Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2

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SUMMARY

After you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), some programs may seem not to work. By default, Windows Firewall is enabled and blocks unsolicited connections to your computer. This article discusses how to make an exception and enable a program to run by adding it to the list of exceptions. This procedure permits the program to work as it did before the service pack was installed.

INTRODUCTION

To help provide security for your Windows XP SP2-based computer, Windows Firewall blocks unsolicited connections to your computer. However, sometimes you might want to make an exception and permit someone to connect to your computer. For example, the following scenarios describe occasions when you might want someone to be able to connect to your computer: You are playing a multiplayer game over the Internet. You are expecting to receive a file that is sent through an instant message program.After you install Windows XP SP2, client applications may not successfully receive data from a server. Following are some examples: An FTP client Multimedia streaming software New mail notifications in some e-mail programsAlternatively, server applications that are running on a Windows XP SP2-based computer may not respond to client requests. Following are some examples: A Web server such as Internet Information Services (IIS) Remote Desktop File Sharing Back to the top

Windows Firewall Security Alert

Sometimes, when Windows Firewall blocks a program, a Windows Firewall Security Alert dialog box appears. The dialog box includes the following information: ...to help protect your computer, Windows Firewall has blocked this program from receiving unsolicited information from the Internet or a network The message displays the name of the program and the name of the publisher of the program. This dialog box has 3 options: Unblock the program Keep blocking this program Keep blocking this program, but ask me again laterThe next section explains how to use this dialog box as one of the methods to enable programs. Back to the top

Enabling programs

To work correctly, some programs and games must receive information over the network. The information enters your computer through an inbound port. For Windows Firewall to permit this information to enter, the correct inbound port must be open on your computer. To enable a program to communicate like it did before Windows XP SP2 was installed, and to enable programs that you want to run, use one of the following methods.

Enable programs by using the Security Alert dialog box

In the Security Alert dialog box, click Unblock this program. Click OK.

Enable programs by using Windows Firewall

If you do not click Unblock the program in the Security Alert dialog box, the program continues to be blocked. To enable a program by using Windows Firewall, follow these steps: Click Start, click Run, type wscui.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK. Click Windows Firewall. In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Program. In the Add a Program dialog box, either select the program from the list that appears, or click Browse to locate your program.If you cannot locate your program, see the next section. After you select your program, click OK. On the Exceptions tab, make sure that the check box next to your program is selected, and then click OK. Note If you later decide that you do not want the program to be an exception, clear this check box.Adding a program to the list of exceptions has the following advantages: You do not have to know a specific port number. (By contrast, when you want to open a port, you have to know the number of the port that is used by the program. This is described later.) The port that is used by the program that is on the list of exceptions will be open only when the program is waiting to receive a connection. Back to the top