Trouble Shooting FAQ

Here are some of the more common problems.

I register, but I don't get my password in the mail.

Sometimes the KGS login mail is marked as spam.

If you are with hotmail or msn, this is a real problem; they refuse most KGS email. Please try to get an email address somewhere else.
Some people on AOL refuse all email with embedded images. You'll have to turn this off until the KGS email comes in. It may also be possible to mark all KGS mail as "OK"; it will always come from "admin@gokgs.com".
If you have a system that requires people to visit a web page the first time that they email you, please set "admin@gokgs.com" as an address that always gets through. KGS email is sent by an automated system, when mail comes back asking to visit a web page, it is thrown away.
Some domains owned by AT&T block automated email from KGS as spam. The Admin Announcement page has a list of affected domains
Some users find mail from KGS as been classified as spam, and find it in their "spam box."

When an account is registered and the password isn't used within 24 hours, the server will assume that it was lost and will erase the account. That means that if you didn't get the password the first time, you can fix the problem, wait until a day after you registered, then try again.

I'm having trouble cutting and pasting text from KGS.

For security reasons, applets are not allowed to access the system clipboard. This means copy and paste cannot be done between applets and non-applets. It is possible to configure Java to allow this, but, at this time, a description is beyond the scope of this help page.

The full version of the Cgoban client does supports all "cut, copy, and paste" operations. Downloading the full version provides other advantages.

You can use the score estimator (on the options menu in the game window.).
You can save games to your disk.
You can edit sgf files (games) on your computer.

You can download the full version of the client here.

If you are using a mac then you will need to assign control clicks properly.

I am not getting my monthly emails.

Check the options in your personal information page. (user –> "edit personal information".) (The monthly emails contain the schedule of events.)
Be sure your email address is correct and current.
Your email address must be correct to use the password recovery tool.
Check above to see if your ISP or server classifies mail from KGS as spam.

My client stopped and I got this strange window with text saying "Please email to admin@gokgs.com".

Mail it in. If you can't cut and past, mail a screenshot, but please don't send a BMP file. Those are really huge and fill up our mailbox! Sending text is best, if you can't do that, send a GIF or a PNG.

I can log in, but when I type something, it doesn't appear, and a bunch of other buttons and menus just don't work.

NVidia made a network card that has trouble with some applications (World of Warcraft had a similar problem with the same network card). If you have an nvidia network card, try this:

Go to the "Start" menu, then to "Control Panel".
Double click to open "Network Connections".
Right click on your network adapter and go to properties (should be labeled as "NVIDIA nForce Ethernet Controller").
Click on "Configure" and go to the "Advanced" tab.
Select "Checksum Offload" and choose disable in the window to the right. It may be called Hardware Checksumming or a Checksum of some type.
Click on Ok.

This should fix the problems.

Which port does KGS use?

TCP port 2379.

My SGF files do not upload.

Large sgf files may have long load times. This is dependent on the upstream of your connection and the processing/memory capabilities of your system.

I get a lot of error messages when I work with SGF files not generated by KGS.

SGF files that do not conform to SGF standards may cause unpredictable behavior of Cgoban3.

The screen shot on the Main KGS Window help page covers up some of the translation options.

Put the KGS CGoban Window in full screen mode.
Try reducing the size of the text your browser displays.
If neither of the above is sufficient, use Set Preferences to change to the language that you want.

There is no sound.

Verify that the "sound enabled" box is checked in the preferences window.
Verify that the sound controls for warnings, games, and tells are set as you desire.
Maybe you have the game type set to "teaching" by mistake. Teaching Account Teaching Game. The time-remaining-on-clock warnings do not apply to teaching games.
Get out of the KGS client and verify that that the sound is enabled on your computer.
On some Linux distributions, Java will not share sound resources with other software. You can get help with this issue in the "Linux" Room, under "Social."
Solutions to sound issues caused by upgrading Java can be found on the Missing Stone Placement Sound page.

My connection was broken while I was playing a game. When I logged back on, my Resume button was grayed out. What do I do?

Here are two things to try.

Go to another chat room and then come back to the room you were in.
Exit the client and log back in again.

My autodownloaded client does not work. What do I do?

Re-download it from https://www.gokgs.com/download.jsp.
In some cases, you may need to uninstall the client before re-downloading: see KGS Accouncements

How do I uninstall CGoban 3 from Java?

Delete the resources in your java cache. Instructions can be found in the published solution to a problem that occurred in February 2011.

You can also find instructions here: Glue's KGS FAQ or another help page at Sensei's Library

What To Try When All Else Fails

Here are some suggestions.

Exit from KGS and log back in again.
Verify that you are using SUN java, the latest version.
Uninstall the KGS client, CGoban.
Install the CGoban again.
Delete the resources in your java cache.
Uninstall and re-install using CGoban 3 with no file association.
Ask for help in the chat line in the English Game Room or in one of the other main rooms.
Write an email to admin@gokgs.com.
Check the Problemes Techniques section of the French help pages.

Glossary

SGF
- Smart Game Format
Spam
- Unsolicited electronic message
Alarm for Tell
- The sound of a telephone ringing when you have a message from another user.