FileFront Forums - GUID

Why am I getting kicked for PB Guid Auth: UNKN?

The "PB GUID AUTH: UNKN" kicking means that your Game client is
not sending a valid cdkey to Raven's cdkey auth server. Usually this is due to
a problem with your cdkey entry. Exit SoF2 and then use your Windows explorer
program to find the "base\mp" folder where SoF2 is installed on your
system and delete the file called sof2key. Launch SoF2 directly and before you
get to the game's main menu, it should ask you to enter your cdkey. If this
does not fix the problem, then perhaps there is some type of firewall or
security software blocking your game's communication to Raven's cdkey auth
server. Be sure that UDP port 20112 is open for clear communication if you
have a firewall or some type of security software.

If you are running a SoF2 dedicated server with PB on your own PC or in your
LAN and have internet connection on this server, you have to use the
pb_sv_lanmask setting added since PB Server v1.039 as described in our
documentation. If you do not use this you will be kicked. The reason is that
when you connect to a LAN game your game client does not send any information
to the Auth Server. However, the PB Server will contact the Auth Server and
find that your GUID is unknown.

As of PB Client 1.043, we have a new PB command called pb_cdkeyver which
forces PB to send a Cdkey Authorize packet to Raven's Cdkey Auth Server for
players who get GUID UNKN on PB Servers. Try entering /pb_cdkeyver into your
console before joining a server to see if that helps.

Note: A cdkey is only valid if you bought the game and have a cdkey on your
cd-case! Using a cdkey generator will allow you to overcome the checksum check
within SoF2, stating that your cdkey is valid - it is only valid for single
player though and will not allow you to play on the internet.

PunkBuster kicks me for INIT FAILURE?

Usually, this message means your PB is not working properly. You should run
our PBWEB
program to make sure your PB is up to date.

However, we have recently discovered that some broadband routers routinely
drop OOB (Out of Band) packets for no apparent reason. Since all PB packets
are OOB, these routers can actually block PB's communication (again for no
apparent reason). To determine if the router is the cause of this problem for
you, remove the router and connect directly to the internet. If you are able
to play this way, then the cause is very likely the router.

Based on user feedback, the following router brands/models are reported to
have problems. Not necessarily all models of a brand might be affected, and
the list is in no way complete but it can give you a few hints. Also, we do
not claim that our list below shows the only solution to fix your issue, nor
that it will fix it for sure even though it has worked for others. It could
very well be that changing some settings in your router could help as well.
Contacting the company directly might help you as well.

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How do I enable PunkBuster?

At the game's main screen, press your tilde key (the ~ key) to bring down
the console. Then type in this line (without the quotes): "/pb_cl_enable".
You should see text displayed showing the PB Client version number and also
saying that PB is now Enabled. If not, you should reinstall the latest game
update patch and make sure that PunkBuster is installed as part of that patch
update installation.

Why do I sometimes get messages saying "Invalid cdkey",
"Mistyped cdkey?" and/or "Client Unknown to Auth"?

These messages are not PB-related issues. They have to do with your cdkey
and id Software's cdkey authorization server. Some players report that
deleting the sof2key file from the various folders where the game is installed
will fix the problem after they re-enter their cdkey one more time. Others say
that connecting to servers inside the game instead of using an external game
browser such as GameSpy or All-Seeing-Eye will fix the problem.

Why doesn't my PunkBuster Client work even though everything is
installed properly?

Check the fs_homepath game cvar from the game console (enter "\fs_homepath").
Then, using the explorer program on your computer, verify that the path
pointed to by fs_homepath does in fact have a "pb" subfolder that
includes at least these three files: pbsv.dll, pbcl.dll and pbag.dll (or
pbsv.so, pbcl.so, and pbag.so on Linux systems). If not, then either locate
and copy the "pb" folder from your game installation into the
fs_homepath location, or change the fs_homepath cvar to point to your game
installation. Note that the "pb" folder must have read and write
permissions. We realize this can be a tricky topic. If you need further
assistance, please email support@evenbalance.com.

My computer locks up or "chugs" sometimes while I'm playing
with PunkBuster Enabled, what can cause this?

PunkBuster "pushes" hardware and the Windows Operating System
more than most software and uses functions in the Windows API (low level
functions) that aren't used by most other programs. As such, there are a few
cases where using PB can actually expose flaky hardware or other situations
that don't cause problems for other software. Here are a few things that have
helped other users make these problems get better or go away completely:

