Troubleshoot Windrop

Common Questions and Troubleshooting

Below you will find common questions and error messages you may receive when installing and using Windrop. If your issue isn't covered here please feel free to use the contact form.

Common Questions
What is Windrop
Windrop is the x86 equivalent of Eggdrop. It was written to run on the Windows Platform.
What versions of Windows will Windrop run on
Windrop will run on Windows 95, 98, 98se Me, 2000 and XP. Please note if sp2 is installed on Windows XP the current version of cygwin should be installed.
How do I Start Windrop
If your Windrop has no yet been started for the first time please see the Windrop Installation page. If however your bot has been online and you simply need to restart it you can double click the eggdrop.exe located in your Windrop folder.
Can I run Windrop as a Service
Yes. However it will require a 3rd party Service Control Manager.
Can I use TCL Scripts with Windrop
For the most part yes. Windrop can run tcl scripts much the same as eggdrop. Some older scripts will not work with newer versions of Windrop. Check the scripts documentation for required version or restriction issues.
Can I run more then one Windrop on my computer
Yes. The easiest way to do this is to give each Windrop installation a unique name. As a Windrop user I rename each folder, eggdrop.exe and eggdrop.conf to the bots nick.
How do I kill the Windrop
Since Windrop is a windows program running in the background, use ctrl alt del and select the eggdrop.exe and choose end task.
Error Messages
You have multiple copies of cygwin1.dll on your system
this error indicates another version of the cygwin1.dll in memory. Only one version can be in memory at a time. If you are running multiple Windrops or another program that uses the cygwin close them. If the problem persists reboot your machine.
Please note if you want to run multiple Windrops they must all use the same version of the cygwin1.dll
CONFIG FILE NOT LOADED (NOT FOUND, OR ERROR)
This is a stop error caused by improper configuration of the conf file, hidden Windows file extensions, or a miss-loaded script.
Begin by making sure Windows is showing all known file type extensions.
Open your eggdrop config and double check all settings.
Make sure the script is in the script folder and your path to it is correct.
USER FILE NOT FOUND
You may receive this error if you've forgotten to use the -m switch when running a new Windrop. Make sure you start the Windrop by typing eggdrop -m eggdrop.conf to start your bot in user file creation mode.
Can't determine your hostname or Hostname self-lookup failed
Open your eggdrop.conf and double check your ip. There are 2 possible settings you may need to address depending on your computers configuration.
If you are not behind a NAT Firewall (router) this setting should be uncommented and your ip entered.
#set my-hostname "localhost" (this setting can usually be left commented)
#set my-ip "127.0.0.1"

If you are behind a NAT Firewall you will leave the above setting commented and locate the setting below which is located under More Advanced Settings. Uncomment the line and add your ip.
# If you have a NAT firewall (you box has an IP in one of the following
# ranges: 192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255, 172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255,
# 10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255 and your firewall transparently changes your
# address to a unique address for your box) or you have IP masquerading
# between you and the rest of the world, and /dcc chat, /ctcp chat or
# userfile sharing aren't working, enter your outside IP here. This IP
# is used for transfers only, and has nothing to do with the my-ip or
# my-hostname settings. You may still need to set my-ip and/or my-hostname.
#set nat-ip "127.0.0.1"
Couldn't grab nearby port
Windrop can use a port range of 1024-32767. Open your eggdrop.conf and locate these lines. Uncomment the listen line if you haven't already done so and choose a port from the range above. If you still receive the error and you are behind a NAT firewall you may need to create a rule for your windrop.

# You need to un-comment this line and change the port number in order to open
# the listen port. You should not keep this set to 3333.
#listen 3333 all
Windrop doesn't show up on IRC after it is launched the first time
There can be several causes for this. To determine the exact cause use ctrl alt del and terminate the eggdrop process. Open a command prompt, navigate to the Windrop folder and launch the Windrop again with the command
eggdrop -mn eggdrop.conf. Watch the command prompt window for the error message.
DNS lookup failed
You ISP uses DNS servers to allow you online access. Open your eggdrop.conf. Be sure your ip address and hostname if required is correct. If your behind a NAT Firewall make sure your Windrop has permission for in and outbound connections on the proper ports.

Load the DNS Module in Windrop.
#### DNS MODULE ####.

# This module provides asynchronous dns support. This will avoid long
# periods where the bot just hangs there, waiting for a hostname to
# resolve, which will often let it timeout on all other connections.
loadmodule dns
Windrop doesn't respond to Hello
It's likely one of the two settings below are the cause for this problem.

You must uncomment the line below and set Owner(s). This should be the exact Nick you use on IRC and want the bot to know you as.
# Un-comment the next line and set the list of owners of the bot.
# You NEED to change this setting.
#set owner "MrLame, MrsLame"

Comment the two lines below until you have established Ownership of the bot. The bot should be restarted for config changes to take effect.
# Many IRCops find bots by seeing if they reply to 'hello' in a msg.
# You can change this to another word by un-commenting the following
# two lines and changing "myword" to the word wish to use instead of
# 'hello'. It must be a single word.
#unbind msg - hello *msg:hello
#bind msg - myword *msg:hello
Windrop doesn't respond to dcc chat
There are several causes for this problem. Go through each until your issue is resolved.

Be sure you have a password set on the Windrop, /msg bot pass password
Try /ctcp bot chat to make the Windrop dcc chat you instead.
If you are using mIRC, open options, select Local Info and be sure On connect is set to always get Local Host and Lookup method is set to Normal.
Open your eggdrop.conf file locate set dcc-sanitycheck, change this setting to 0.
If you are behind a NAT firewall, (router) make sure the ports used for dcc aren't blocked.
If you determine it is a DCC problem caused by your router please see the DCC troubleshooting section of this site for complete information on DCC setup.
"(!) timer drift -- spun X minutes
This error is usually seen when the system lags or the system time is altered. A restart of the Windrop is necessary to restart the timers.