I can not connect to Multiplayer.....

 Alright I have recently went over some of the comments that were left for me on the Blog and this is the first one that I decided to try and address. I will try to make this as simple as possible.

Q: I cannot connect to multiplayer on MW3 i was able to until a few days ago now when I try to get a match i just get disconnected from the internet how do i fix this?

A: Alright, so networking/internet issues are very difficult to gauge and troubleshoot unless you are actually there. Though there are a couple of common things that I suggest can be done before contacting a Network Technician.

• First thing you can do and this is probably going to be the most simple to do and that is to reset your router and/or modem. Usually my suggestion is to remove the power supply for a full 30secs before trying to restart the devices. This will clear the devices memory and any corruptions that might be caught up in there.
• Alright so if you performed that step and nothing improved with your connection then the next thing you are going to want to do is determine if the console or computer is on Wireless. If it is on a wireless network. Try to plug the computer/console directly into the modem/router. Some times Wireless networks have data packet loss which can cause a poor connection.
• So you tried the top two steps out and it still isn't working. The next thing to do is verify that none of the files on the console are causing this to happen. Each console will save temporary game files, videos and updates to the Game Utiliy Data of the System cache please select the link to view the article.http://portalpcgaming.blogspot.com/2011/12/checking-to-see-if-issue-is-due-to.html . For PC you are going to want to Verify the Integrity of the Game Cache in the Steam Client
• Alright so if you have determined that it isn't the files on the console or computer aren't causing your network issue then the next thing you are going to want to try is to Forward the required ports for the game or set your console in a DMZ status. This is all explained in the following article portalpcgaming.blogspot.com/2011/12/port-forwarding-for-video-games.html
• If all of this fails there could be possibly be something wrong on the games end. Maybe there is a server malfunction on their side. Call their customer support or visit their website for detailed information. A customer support agent may be able to provide you with additional information or steps you can take to fix the issue.
• If everything is all good on the games end it is possible you may have another issue such as router/modem problem. There could be improper settings on those devices or the console/computer or programs or files that are not up to date.

What issues are you having?

Alright I have been seeing a decline in some of the trending issues that I have been keeping track of lately. I haven't seen too many new problems that are terribly difficult to fix popping up. So I thought to myself well where would be a good idea to pull some new fixes from. You guys! Of course. I have been receiving an increased amount of emails regarding comments people have been posting on the site. So what i want to do is give you the opportunity to let me know what problems you are having and I will respond with a full post including a text, pictures or videos on how to fix it.

Clearing the PS3 Cache and Cookies

Alright so I know more and more games as well as companies are starting to create console apps for the consoles and sometimes there can be issues with this as those consoles weren't exactly made to browse the internet as their primary function. Thus the console if not kept up to date and up to current standards may not have the correct files and programs to run all sites. One thing that can cure alot of the problems with the console apps is directly clearing the cache and cookies on the console. Unfortunately you are only able to do this on the PS3.
Here are the instructions:

-In the Playstation Cross Media Bar Menu, select "Network"

-Scroll down and select "Internet Browser" and press X
 

-Press the triangle button
 

-Highlight "Tools" and press Right on the analog stick or directional pad.
 

-Scroll down and highlight "Delete Cookies"
 

-Press X and select Yes.

Successfully denying access to a program for Youtube

It seems more and more games are using Youtube as a method to try to show game play videos and allow players to earn fame by posting their videos to Youtube. Sometimes these sites and programs require special access to Youtube in order to properly post videos and manage them. I have often seen people receiving errors while trying to unlink their Youtube account from these sites/programs and vice versa. Many times users try to sever this link using the sites/programs but the change is never reflected on Youtubes site. So I have decided to provide you guys with a way to sever the access of the site from the Youtube side.

Here are those instructions:
1. Log into Youtube.com

2. Left click on your username in the upper right corner

3. Left click "Settings"

4. Left click "Manage Account" from the menu on the left

5. Left click on "here" ("here" is the actual link) in the "Authorized Sites" section

6. Left click [ Revoke Access] to the right of the bullet-point where “callofduty.com – YouTube” is

Petition: Why should XBox360 be so special?

