MSN always comes up with a connection error

Asked by DMzda

I have Pidgin configured to work with my MSN account. However, when I connect it, it comes up with the following error:

"Connection error from notification server: Unable to connect"

I have tried using the HTTP method, but that also comes up with an error. Kopete works fine, but I want to use pidgin instead.

Any help will be appreciated.

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DMzda
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Guillaume Tremblay Beaumont (guizzy) said :
#1

When you add/manage your MSN account, in the Basic tab, is the "screen name" has to be your full email address (with "@hotmail.com")

In the Advanced Tab, what is the server name, and what port are you connecting to?

Also, are you behind a firewall that requires you to use a proxy to connect to MSN?

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DMzda (maz-ibrahim) said :
#2

The server is: messenger.hotmail.com
The port is: 1863

I am not sure about the third question, but I use ntlmaps to connect to an ISA proxy for other internet applications.

Thanks.

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Guillaume Tremblay Beaumont (guizzy) said :
#3

Well, you have the right server settings, so it's not that. Assuming it you've got the right login info, it is very likely to be related to your proxy.

I am not too knowledgeable about ntlmaps, so I'm not too sure what I'm about to say is going to be much of a help.

Let's check first if the port is really blocked.

Try this: open up a terminal and run the following command:

telnet messenger.hotmail.com 1863

What do you get when you try this?

My theory is that KDE has its own proxy settings for its applications, so while Kopete might have worked without you needing to configure your proxy, it's not necessarily the case for Pidgin. If you know it, try entering your proxy info in Pidgin and see if that works.

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DMzda (maz-ibrahim) said :
#4

It comes up with:

telnet messenger.hotmail.com 1863
Trying 65.54.239.20...
Connected to dp.msnmessenger.akadns.net.
Escape character is '^]'.

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Guillaume Tremblay Beaumont (guizzy) said :
#5

Hmmm, the port isn't blocked on your end, but somehow your DNS server redirects you to this "dp.msnmessenger.akadns.net" server, which is probably the one refusing your connection. Mine sends me to another server, so let's try that one directly.

In Pidgin, in the Advanced tab of your MSN account, enter "65.54.239.210" as your server. Keep the same Port.

This should direct you to the same server my DNS sends me, which will hopefully accept your connection.

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DMzda (maz-ibrahim) said :
#6

Thanks for the reply, but unfortunately, this doesn't work.

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DMzda (maz-ibrahim) said :
#7

Any other Ideas?

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Guillaume Tremblay Beaumont (guizzy) said :
#8

Unfortunately, I'm out of ideas. Just to be sure, you are running a recent version of Pidgin, right?

The port used for authenticating to MSN is not blocked, but it's possible the ports actually used by MSN to operate are (your firewall is probably blocking all ports except those specifically allowed). It seems likely that while Kopete was set to tunnel all its traffic to your proxy, Pidgin doesn't share the same settings.

You'd need to go into the Advanced tab of your MSN account settings within Pidgin and set your proxy. I'm not too sure of what settings you'd use, though, that's very dependant on your local network.

If you're running NTLMAPS on your own machine, and haven't changed the default settings, try this:

Proxy Type: HTTP
Host: 127.0.0.1
Port: 1048
I have no idea what would be the username and password, hopefully you do.

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Guillaume Tremblay Beaumont (guizzy) said :
#9

Or try port 8080 instead of 1048 if it doesn't work.

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DMzda (maz-ibrahim) said :
#10

I think it was to do with the proxy. I tried using the environmental settings, and it worked : ). Thanks for your help.