FTP problem with all sites and all FTP clients

[ShabbatSam]

If anyone has any insight on my problem, i would much appreciate it.

i tried to FTP a week or so ago using WS_FTP and it timed out trying to connect.

so i opened a trouble ticket, and andrew replied promptly to say he could ftp to my site. so i tried WS_FTP to connect to a site i still have hosted elsewhere.
that failed. i tried the public sites that come as defaults in ws_ftp. failed.
i tried using Internet Explorer. failed.
all failures reported they were unable to connect to the ftp site.

possibly useful info: my wireless router died around the same time, so i have
been connecting directly to the cable modem.

ok, i chatted with my laptop vendor, HP, and they stepped me thru the basic
internet options stuff (on WinXP Home ed.).
they also (annoyingly) stepped me thru the IE-specific steps (e.g., "delete all your cookies" -- ok, but ws_ftp doesn't run thru a browser, has no cookies, etc., and still won't connect).

finally, HP's chat rep told me it would appear to be an ISP issue.

today, i chatted with COMCAST's chat rep. she suggested the same steps,
and insisted that FTP programs are not their responsibility. if i can connect
to the internet, then their job is done.

so, can anyone tell me, in what way would this be an ISP issue?
is comcast the link in this chain that would be determining how to find
/connect with an FTP site/port?

any suggestions or insights appreciated.

[AndrewT]

The FTP port may be blocked along the way (port 21). Although I find it hard to believe that an ISP would be doing this, it might be worth looking into.

[J-G]

FTP is fine here (comcast.net at home)

FTP is fine here (comcast.net at home, NW Indiana USA);

I used WindowsXP's barely tolerable FTP client program from the command prompt.
I acessed a client's FTP site NOT hosted by me with success,
and I accessed another client's FTP site that IS hosted by me, here at Dathorn.

Sounds like a firewall issue, or a need for the "passive" option in FTP.

You are using your full ftp_id@yourhostname.com to log in, right?
FWIW,

[sdjl]

Could maybe run through some trial and error options.
Do some command line stuff, like ping and such.

See if you can use SSH or do a traceroute to see where your requests are going, if anywhere.
You may be able to narrow it down to where the problem lies

David

[ChrisTech]

Did you disable any firewall programs you may of been using? Or check within your firewall programs to make sure you didn't accidently block that port/program?

I constantly see people who "accidently" block their email client or IE with their firewall, then complain that our (I work @ an ISP) service is down. *sighs*

[ShabbatSam]

update on my situation - somewhat resolved

my friend jenni (an earthlink executive, but i dumped earthlink for comcast)
suggested i try connecting thru other methods (dialup, hotspot, etc.).

since i live in a large condo (360 units in a highrise), i found an unsecured
wireless connection from one of my neighbors and connected that way
and disconnected my wired connection to my comcast modem.

then i tried to FTP and it connected just fine.

so then i called comcast's 800 # (the only useful advice the comcast chat
rep had to give me). that guy was knowledgeable and helpful and after
determining that my modem stats were fine, he suggested disabling my
windows firewall. he said that he has seen that causing unusual problems
lately quite often.

so i disabled the winxp windows firewall and disconnected the wireless connection
and reconnected the wired to the comcast modem connection.

and i was able to connect to any and all ftp sites via any and all ftp methods.

this situation doesn't make sense to me, since the wireless connection was also firewalled,
but he said that the wireless connection handles requests differently from the direct modem connection.

it doesn't really make sense to me, but the results testify to the correctness of his guess-ness.

and of course, this isn't resolved satisfactorily by any stretch, since turning off my firewall
and having to remember to turn it back on when i finish ftping doesn't make for safe computing.

anyway, thank you all for the insightful replies.
now i can get on with the business of figuring out HTACCESS enough
to make my new website work, http://meaningfURL.com

[sdjl]

You could always add a rule to the windows XP firewall to enable communication through port 21

That way you wouldn't have to turn it on and off all the time!

David

[Pedja]

Actualy two ports are needed for FTP: 21 and 22.

[-Oz-]

stupid windows firewalls. i just trust the firewall in my router.

[sdjl]

Actualy two ports are needed for FTP: 21 and 22.

22 is primarily used for SSH, so unless you're using FTP over SSH or scp or sftp, then 21 should be sufficient

David

[Amitabh]

Actualy two ports are needed for FTP: 21 and 22.

I think it is 20 and 21

[sdjl]

Ah yes, i failed to notice port 20