If you are running Windows NT4/2000/XP, try lowering the priority of the
game process. You can do this either by opening the Task-Manager while the
game is running, or launch the game by using the command "start /belownormal
c:\games\sof2\sof2mp.exe" from a command prompt or in the target
field of your desktop shortcut used to launch the game. Lowering the game
process priority does not reduce game performance (or just very little
depending on the number of programs you are running next to the game).
Make sure you are using the latest version of PunkBuster (the latest
version is always on our Download page) - also this link
may help manually update your PB to the latest version when necessary
From the game's main screen, press the tilde key (the ~ key) to bring
down the console and enter the following line (without the quotes):
"/pb_system 1".
Never close other programs from your Windows Task Manager before playing
the game, either leave them running or close them through the proper
interface - killing a process doesn't always work completely even if it
stops showing in the Task Manager and renegade threads seem to conflict
with PB more than other programs that may be running in memory. There is a
free utility that some players use called EndItAll to close all extra
programs before they play to avoid software conflicts, crashes and
lockups. You can get it from here.
Check the add/remove programs list in your Control Panel and uninstall
any programs that you don't use or that you don't know what they are.
One program that seems to conflict with PB more than others is Norton
Anti-Virus. If you have it installed, try uninstalling it to see if the
lockups go away. Some players have reported that when this is the culprit,
they can reinstall Norton Anti-Virus and the lockups don't come back.
Other background programs that seem to conflict with PB for some users
are Sound Blaster Live software and helper programs that come with video
cards (especially ATI keyboard shortcut programs).
Some players discovered that they had a computer virus and that the
lockups vanished after it was fully removed.
Experiment with the pb_sleep setting ... try setting it to 20, 250, or
500 to see if that affects your game performance. A few players have
reported that all the problems go away when they "tweak" this
setting.
In extreme cases, a few users have reported that replacing their RAM
(memory) or video/sound cards fixed the problem.

How do I know if I am PunkBuster Authenticated?

Old versions of PunkBuster went through "Authentication"
procedures every few minutes and announced when each player had been
Authenticated. The newer, integrated version is constantly
Authenticating players during gameplay. To check your current status,
press the tilde key (~) to bring down the Game Console. Enter "pb_plist"
into the Game console (without the quotes) and then press the Tab key so the
Game knows you are entering a command, then press the Enter key. The
current PunkBuster status of all players will be displayed - use the PageUp /
PageDown keys if necessary to scroll the console text up and down. There
are 3 modes of PunkBuster status: INIT, UPDT, and OK. If it says OK next
to a player's name, then that player is currently Authenticated.

What is a guid?

In general, GUID is an acronym that stands for “globally
unique identifier”. The guid inside PunkBuster is used to identify
players with something more solid than their playing name or IP address.
Your guid is loosely based on the cdkey that was used to install the game on
your computer. When Server Admins kick or ban a player from their
server(s), PunkBuster uses the player's guid to enforce the kick/ban.
Since it is based on the game installation, it is a better way to identify
individual players than by looking at their IP address or playing name.
For those concerned about privacy, PunkBuster uses a 128-bit one-way hash (a
mathematical function) to generate the guid from the cdkey so that no one can
figure out or compute your cdkey by knowing your guid.

Why do I get messages on some servers telling me that I have cvar
violations and what should I do about it?

A cvar is a game setting. Cvars can be used to customize the game,
but cheaters sometimes abuse cvars to exploit holes or bugs in the game in
order to cheat. Admins of PunkBuster Servers have the ability to add
specific recurring checks for players' cvar values during gameplay. If
you have downloaded or written game scripts to automate tasks, then those
scripts almost certainly will add and/or change cvars in your system.
You will receive a warning if a cvar on your system is not in the range
allowed by the Admin of the Game Server to which you are currently connected -
the warning will also include the allowed range of values for the specified
cvar. If you do not heed the warning, then after a few seconds or
minutes, the PunkBuster Server will raise a violation and remove you from the
Game Server. To change the current value of any cvar, press the tilde
(~) key to bring down the game console, and then type the cvarname followed by
a space and the new value, then press the Tab key and then the Enter key.
For example, entering "cg_shadows 0" as a command will set your
cg_shadows cvar to the value of 0. The Game automatically saves most
cvar changes so that the next time you play, any changes from a previous
session will still be in effect. You may request a list of all checked cvar
rangess from the server using the “pb_cvarlist” command. You will see all
checked cvars, the allowed ranges and also any of your cvars that are
currently set outside the allowed ranges.

What does "Received Master Security Information" mean?

During gameplay, the PunkBuster Client will be contacting the Master
PunkBuster Servers about new PunkBuster system, database and data files (see
section PB Subdirectory and File Information for more information about these
file types) as well as other crucial information. This message states
that the new information has been received successfully from the Master
PunkBuster Servers. If new versions of PunkBuster are transferred to the
PunkBuster Client from the PunkBuster Server to which the player is connected,
the received files will be validated for integrity based on this Security
Information. PunkBuster Server software also confirms the integrity of
newly obtained files based on similar Security Information. This is all
part of a complicated system designed to prevent Server Admins (and other
people) from sending viruses or other unwanted files to your computer using
the PunkBuster auto-update system.

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Do I have to re-configure my firewall or proxy to use PunkBuster?

In general, if a connection can play the Game online successfully without
PunkBuster, then there will be no need to make any changes to a firewall or
proxy that may be in use when PunkBuster is Installed and Enabled.
PunkBuster communicates over the Internet (and in LAN environments) using the
same network channels created and used by the Game, and therefore requires no
changes. If, however, you had to adjust your firewall to use the game in the
first place, you may need to extend that adjustment to include ports used by
PB's auto-update feature. PunkBuster Clients use outgoing UDP Port 24348 to
get security info from the PunkBuster Master Servers, PunkBuster Servers use
UDP Ports 24348 and 24310.

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