Surely many have heard that in some cases it is necessary to open ports in order for, for example, a resource to become available on the Internet. True, not everyone knows how to open ports in Windows 7 - one of the most popular "OSes" of our time. Let's look at the aspect of general solutions to this issue, as well as deal with some nuances.
Why do we need ports?
We will not delve into the jungle of system processes, but try to figure out how to open ports on Windows 7. First of all, everyone should know that ports, in the broadest sense, are some universal communication channels through which you can connect to certain resources on the same internet. This is sometimes a prerequisite for the opportunity to participate in an online game or gain access to a private server.
In addition, some specific ports are used by various devices in the system itself. We will dwell on this separately.
How to open ports on Windows 7: general solution
So, initially this whole procedure comes down to changing the firewall settings. We say right away: this general solution can be used only in cases where the connection is made directly via a cable, rather than a router such as a Wi-Fi router (in this case, the ports will need to be configured on the device itself).
How to open ports on Windows 7? Easy peasy. First, go to the Control Panel, where we select the system and security section. After that, select the firewall setting. In this section, we are interested in additional parameters, after selecting which the advanced security mode settings window will open.
Here, in the upper left, we activate the line of rules for incoming connections, and then create a new one (the port is selected as a component). At the next stage, specify the TCP protocol, the number of the desired port, and then allow the connection. Further, the appeared profile settings can be left unchanged. Then enter the name of the new rule and click the “Finish” button.
Issues of opening and changing com-ports
As for how the com-ports of Windows 7 open, there is nothing particularly complicated here either. Sometimes such a procedure will be needed in order to reassign reserved ports for some devices or simply delete unused ones.
First, click on the computer icon on the desktop and select the property bar. On the tab, additionally click on the button for environment variables, after which you will need to create a new variable with the name DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES with a value of 1 (this will display all the ports and devices that use them in the corresponding manager).
Now we call the Device Manager either from the Control Panel or the devmgmt.msc command, enter “Run” in the menu bar. It is necessary to sort the list of devices by type. In the section of COM and LPT ports, all unused devices that occupy the corresponding ports unnecessarily will become visible. They can be completely removed. Port reassignment is performed in the submenu of the properties of any component installed in the system.
How to open ports on Windows 7 for Minecraft
As for opening ports for one of the most popular online games called Minecraft, here you can apply two main methods: configure them manually or use special utilities, which is much simpler. Let's start with the second one.
You can install a small utility called Simple Port Forwarding, after starting the program you need to specify the port number 25565, your IP address and set some additional parameters. But here it should be noted that the application is shareware, and a week after the start of use it will have to be bought.
So, the user will need to know how to open ports on Windows 7 specifically for this game manually. Let's analyze the situation with the example of routers. First, through a browser, you need to enter its settings and refer to the Port Forwarding section. Here you will have to create a new connection, and in the settings sheet enter the IP of the router itself, the IP of the provider server, the number of the port you are looking for (25565) and do not forget to check the box next to the TCP protocol. After that, you need to save the settings and just restart the router and the computer (laptop). As you can see, this technique is somewhat more complicated, because you have to contact the provider (at least in order to find out the address of its server).
Conclusion
To summarize a small result, it can be noted that there is nothing particularly complicated in opening ports in the Seven, however, as in any other system, there is none. Here you just need to pay attention to the type of port being opened, since the specifics of the procedure being performed will depend on this. Needless to say, you should also consider the type of Internet connection, because the general methodology works exclusively in cases of direct connection of a computer or laptop via an optical fiber cable. For a Wi-Fi connection, setting up a router is similar to connecting to Minecraft servers. In extreme cases, all the necessary data can be obtained from the provider if automatic configuration of some parameters is not provided. Finally, nothing can happen if some ports are simply not supported by the provider or are blocked for some reason.