Multiplicity won't connect after removing ZoneAlarm AV+Firewall

from Stardock Forums

My primary is a desktop running Win11Pro x64 using Defender AV and firewall. My secondary is a Win10Pro x64 laptop that was running an old version of ZoneAlarm. I decided to uninstall the ZA and stick with Defender on the laptop, but after removing ZA and rebooting, my primary could no longer connect to the secondary. When I tried to connect, I would get the error message that the secondary was not turned on, the network was down, firewall wasn't configured correctly, etc. I rebooted both machines again, and still had the same problem. Deleted the secondary and tried to add it back in, but that wouldn't work either (it couldn't find anything to connect to).

I tried various firewall settings, making sure that Multiplicity was allowed access through the firewall, and still no joy. After messing around with it and googling for any suggestions, I finally gave up after a couple of hours and DL'd and installed a newer version of ZA just to see what would happen. It wasn't even finished with the installation when the message popped up on my primary that Multiplicity was connected. Didn't have to do anything else, it worked just like it used to before I uninstalled the older version of ZA.

I've been using Multiplicity since it was owned by EdgeRunner (and maybe one company before that, but not sure) and haven't run into anything quite like this. Any thoughts, or suggestions on how to get around using ZA as the fix for making Multiplicity run as it should? I'd just as soon get rid of it if I can.

TIA,

SCTom

 

multiplicity
13,021 views 26 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Please try purge and reinstall steps as mention here : [Link]. Just make sure to redownload the latest version from your account page. Reboot after the purge. Reinstall and reboot again after the installation. Retest and report back here.

Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

I'll give that a try, possibly this weekend when I have some time. And after I take screenshots of my current settings :-)

Thanks for the reply!

Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

I haven't gone through the purge yet, but found out that after uninstalling ZA and leaving Windows Defender Firewall turned off on my secondary, Multiplicity works just fine. So I'm assuming the problem lies in the Defender settings on the secondary. I'll check them out and see if I can find which ones I need to change. Any ideas on that?

Thanks!

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

I purged both computers and reinstalled it as per the instructions, and it works fine now except for one thing: I can't drag & drop, or copy & paste from my primary to the secondary, but it does work from secondary to primary. All my Multiplicity settings are as they were when it did work, so I'm at a loss. I'll research it and see what I can find.

Thanks!

As an update add-on, I tried everything in this article to no avail:

https://forums.stardock.com/486104/multiplicity-support-faq#cantcopy

Can still copy from S to P, but not from P to S. I've tried a small text file and a small jpg. Neither one worked.

I CAN copy an internet shortcut from either PC and it will paste into the other's browser. Just seems to be files.

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
I have forward your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

Thanks for your help. I'll be watching for updates.

 

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble.

Try everything here:

https://support.stardock.com/space/SHC/1287454780/I+can't+drag+%2F+drop+or+Copy+%2F+Paste

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

 

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

That was what I tried in Reply #4. No joy :-(

I also double-checked the port numbers, etc. and they are correct.

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting SCTom46, reply 8

That was what I tried in Reply #4. No joy :(

I also double-checked the port numbers, etc. and they are correct.
End of SCTom46's quote

What is most important to try is the actual batch file (I wrote it) as it will nuke all existing Win Firewall rules and replace them.  That would need to be run on both PCs, SCTom.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

That's what I did. Purged, re-installed, ran the batch file. The purge and re-installation fixed my original problem, but the batch file didn't fix this problem. 

Ran all as Admin.

Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting SCTom46, reply 10

That's what I did. Purged, re-installed, ran the batch file. The purge and re-installation fixed my original problem, but the batch file didn't fix this problem. 

Ran all as Admin.
End of SCTom46's quote

On both PCs?

Also, don't try drag & drop for the tests, only copy \ paste.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top

Yep, both PC's.

C&P doesn't work either. Tried that after D&D didn't work. Both methods work from secondary to primary. Neither work from primary to secondary.

 

Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting SCTom46, reply 12

Yep, both PC's.