As I am sure many of you know the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Elite service has recently released its first DLC pack. Though to many peoples disappointment it was only released for the XBox360 Elite members. Why might this be you ask? Well it seems as if Activision and Infiinity Ward signed a special agreement with Microsoft. Some of you XBox users might be saying that you pay extra for the Live service annually. My response to that is too bad. Choose your console choose your fate. There should be no reason why one console should get the DLC content before the other especially when people are paying an extra fifty dollars to get the monthly DLC. Not to mention this DLC pack was promised to everyone in January and XBox got the content within a week of February. Now don't get me wrong I am not trying to bash  XBox users. I love the console and think it is great. Though like I said you made certain choices when you purchased the console. More specifically you chose to pay in order to play online. There is no reason why PS3 users should have to take the fall for Microsofts follies especially when you paid the extra money to get it earlier. I have also recently heard some rumors floating around that non-elite XBox members may be able to get the DLC before Elite PS3 members. So what I am asking the gaming community to do today is voice their opinion on this matter by signing this petition by leaving a comment with your gamertag and how you feel about this. Let's try to prevent this from happening to future Call of Duty content and more importantly to keep this from happening within other games.

Ports for Star Wars: The Old Republic

Alright I know a couple weeks ago I posted some ports for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Recently I stumbled upon people having issues with Star Wars: The Old Republic and I wanted to post the ports for the game so that everyone has access to them.

Ports for Star Wars: the Old Republic:

PC
Ports: 8995,12000-12999,20000-30000

Also I would like to go ahead and list this port checking tool all courtesy of PortForward.com PORT CHECKER.

PC and Laptop Optimization tips

Working with Computers through out most of my career as well as performing a lot of IT functions I started to realize that a lot of people have issues either optimizing their computer or maintaining the current level that their computer is at. So what I am going to do is list some tips to get better performance out of your computer. These are suggestions and depending on your case these may or may not work.

- First off if you purchased your computer through a retailer or a online store then there is going to be a lot of useless programs and services on your computer. So what the first thing your going to do is clear all of those programs off of there unless it is used to control something like a DVD player or a webcam. These useless programs duplicate most existent ways to do things in Windows such as updates and change functions/options. This will then clean up a lot of what is running in the background and free up some RAM/Hard drive space

- The second thing you are going to probably want to do is get yourself a simple and easy to use Anti-Virus software for your computer. Personally I use the free version of Avast! It is a quick download, with a simple setup and is easy to maintain. I set my basic scans for daily and the advanced/longer scans for once a month. As well if it finds a infected file then it will quarantine it to the sandbox so you can still access it without risk.

- The next thing i would do for optimization should only be done if you know what you are doing. This and everything else is DO AT YOUR OWN RISK. So what I do to all my computer after I complete these first two steps is go to Run > type MSCONFIG and this will allow you to select what programs and services will boot up with your computer. This will allow your computer to start up more quickly and efficently thus helping free more of your RAM up.

- This next step will depend on the last time you have done this if you have done it at all that is. So what you are going to want to do next is do a disk defrag. This is something you may want to do often such as once a month or leave more time and do it once a year. This really depends how often information is be written and removed from your hard disk. What this should do is re arrange all the file fragments in such a way where it is easier and faster for the hard drive to access.

- As a helpful hint many people may want to look into is investing in an external hard drive. This allows you to save the file from your computer to this device putting all your information into a portable content. This also allows you to not use hard drive space maintaining speed and efficency.

- The last thing I normally do is go through my computer immediately after doing the previous steps and doing all necessary updates. The major programs you will normally will want to update is Adobe Flash, Shockwave, Reader and AIR. As well as your Java client. All of these programs play into a large portion of your web browsing abilities. It allows for more access to media and webpages. The other program you will want to update is the Operating System. There could be many updates but after taking these steps it should take less than an hour for these updates on most computers.

Basically this is more or less a guide on optimization and increasing the performance of the computer you are using to get better results. As with everything else on this site these are things that you do at your own risk. You should know what you are doing or have the proper people around during this to ensure no important settings or files are tampered with. If you have any suggestions or any thing you would like added to this blog please feel free to leave a comment.