4 replies to this topic

[Ali]

NOTICE: *** If you have just registered with Shiachat, as a basic member you will not have access to the chatroom. Only Advanced members with 50 posts and over can use the chatroom

Are you having problems connecting to chat?  Please review the following steps:

- Have you been able to connect before?  If yes, then check our server status and insure all are GREEN:  http://support.raide...t.com/status.pl
- Insure that there is alteast one other person in the chatroom, confirming that the chatroom is up and it's not an issue on our side.  To do so, check on the bottom of the main page of the forum for "members currently in chat".  If it's not there, it means the room is empty and you should try back later.

Once these steps have been confirmed, proceed with the steps below.

NOTE: If you're at work, school, library or any public place, you will not be able to do any of the following steps since you have no control over your network or firewall settings. You can consult with your network administrator for assistance.

Edited by The Patri0t, 06 December 2006 - 07:50 AM.

[Ali]

JAVA/Browser

1)  Insure that you have Java installed, and is the latest version.

Java is a language required to run the chatroom  If you get a red X, it may mean you do not have Java installed.


Go to www.java.com and Click on the "Download Now" Button.  

2) If you have Java installed and still get the errors, or even if you didn't have Java installed, please verify your installation:
http://www.java.com/...d/installed.jsp

3) If problems persist - Click Start > Control Panel.  Double-click the Java icon in the control panel.   The Java Control Panel appears:


Click Settings under Temporary Internet Files.  The Temporary Files Settings dialog box appears:


Click Delete Files.  The Delete Temporary Files dialog box appears:


Make sure all are checked and then hit OK.

4) Click on Tools from your browser's main menu.
Select Internet Options.  Under the General tab, click Delete Files... in the Temporary Internet files section.  Important: Shutdown all open instances of your web browser before doing this.

[Ali]

Network

After confirming the above steps, let's continue with troubleshooting your network. If you're at work, school, library or any public place, you will not be able to do any of the following steps since you have no control over your network settings. You can consult with your network administrator for assistance.

NOTE: If you do not have a home network at home (ie, more than one computer connected to a router/hub, skip this post and go to the next post.

1) If you have a router, For ShiaChat, you, or your network administrator, will need to allow TCP access on ports 8000 through 8009 at client.sigmachat.com. On some LAN firewalls, you may simply set the security setting to "Low" while you wish to use our chat software.

2) If you do not know how to open ports, set your PC to DMZ zone (demilitarized).  Some security risks are involved here, so consult your router documentation on how to do this and risks involved.

3) If you were completely confused about the above, and really need to get to chat.  Bypass your router!  
- There is a thick cable that looks like an over-sized phone wire that goes from the modem (device that your ISP provided to you) to the router.  Unplug the end that goes to the router and plug it into the back of your PC or laptop.  
- Once this is done, power off your Modem and Router (unplug them from the electricity for 1 minute).  
- Plug your modem back in.. Wait for the lights.  
- Then plug your router in.. Wait for the light.  
- Finally, restart your PC.

Give it a try.  You've now bypassed the router.  If this doesn't work still, proceed to the following step.

[Ali]

Firewall/Proxies

If all the above did not work, you may be behind a software firewall that's blocking the chatroom.

If you know what firewall you have and how to use it, allow ports 8000 through 8009 at client.sigmachat.com.  If you do not know how to do this, simple set the firewall to "low" or shut it down all together.

1) On the bottom right of your screen, beside the time, there will be a few icons representing programs running in the background.  Move your mouse over each and every icon for a few seconds and a pop-up will appear telling you what the program is.  Do this until you see "firewall" or "security center" or "Security" of any sort.  Disable it by right clicking on the icon and click on "Shut off" or "Disable" or "Turn off".   Then click Exit.

Give it a try.  If that worked, then your firewall is set too secure and you'll need to minimize the security level.

2) Unisntall the firewall all together by going to Start -> Control Panel -> Add Remove programs and remove it from there.

Let's also check for proxies:

in Internet Explorer, go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings.  Make sure there is no checkmarks there (It's ok to have "Automatically detect settings" checked.

[Ali]

If all the above fails, then there might be system issues that cannot be supported by us.  

Refer to more documentation on Chat issues here:
http://support.raide...om/resolve.html

Or Java issues here:
http://java.com/en/download/help/

Feel free to open a thread in the COMMUNTY SUPPORT forum as this is a PC issue and not an issue with ShiaChat.com..