SMF not working on off-network computers

[groundzero2010]

I just recently started using SMF and everything seemed to work great. That was because I was just checking things from my local computer which is serving the forum.  I had others try connecting and they say they get a timed out message. They can connect to my website but not the forum. Any ideas why its not working?

[Rumbaar]

So your website is also hosted on the exact same box?  Also make sure you've run Repair_settings.php on the forum and made sure you've used all external URL's for the forum paths.
What is repair_settings.php?

Link to website/forum.

[groundzero2010]

I'm running my website and forum on the same box. (yes) I'll have to check into the Repair_settings.php. I've never heard of this.  The URL is pretty simple.  hxxp:www.splaudio.net/mudforum/index.php [nonactive]

Or if you go to hxxp:www.splaudio.net [nonactive] there is a link that takes it to the very same spot.

[Rumbaar]

Yep that's you issue.  One might be it's hitting http://70.178.61.171:8080, but it's more likely due to the fact your forum is set too http://192.168.2.4:8080/mudforum/Themes/default

It's a path and theme issue.

[groundzero2010]

Since my ip is dynamic I have to forward my domain to my new ip if it changes.  So if I put hxxp:www.splaudio.net:8080/mudforum/themes/default [nonactive] would that work?

[Rumbaar]

Whatever address that is consistent across your forum and fully accessible to external clients.

[groundzero2010]

I believe I have it working. I'll have to test it fully but I change all the hxxp:192.168.2.4:8080/ [nonactive] to hxxp:www.splaudio.net/ [nonactive]

[Rumbaar]

Well that is what the Repair_settings.php tool job, but you might want to check as only the theme is set to http://www.splaudio.net, that rest are http://www.splaudio.net:8080.  If that makes a difference.  Though can access the forum now.

[groundzero2010]

Using the repair_settings.php I changed all the external url paths to hxxp:www.splaudio.net [nonactive] which a friend says the page loads now, but i'm not sure if its loading correctly. Now I can't locally access the page after changing the paths.

[Rumbaar]

You might be able to define in your computers HOST file are redirect to that localhost using the external URL.  Try google.

[groundzero2010]

I guess I don't quite understand what you mean by your last reply.

[青山 素子]

Most small routers won't let you access a local computer by the outside IP.

To fix this, you need to make it so you get the internal IP for the name. You do this by editing a file called "hosts". In Windows, it will be in %windir%\system32\drivers\etc (just stick that in the run dialog, it will know what to do). In Linux/UNIX, it will be in /etc/

Open this file up in a text editor (Notepad is fine). There will be a line like:

127.0.0.1       localhost

You need to add a line below that like:

127.0.0.1  yourdomain

Replacing yourdomain with the domain of the site. Restart your browser and when you access that URL, it should work.

[groundzero2010]

I found the Hosts file you mentioned. I also tried what you suggested and I didn't get anything working.

Does it matter that my router local address is 192.168.2.4 and that I have to use port 8080?

[青山 素子]

A lot depends on how you have things set up. You may want to have someone who is handy with computers to look at the setup and help you with it.

I highly recommend you look for a low-cost host that can serve your needs. Running a server is very complex and if you aren't careful can cause you to become infected and used as a warez server. It isn't fun to have the FBI or any other agency knock at your door because of stuff like that. Also, Cox (your ISP) doesn't allow servers on their residential connections.

[groundzero2010]

I found the Hosts file you mentioned. I also tried what you suggested and I didn't get anything working.

Does it matter that my router local address is 192.168.2.4 and that I have to use port 8080?

[青山 素子]

I think the problem is that the actual forum URL is an actual IP, which isn't helped with a hosts file. You'd need to actually get the forums set for a name and work with it.