# Cannot connect to game server Half life 1



## urban maniac (Oct 25, 2007)

Hey!
Whenever i play a game thats based off the Half-life 1 engine on steam, it would never let me connect to the game server. When it is stuck on "connecting to game server" im pretty much screwed because, i cannot cancel the joining process or exit the game. I would have to start up task manager, and end the "Hl" process in order of me to get out of it.
The weird thing is, the server would sometimes connect randomly (When this happends i can connect to any game while steam is running for the whole day) and i have no problem with Source games. Ive also noticed when its not going to connect to the game sever there isn`t an advert (like the left 4 dead one) but when it does connect there is. 
Yes, my copy of the game is legit.
Anti virus:
Windows defender, windows firewall, Norton 360, Spybot Search and destroy.
Things i have tried:
-I have tried deleting the registry.blob file quite a number of times now, but doesnt really work. 
- Tried uninstalling and reinstallin, no dice.
- tried Steam troubleshooting dont work
- tried disabling all firewalls but still dont work (Windows firewall and Norton)
- Tried port forwarding too (though not too sure if i have done it correctly)
- Some people say "Try deleting Internet download manager" fixed it for a few but, i dont even have it.
So please, it would be greatly appreciated if i can have some help with this!
Thanks for reading


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## p6rtw (Nov 9, 2009)

I am not sure about this but maybe the server is using an older version? or sometimes when you use illegal programs such as hacks...etc.

I have tried using hacks on an illegal version of TF2 and the same problem happened but if i use it without hacks it works fine.


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## Michael York (Nov 7, 2007)

urban maniac said:


> Hey!
> Whenever i play a game thats based off the Half-life 1 engine on steam, it would never let me connect to the game server. When it is stuck on "connecting to game server" im pretty much screwed because, i cannot cancel the joining process or exit the game. I would have to start up task manager, and end the "Hl" process in order of me to get out of it.
> The weird thing is, the server would sometimes connect randomly (When this happends i can connect to any game while steam is running for the whole day) and i have no problem with Source games. Ive also noticed when its not going to connect to the game sever there isn`t an advert (like the left 4 dead one) but when it does connect there is.
> Yes, my copy of the game is legit.
> ...


Hi urban maniac,

This is Mike from the Norton Authorized Support Team.

The first problem I see with you security setup is that you could be having a software conflict. Norton 360 is a comprehensive security package that also contains the Norton Firewall, which is a full, inbound and outbound firewall unlike the Windows Firewall. You should disable both the Windows Firewall and the Windows Defender software, as you never want to have more than one firewall and one real-time antivirus/internet security application running at the same time. As for SpyBot, you can leave that application installed but you must make sure that the "Tea Timer" and "Sd Helper Function" are disabled, as they can cause conflicts with Norton 360 and leave your system vulnerable to threats.

After you stop the Windows Firewall and Defneder and enable the Norton Firewall, manually run LiveUpdate to ensure you have the latest updates applied. The next step would be to add the executable for the game you are playing to the Norton Firewall, and allow both incoming and outgoing access.

Please try this out and let me know if you need additional assistance with Norton 360.

Thank you,
Mike


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