Out of Synch Meaasage - PTW multiplay

[dharms]

I have:
1.3ghz Dell Dimension 8100, 256k ram,
30gbytes free on my hard drive.
I upgraded to a Sony trinitron monitor, and have a Gforce 2 mx/mx 400 graphics card.
I have DSL through SNET (southern new england telephone- our baby bell). Dslreports.com says my connection is great, no errors with a very low ping. ip address:169.... Given all that...

Presently I have reinstalled 1.14f. Game seems to be working "acceptably" in all aspects but one, a very important one:

Multiplayer- at end of the first move in every game I get "OUT OF SYNCH MESSAGE DETECTED" and the game ends.
I have spoken to other players and some of them only get that message when I try to play with them. I have played large, small and two-player games and it happens. This error happens whether I host a game or someone else does. I have come to the conclusion that this error is originating with me. I cannot play multiplayer at all at this point.

I was playing multiplayer prior to this with many different errors, which mostly seem to be fixed with the 1.14f patch. However now this "out of synch", which was prior to this, an occasional error, is occurring 100% of the time, preventing multiplayer play completely.
I tried things suggested on your and others help/faq pages, have called tech support several times and have tried everything they have recommended, even if it made no sense. I have tried the following individually and collectively:

Changed monitor settings, decreased colors & resolution, increased refresh rate.
Downloaded and installed most up to date monitor and graphics card drivers.
Reduced hardware acceleration.
Cleaned up the hard drive, deleted temporary files, defragged
Uninstalled PTW and all patches, removed directories, and reinstalled.
Gone into startup, stopped all startup group items so that nothing else is running.
Tried to release/renew/change my ipaddress with no success.


As I said, it was working. I could play a multiplayer game maybe 1 out of 10 tries. Now with the new patch and all the tech and faq help, I pretty consistantly get into a game, say 1 out of 2 tries. But then at the end of the first turn I get "OUT OF SYNCH MESSAGE DETECTED" every time and can't play at all. I have to change my screen name - people don't want me to play with them.

I am very frustrated. Suddenly it seems that everyone can play except for me.

[Inverse Icarus]

i got that message once or twice with the new patch. i hear that people using the powerbar causes that, and it serves them right.

but other people are just suffering from a bug. sorriez.

[astrologix]

While finding a solution, you can try to play PBEM games....

[notyoueither]

dharms.

Do you have a router?

Are you using software firewall?

Have you tried Direct IP?

[Swissy]

I have seen this happen both at the start and during the game, like when a player leaves. A possiblity is bad line quality, causing bits of missing data. Since something doesn't jive in the game data, the game stops and says it is out-of-synch. This is a way to stop cheaters, so that is why the powerbar causes them. But bad line quality could also cause this. When you did the Tweak Test, were you getting some re-transmissions? Also, try the Line Quality Test at DSLreports.

[notyoueither]

Powerbar? What is Powerbar?

[Acemo]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Powerbar? What is Powerbar?

right from their website:
PowerBar This powerful Windows 95/98/NT add-on utility will give your PC a much needed boost. Use a toolbar with extensive functionality: Enhanced Virtual Desktop's ,Quick Paster ,Email support (Check / Peek / Send), Scheduler, Quick connect to Dialup Network (Internet). Clipboard enhancer , Multi-user aware ,Hotkeys ,Screen capture,Shutdown / Restart, Quick resolution change, Realtime memory monitor, Multimedia built in plays wave-midi-CD-ROM's, Instant drive access,Tasklist, Drag/Drop support, and many many more.
Easy configuration Everything presented in a nice looking way.

The bigger question is, "Why would anyone bother buyng such a thing?"

[notyoueither]

I was wondering if it was a cheat of some sort.