.22.2007 8:06 AM PDT