Windows users + firewalls having trouble with automatic port selection
We've been seeing a lot of complaints from Windows users with firewalls who experience apparently random behavior in whether their tor in TBB connects successfully. It gets to Bootstrapped 100%: Done and then doesn't do anything else.
After some minor experimentation -- having them turn off (or uninstall) their firewall, and having one revert the TBB settings back to pre-auto days -- I think Windows and firewalls simply can't handle the automatic port selection very well. Tor will connect to an open port (I think) and then not actually be able to send traffic. Since it doesn't connect to the network, but doesn't obviously error, users just wait and get frustrated.
velope had an idea on IRC that there could be a client version of reachability testing for local ports.