Microsoft KB Archive/829473

= Network ports that are required to play Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 for Windows Vista as multiplayer games =

Article ID: 829473

Article Last Modified on 12/4/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Halo: Combat Evolved for PC
 * Microsoft Halo 2 for Windows Vista

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SUMMARY
This article describes the ports that you must have open to play Microsoft Halo: Combat Evolved and Microsoft Halo 2 for Windows Vista as multiplayer games through a firewall, a proxy server, a router, a Network Address Translation (NAT) device, or Internet Connection Sharing.



Halo 2 for Windows Vista
The port 80 is used for LIVE account signup and must be open. Port 3074 is the default port used by LIVE for multiplayer gaming. However, if port 3074 is unavailable, the service searches for the next available port in increments of 12. For more information about Halo 2 ports, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

937424 Games for Windows LIVE Ports that you must be open to connect to LIVE

Microsoft Windows firewall
With Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you do not have to manually create port exceptions in the firewall. You may now create exceptions for the program itself. To do this, follow these steps.

Note Never open a port for a program that you do not recognize.  Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Security Center. Click Windows Firewall. Click the Exceptions tab. Click Add Program. Click Browse. Locate the game's executable files, and then click Open. By default, this game is installed in one of the following locations:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\haloupdate.exe

</li> Click OK two times.</li></ol>

For more information about how to use the Windows firewall, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

842242 Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2

If you are not using the Windows Firewall, you may still have to know the ports that are used by the game when you configure your network.

Port listing
The following DirectPlay ports must be open for you to play a game over a local area network (LAN), to play a direct Internet multiplayer game, or to play a game through GameSpy Internet Matchmaking:
 * 80 (Transmission Control Protocol [TCP]) - Halo looks to see if there is a Halo update available. If there is an update, Halo downloads the update through this port.
 * 2302 (User Datagram Protocol [UDP]) - the game host listens on this port.
 * 2303 (UDP) - the game client connects to the game host through this port.

Each time that you join or create an Internet multiplayer game, Halo automatically checks the Internet for the latest Halo update. You can also run the stand-alone updating tool, Haloupdate.exe, from the root of the folder where Halo is installed. (For example, you might use this tool to run the check in batch mode.) Halo uses HTTP to look for updates.

To verify that these ports are open or to open these ports, ask your network administrator or contact your Internet service provider (ISP). If you are the administrator of the network, see the documentation for your networking software or hardware to determine the steps to open these ports.

You can change the host and client ports if you have to customize Halo to work on your network. If your network is configured so that the default port range does not work, you must set the ports to values that you know will work. To customize the host and client ports for your network, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start Halo.
 * 2) Click Profiles.
 * 3) Select the profile that you want to change network settings for.
 * 4) Click OK.
 * 5) Click Settings, and then click Network Setup.
 * 6) Click Host Port or Client Port, and then type the correct number.
 * 7) Click OK.

For more information, see the second article link in the &quot;References&quot; section of this article.

You can play Halo games from behind most routers and NAT devices. If you have difficulty connecting from behind a router, review your router documentation to make sure that the host and client ports are not blocked for your computer.

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