Solve common Half-Life problems

Q: After installing a WON2 patch, I get the error "Bogus list type in woncomm.lst".

A: You must apply the Half-Life 1.1.1.0 patch before applying any of our patches. Click here to download the 1.1.1.0 patch. If you have installed Counter-Strike Retail, you will need to install the CS v1.0.0.5 update (cs1005.exe) first which also updates CS to version 1.5.

Q: When I join a server, I get the error "You cannot connect to a server operating under a different protocol version."

A: If you only get this error on a few specific servers, then these servers are running outdated versions of the Half-Life engine. This cannot be fixed; you must join another server. If you get this error on all servers, and also get the bogus list type error, you must install the 1.1.1.0 patch before applying any of our patches. Click here to install the 1.1.1.0 patch. Again, if you have Counter-Strike Retail, you will need to install the CS v1.0.0.5 update (cs1005.exe) first.

Q: When I launch Half-Life, I get an error saying my game executable was modified and that I need to scan my PC for viruses.

A: You must apply the Half-Life 1.1.1.0 patch before applying any of our patches. Click here to download the 1.1.1.0 patch. If you have installed Counter-Strike Retail, you will need to install the CS v1.0.0.5 update (cs1005.exe) first which additionally updates CS to version 1.5.

Q: When I join a server, I see an error message related to IPX not working.

A: IPX is a protocol that was commonly used on LANs in the late 90's. While most of current operating systems still support IPX, it has been disabled by default. However, this does not affect Half-Life or playing online, so this message can be safely ignored. If you are really annoyed by this message you can make it disappear by adding -noipx to the command line of the shortcut to Half-Life.

Q: Even though I have installed the WON2 Patch for Players, I still cannot play online or retrieve server lists.

A: Check to make sure you have a stable internet connection. If that does not seem to be the problem, this is most likely caused by your firewall, in which case you need to make sure Half-Life has full internet access. Some firewalls may require to create a 'profile'  for Half-Life and allow internet access manually, instead of waiting for an access request notification and allowing internet access afterwards.

If you are using the Windows Firewall (turned on by default if you have no firewall installed and you are running Windows XP or later), make sure Half-Life is not in the block list. Instructions on how to do this can be found here for Windows XP and here for Windows Vista and Seven.

Q: After installing HLDS2, Half-Life crashes when I attempt to launch it.

A: As mentioned in HLDS2's Release Notes, HLDS2 uses some Steam DLLs. Therefore it should not be installed in the same folder as Half-Life. To fix this problem, download and (re)install the 1.1.1.0 patch and the WON2 Patch for Players, as well as any other patches from Steamless CS Project you may have had previously installed.

Q: When I attempt to retrieve mod server listings from the Custom Games menu, the list of mods takes a long time to come up.

A: Your Half-Life client may be attempting to connect to a master server that is down or not operational. Look in your woncomm.lst file and comment out the master5.won2.steamlessproject.nl entry by adding // to the beginning of it.

Q: When I attempt to retrieve mod server listings from the Custom Games menu, I see a loading screen for a minute, and no downloadable mods come up.

A: The Custom Games page of the Half-Life client is buggy. We recommend clicking Refresh again. If this doesn't work, check your firewall and make sure hl.exe is not blocked. You can tell whether the client correctly contacted the mod server by checking the CS 1.5 entry. If it worked, there should be a number of players and servers other than 0. The mod service will be expanded in the coming months.