1) Are you connected to the internet?

If you've dialled up and want to check whether your ISP is having problems reaching our site, try this:

*) Click on the Start menu
*) Select the 'Run...' menu item, second from bottom
*) Type the following into the box:

ping -n 10 212.100.224.137

*) Press enter

A black box should pop up with 10 identical messages scrolling up at one second intervals. If the message starts with 'Reply from...' your internet connection is okay. If it starts with 'Request timed out', it's not and you should contact your internet provider for support. If you see
both types of messages at random intervals, there is some network congestion, or maybe someone else in your house / office is using the network heavily. This kind of network activity will interfere with the smooth running of the game, though it shouldn't stop you from playing completely.

You can close this window at any time once you've noted down the message or messages that it's displaying. Please have these messages on hand before contacting us with connection difficulties.

2) Can you reach us?

If the above test succeeds, please try the following:

*) Click on the Start menu
*) Select the 'Run...' menu item, second from bottom
*) Type the following into the box:

telnet 212.100.224.137 20001

*) Press enter

If you see a black or white window open with a cursor in the top-left, your connection is fine. If the hourglass stays on while you hover your mouse pointer over the window, or else you see a 'Connection refused' error message, there is a problem.

Again you can close this window when you've noted one of the above responses, and please have the result of this test ready before contacting technical support.