Member Avatar for viconia99

Hello, Im using a Linksys NR041 router to share a cable internet connection. I have 2 computers on the router. Both computers run windows XP professional. one has service pack 1 the other has service pack 2.

The problem I am having is, I can set up and host a game(pretty much any multi player game i have) and my other computer on the router can connect to it, as well as players from the net, but when me and the other comp on the router try and connect to the same internet game it will only let one of us connect. As far as i can tell it is because the cable modem only has one IP address, and the router assigns the ip addy's to the individual comps. But when connecting to net games it uses the modems IP addy for both comps instead of the router assigned ips. Is their anyway arround this?

Thank you,
Kelly

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by storm_02_98

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A short expert summary and practical fixes tied to the existing replies.

The behaviour described by is usually down to NAT/PAT and how the game or server identifies connections. A single public IP is normal; a router translates many private hosts by assigning distinct source ports. That normally allows multiple LAN machines to talk to the same external server, but some game servers enforce “one slot per public IP” or older consumer routers mishandle simultaneous identical sessions. As noted, getting a second public IP removes the constraint; the notes below show cheaper ways to confirm and work around the restriction. As implied, changing the NR041 WAN/connection mode can also expose the router differently to the cable modem/ISP and sometimes fixes double-NAT issues.

Quick troubleshooting and workarounds

  • Isolate server-side limits: have one machine connect using a different upstream (mobile tether, friend’s connection or different ISP) or try a different public server. If both machines work from different public IPs, the game/server is limiting by IP.
  • Router settings: enable UPnP if present, update NR041 firmware, and check for NAT/session table limits or timeouts. If the cable modem is also routing, put the modem into bridge/pass-through so the Linksys gets the public IP.
  • Port-mapping workaround: forward two different external ports to the same internal game port on each PC (for example external UDP 27015 -> PC1:27015 and external UDP 27016 -> PC2:27015). Clients must connect to the public IP and the alternate port for the second PC.
  • VPN/virtual-LAN option: virtual LAN tools (Hamachi/ZeroTier or similar) let one machine appear from a different endpoint, bypassing per-IP server rules when acceptable.
  • ISP option: request an additional public IP or a modem in true-bridge mode if the above fail.

On OS: as suggested, the NR041 is OS-agnostic — Windows ME will work provided the TCP/IP stack, DHCP and NIC drivers are correctly configured. Record router settings before changing them and test one change at a time to identify the fix.

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Member Avatar for bentkey

I think the issue is really that the Internet game server needs the public IP address to distinguish the players. I think you would need to get another IP from your ISP and set one of your pc's to be a DMZ host with that IP address or use 2 routers one for each IP.

Member Avatar for David Gonterman

Hello, Im using a Linksys NR041 router to share a cable internet connection. I have 2 computers on the router. Both computers run windows XP professional. one has service pack 1 the other has service pack 2.

The problem I am having is, I can set up and host a game(pretty much any multi player game i have) and my other computer on the router can connect to it, as well as players from the net, but when me and the other comp on the router try and connect to the same internet game it will only let one of us connect. As far as i can tell it is because the cable modem only has one IP address, and the router assigns the ip addy's to the individual comps. But when connecting to net games it uses the modems IP addy for both comps instead of the router assigned ips. Is their anyway arround this?

Thank you,
Kelly

Do you need to have XP in order to use this particular router. I have a Windows ME machine and I'm trying to get the NR041 to work between it and a Cable Modem.

Member Avatar for storm_02_98

try setting your router in a new wan setting

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