Normally router passwords are basic
username being admin, administrator
and pass being admin, pass, password etc.

My routers annoying, and the passwords on the bottom of the router.

Well, I've been playing/hosting for the past few days without any problems. My server is visible on the Internet and I can join it with no problems. I'll post my setup/settings so those still having problems have an alternative to try. One thing though, I'm using the Jape torrent release from the stickied L4d thread, so I'm not sure if this will work with the Skidrow release.

First of all, validate all the L4D files using cftoolbox. If any validation fails, correct and then resume download. All files, except left 4 dead sound.ncf, can be downloaded through steam. After updating, you should be able to launch your game though steam itself without the need for any launchers. Your steam must be cracked of course, so use whatever crack you prefer (Undead..etc. I personally use SMD 2.0).


With that done, it's time to download the server files using HLDSUpdateTool. You can do this 2 ways:

1.)Follow LordSte's guide and run the tool with the arguments he supplied.

OR

2.) To save time, simply copy the whole left 4 dead folder in the common folder EXCEPT the sound folder.

First make a folder, for example "c:\L4DServer" and then paste the WHOLE left 4 dead folder into it. Afterwards, rename the folder to "l4d". You should now have a folder structure of "c:\L4DServer\l4d" containing all the l4d game files. To save space, delete the "l4d\left 4 dead\sound" folder which isn't needed. Next run HLDSUpdateTool:

HldsUpdateTool.exe -command update -game l4d_full -dir c:\L4DServer -verify_all

It will verify and download the few missing dedicated server files which shouldn't take long.


Now for the fun part. I haven't tested Stryder's engine.dll and the skidrow version seemed to cause me nothing but grief, so I tried Vityan's VUP 2.01 SVN patcher. Seriously, Vityan's the man, everyone should be grateful for his amazing work; I know I am . Download the patcher in page 51 of the "[SERVER/CLIENT TOYS] - ViTYAN's Projects" thread in the Main Forum>Releases subforum. Scroll down, it's around the middle. Vup86 for 32bit and vup64 for 64bit obviously. Copy it to the bin folder containing your original engine.dll (you may want to back it up first) and run it:

vup86.exe engine.dll

After it does its magic, you now have a patched engine.dll that accepts all clients. You're almost done, you just need to create a server.cfg in the l4d/left4dead/cfg folder. I used the server.cfg included in coreyon's link as basis for mine.

All that's left now is to launch your server. Either create a shortcut to srcds.exe and add "-console -game left4dead +hostport 27015 +map l4d_airport01_greenhouse.bsp" in the target field, or make a batchfile containing:

srcds.exe -console -game left4dead +hostport 27015 +map l4d_airport01_greenhouse.bsp


That's it. Using the method above, I've been hosting games without any issues and the server even shows up in the server browser under the internet tab. Hopefully, this will remain working even for future updates. Hope this helps.

You're supposed to run it at a command prompt. I'm assuming you're not familiar with any of this, so I'll walk you through the process. Go to Run and type cmd, a dos prompt should pop up. Now you must go to "bin" in your dedicated server folder, in my example c:\L4DServer\l4d\bin. To get there, first type "cd\" in the cmd prompt which brings you to the root of your c:\. Then type "cd c:\L4DServer\l4d\bin". Assuming you already copied the VUP patcher to the "bin" folder beforehand, type "vup86.exe engine.dll". It should inform you "ALL FILES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PATCHED. HAVE FUN!!!". It's that simple. The reason I posted this instead of a pre-patched engine.dll is that I feel it's better for you to learn to patch it yourself, than rely on other people to do it for you. It's really a no-brainer process, all the tools you need are freely available here on this forum if you look hard enough. Once again kudos to Vityan and all the developers here at rin for making this possible.

*Edit - Minor Corrections

Guys, it doesn't work anymore I keep getting

"The Steam servers are currently too busy to handle your request. Please try again in a few minutes"