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25 Jun, 2007

Synergy 1.3.1 – WARNING: failed to connect to server: Time Out

Posted by: john In: help|windows

I’ve been using Synergy for just over 3 months now and simply love it. I use to use a KVM but found the image quality to be really bad when using it.

For anyone whose been having the error “WARNING: failed to connect to server: Time Out”. Try changing the connect to name on the client machine to the IP of the server. For some reason my Windows PC name was not working but the IP connected instantly.

You may even want to manually set your IP to always be that number so it will never change when the DHTP tried to issue a new one.

Hope this helps some one else out there.

- John

Update: Also if you’re using a VPN and your connection to the server machine gets dropped, you must disconnect from the VPN in order to reconnect. This was causing some headackes for me a while back.

Also, if you’re having trouble with Synergy capitalizing characters or holding down the Ctrl key, this post should help you out.

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25 Comments »

Comment by PR

Synergy IS simply wonderful. I have used it for over a year and after replacing one machine received the error. The IP address worked instantly. Thank you for posting!

 
Comment by Brandon

I have been using synergy for several months now and I must say it is awesome. I use it along with a kvm because I use dual display for one of the machines. However just today I could not get them to reconnect so I did as described above and instantly I am up and running again.

Thanks!
Brandon

 
Comment by David

I had exactly the same problem, after a period of unreliability from Synergy. It seemed to have acquired a mind of its own. Had it running with one PC with two monitors and a second with one monitor and it originally worked seamlessly over the three screens with no problem but the program started working intermittently and then suddenly decided to give up completely, only displaying the green circle icon without the “lightning” connected symbol in the middle, together with the “Synergy 1.3.1 – WARNING: failed to connect to server: Timed Out” error on the client PC. I tried re-installing but no joy. The cure given by “john” worked instantly, although I did have an instance of a jerky cursor on the client screen only afterwards, (something I`ve seen before), which seemed to be cured by a reboot. Anyone know what`s going on here and does the author know? I did post on the Source Forge Synergy help forum, but had no responses. I will probably post the answer there for anyone in the same boat.

Comment by john

I beleive the problem has less to do with Synergy and more to do with Windows networking. The problem is the server PC does not know what IP to assign to the other machine based on the PC’s name. So by using the IP, you are by passing that.

 
 
Comment by David

Ah, yes, but surely that begs the question as to why it worked quite happily in the previous configuration (i.e.name and not IP address) for the best part of a year before deciding not to work. Why does the server PC also not need that modification? My set-up is now working quite happily with a mix-and-match. If it ain`t broke, don`t fix it – I shall leave well enough alone :-) Regards to all.

 
Comment by Mike Carlson

Hope there is someone at the other end of this to solve my problem. Think I have hooked up the computers properly but it does not work. The server says
FATAL: failed to startserver: cannot bind address: WSAEINVAL. The client says WARNING: failed to connect to server: address not found for: Michael. Anyone able to diagnose and solve this issue? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 
Comment by Grim

if you have tried the above and are still havening problems make sure to disable windows firewall or route thru tcp and udp port 24800 (that worked for me)

Comment by john

I would recommend disabling the Windows firewall either way. It only seems to get in the way.

 
 
Comment by whatswhat

My server won’t start. Get the following:

FATAL: failed to start server: cannot bind address: The specified address is not available from the local machine

This is Win XP (Pro), had it working, shut off both computers, came back 4 hours later and started back up and can’t connect with this error.

I tried using IP addresses for screen names, tried changing ports from 24800 to 24900 on BOTH server and client. Rebooted both machines. Still no change in error message. Any ideas?

 
Comment by matt

thanks for this tip. I was fighting it all day after a upgrade to SnowLeopard and Win7 simply refused to co-operate.

 
Comment by Swissy

Thanks to you and to the creators of Synergy! You’re awesome. Couldn’t get synergy to work after reinstalling xp. This solved the problem.

 
Comment by Mike

I can not get the client to connect. have tried both the host name and IP address for the server but still get “ERROR: Failed to connect to server: Timed out” Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

Comment by john

Are you connect to a VPN? Are you are on the same network? We need a little more information. You can use the contact link above to send me an email which I would be happy to help out.

 
 
Comment by James

Thanks for this tip – I had had Synergy running rock solid with one laptop but when work upgraded me I COULD NOT get it to work, and the support on the Synergy Forums was no help. This did the trick in short order.

 
Comment by CM

Thanks a ton ! I have been using synergy for quite some time, and this error showed up right when I was at the peak of frustration due to many such config issues I Was dealing with, You saved my day, truly !!.

 
Comment by Bryan

I tried all the above mixed with restarts with no success. I eventually just uninstalled and reinstalled, and it works again!

 
Comment by Carina

Thanks for posting this!!

I got this error after updating from Tiger to Leopard although the computer name didn’t change. Using the IP fixed the problem.

And I just could not have lived without Syngery anymore ;)

 
Comment by Robbie

Thanks for those hints!
I’m running XP on the server side and Vista on the client side. First synergy worked without problems but from time to time I’m not able to connect both PCs at all, even when using the server IP directly. I also disabled my XP firewalls and checked for the correct port forwarding on my router. I’m just not getting why it does not work…

 
Comment by Geoff

Thanks for this post. You saved me quite a bit of time.

I had Synergy working with my old laptop, but when I got my new one, using the machine name on my desktop was no longer working to reach the new laptop. Once I entered the IP address of the new laptop, bam!, Synergy was able to make the connection and everything is working fine now.

You rock, John!

 
Comment by Holly

I have been going out of my mind trying to get synergy to work on my company computers following a re-image. I almost gave up until I found this site. This worked perfectly. Thank you so much!!!!

 
Comment by Lisa

Thank You!

This fix worked great for me. I have used Synergy for about half a year, then all of the sudden I got this error. A few pokes and prods after reading this fix, and she’s alive!! Thank You again :D

 
Comment by Scott

Thank you, that sucked big time.
Why did it happen and how does it degrade over time?

 
Comment by dbur

Hey, great fix. I’ve struggled getting connections on and off for a long time. Usually after I have to re-boot one of the machines.

I love Synergy. Maybe even more now if it will keep connecting.

Doesn’t seem to be much ongoing development or support for this tool anymore though. Is that right?

 
Comment by Simon

Great fix dude! Well done. Mine wouldn’t connect this morning. Kept showing timeout error. Played with firewalls on PCs and routers but no joy. Googled the problem – came here and your fix worked instantly.

Well done.

PS: I echo everyone’s love for this software. Synergy rocks!

 
Comment by Dylen Rivera

Synergy really is great. I hope that the developers will soon implement some type of drag n drop feature between pc’s. Replacing the client pc’s server name with the server ip worked instantly for me, thanks a lot. I found this post extremely useful. ;]

Dylen.

 
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My name is John Veldboom and have been in design and web programing for just over 8 years now. Started off as a hobby in high school but it has developed into a full time job now. I always tell people that if I wasn't doing this at work each day, I would be at home doing it for free. I love it!

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