Software Basics on Ctrl-Alt-GG Care

Before You Arrive

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0100

There will be internet access, but you’ll have a much better start if you prep at home.

The night before

Tip

Do these before you leave home:

File Sharing on the LAN

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0100

Sharing large files over the LAN is fast and saves internet bandwidth.

Allowed Tools

DC++ (Direct Connect): If we run a hub, use it.
Windows File Sharing (SMB): Great for small groups.
USB Drives: The classic “Sneakernet”. Reliable.

The Rules

No Piracy: Do not share cracked games, movies, or software.
Scan for Viruses: Don’t be the person who infects the whole row.
Respect Bandwidth: Don’t saturate the switch uplink with 10 simultaneous transfers.

Right-click folder > Properties > Sharing.
Click Share…
Select Everyone > Add > Read (or Read/Write).
Click Share.
Tell your friend your PC name or IP address (\\YourPCName).

Game Launcher Fixes

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0100

Steam won’t start? Battle.net stuck? Try these.

First, check Known Issues.

Launcher	Problem	Jump to
Steam	Won’t start	Steam — Won’t start
Steam	Game won’t update/verify	Steam — Update/verify
Epic Games Store	Won’t start	Epic — Won’t start
Epic Games Store	Game won’t verify	Epic — Verify
Battle.net	Won’t start	Battle.net — Won’t start
Battle.net	Game won’t scan/repair	Battle.net — Scan and repair
GOG Galaxy	Verify/repair	GOG Galaxy
Any launcher	Game crashes on launch	Game crashes on launch

Steam

Won’t start

Kill all steam.exe processes in Task Manager.
Relaunch.
If still broken: delete %localappdata%\Steam\htmlcache and %localappdata%\Steam\browser folders.

Game won’t update/verify

Clear Download Cache:

OS-Specific Notes

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0100

Different operating systems, same network.

Windows 10/11

Network Profile: Set to Private to see other PCs and host LAN games.
Firewall: When launching a game, check BOTH boxes (Private & Public) in the firewall prompt.
Updates: Run Windows Update before the event. We cache updates, but a major feature update can still take time to install.

Linux

Network Manager: Make sure your wired connection is set to DHCP.
Samba: If you want to share files with Windows users, install and configure Samba (smb).
Wine/Proton: Test your games beforehand. Don’t spend the first 4 hours configuring Lutris.

macOS

Dongles: Bring your USB-C to Ethernet adapter.
Games: Check compatibility. Many LAN classics are Windows-only.
File Sharing: Enable “File Sharing” in System Settings > General > Sharing to work with Windows SMB shares.

Version Mismatch

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0100

“Server runs a different version of the game.” Familiar?

First, check Known Issues.

Why does this happen?

We usually run the latest version on the LAN. If you didn’t update at home, or your Steam is in Offline Mode, you are behind.

Voice Chat Setup

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0100

At the LAN, we use TeamSpeak 3 for voice communication.

Why? Because it runs on the local network, has zero latency, and doesn’t eat up internet bandwidth. Keep Discord for text chat and screen sharing.

Where Downloads are Hosted

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0100

Why download from the internet at 50Mbps when you can pull from our local cache at 1000Mbps?

The Cache

We run a local caching server for:

Software Basics on Ctrl-Alt-GG Care

Before You Arrive

The night before#

File Sharing on the LAN

Allowed Tools#

The Rules#

How to use Windows Sharing#

Game Launcher Fixes

Steam#

Won’t start#

Game won’t update/verify#

OS-Specific Notes

Windows 10/11#

Linux#

macOS#

Version Mismatch

Why does this happen?#

Voice Chat Setup

Where Downloads are Hosted

The Cache#

The night before

Allowed Tools

The Rules

How to use Windows Sharing

Steam

Won’t start

Game won’t update/verify

Windows 10/11

Linux

macOS

Why does this happen?

The Cache