C&P doesn't work either. Tried that after D&D didn't work. Both methods work from secondary to primary. Neither work from primary to secondary. 
End of SCTom46's quote

Then something is still restricting it. Doing a cleanboot, on each PC, is the next logical step.  It wont fix it but it will illustrate that is the case:

https://support.stardock.com/space/SHC/1346601039/Multiplicity+Clean+Boot

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top

Not too sure I can do that on my Primary. I did a clean boot on it some time ago and everything got screwed up because of the UEFI. I had to restore the drive from a recent disk image I had. I could try it on the Secondary, if that would do anything. I would assume it wouldn't since the problem is from Primary to Secondary.

Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top

I'm not thoroughly convinced it's a firewall problem. If I turn my firewalls off on both PC's, I still can't C&P or D&D from Primary to Secondary, even after rebooting with it off.

 

Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting SCTom46, reply 14

Not too sure I can do that on my Primary. I did a clean boot on it some time ago and everything got screwed up because of the UEFI. I had to restore the drive from a recent disk image I had. I could try it on the Secondary, if that would do anything. I would assume it wouldn't since the problem is from Primary to Secondary.
End of SCTom46's quote

If at all possible, you want to do it on both...

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top

Not too sure it's worth the aggravation if a reboot fails again.

I tested my ports on both PC's and came back with these results:

Primary: 

  TCP    0.0.0.0:30564          TomsPC:0               LISTENING  [MultiSrv.exe]

  TCP    0.0.0.0:30565          TomsPC:0               LISTENING  [Multipl2.exe]

  TCP    0.0.0.0:30569          TomsPC:0               LISTENING  [MultiSrv.exe]

 

Secondary:

  TCP    0.0.0.0:30564          V3-731:0               LISTENING  [MultiSrv.exe]

  TCP    0.0.0.0:30565          V3-731:0               LISTENING  [Multipl2.exe]

  TCP    0.0.0.0:30569          V3-731:0               LISTENING  [MultiSrv.exe]

If they're listening, and not blocked, wouldn't that mean there should be traffic across the 2 PC's? (Haven't messed with this stuff much since I retired 14 years ago. Some parts are a little rusty, LOL!)

 

Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top

I'm going to do an uninstall, purge, and reinstall again (with reboots in between each). Then I'll run the  MPPortFix batch file, reboot again, and see what happens. If it doesn't work after that, then I guess I'll just live with it. I've put way too much time into this problem as it is.

 

Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting SCTom46, reply 18

I'm going to do an uninstall, purge, and reinstall again (with reboots in between each). Then I'll run the  MPPortFix batch file, reboot again, and see what happens. If it doesn't work after that, then I guess I'll just live with it. I've put way too much time into this problem as it is.
End of SCTom46's quote

Looking forward to the results.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #20 from Stardock Forums Top

No joy :-(. Same as before; still can't C&P from primary to secondary. 

Reply #21 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting SCTom46, reply 20

No joy :( . Same as before; still can't C&P from primary to secondary. 
End of SCTom46's quote

One option remains then, the clean boot.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting sdRohan, reply 21


Quoting SCTom46,
reply 20

No joy :( . Same as before; still can't C&P from primary to secondary. 



One option remains then, the clean boot.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

End of sdRohan's quote

Not worth the effort, or the exasperation of restoring the PC if it goes wrong again. Besides, it's not going to fix the problem, just point out that "Yep, there's a problem." I don't think it'll show what the problem is unless I re-enabled each disabled item one at a time. No thanks; it's not that important. I have plenty of flash drives around, or I could just put ZoneAlarm back on my secondary. Worked fine with it, just not with Windows Defender Firewall.

Thanks for your help.

Reply #23 from Stardock Forums Top

Understood.  If you ever do find out what the culprit is, do let us know.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #24 from Stardock Forums Top

After messing around for 100 hours (it seems), I did an easy workaround for transferring files from Primary to Secondary. I set up "Nearby Sharing" and am able to copy any file(s) I want without using Multiplicity. All the other MP features work just fine, and now I can use this as a sub for C&P or D&D from P to S. 

Still have no idea what is causing the problem, or how to fix it. If anyone else has the same problem and a solution is found, please let me know.

Thanks again for your time and efforts.

Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top

I thought the new update might fix my problem, but I was mistaken and disappointed again :'( .

Maybe the next update 🤞.