Server rentals :: NFOservers.com

Our Windows machines come with the directory "C:\Game installs" that includes up-to-date copies of a number of popular games, including CS:S, and makes running one a snap (the procedure for running another Source or Orangebox-based game is also very similar to what is given in this guide).

1. Right-click on your desktop and select New->Shortcut.
2. Enter this into the field:
3. Click next, then click finish.
4. Right-click on the desktop and select New->Shortcut again.
5. Enter this into the field:
Specify your actual IP address in place of "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx".
6. Click next, then click finish.
7. Double-click the "srcdsfpsboost.exe" shortcut, then the other shortcut. You will see the "Start Dedicated Server" panel (made by Valve and included with the game) that allows you to start up a new dedicated server and provides various controls to interact with the server.

If you'd like to run several servers, simply copy the "sourcebase" folder to another folder in the same directory, and follow steps #4-6 again, adjusting them to reference it instead. Choose a different port from the dialog so that the servers don't interfere with each other.

You can also customize the server's configuration further by editing the "mapcycle.txt", "server.cfg", and "autoexec.cfg" files (among others) in the "C:\Game Installs\sourcebase\css\cstrike" and "C:\Game installs\sourcebase\css\cstrike\cfg" folders. You can also install new maps, if you'd like, generally into the "maps" folder there.

After you've gotten your server running well through this procedure, we recommend switching to a command-line oriented configuration, removing Valve's menus from the equation. To do this, repeat steps #4-6, but enter this for the shortcut instead:


Replace the IP, port, and maxplayers xx's with your desired values (you can find the IPs you have been assigned on the "IP list" page of your control panel, and the default port is 27015). This will start up the server in text-only console mode.

To take this one step further and have the server start up automatically when Windows is started, and run even when nobody is logged into the machine, you can configure it as a system service using a program like FireDaemon or srvany (the latter is a bit more difficult to use).

If a game update comes out later on and you need to update, here's how to do it:

1. Shut down your server.
2. Click "Start" and then click "Run".
3. Type "cmd" into the blank and hit enter.
4. Type these commands: