Friday 28 January 2000

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Life's too short for re-installing

I followed your instructions in order to make a backup of my Windows partition using Ghost, but didn't include the installation of all my games in this backup. Having formatted my boot partition they no longer run from my extended partition. Is there anything I can do to fix this, or do I have to reinstall all my games?

No, you don't have to reinstall all your games, which should come as a relief since the installation of most modern games can be anywhere between 0.5 and 2 gigabytes in size, and can take a ridiculously long time to setup. The reason they won't work once you've formatted your drive is because the registry entries, which were made when you installed the games have been lost. Without these entries many games will refuse to even read from the CD. What you have to do to fix this problem is get yourself one of the more advanced registry editors/cleaners and use it to backup these registry entries before you format your drive. jv16 Power Tools comes highly recommended so why not head over to Macecraft.com and grab that straight away.

If you install the program and load it up, you will be presented with a list of all the applications and games you have installed on your computer, along with the registry entries associated with them. Now here comes the clever bit so pay attention. If you wanted to be able to play Dune 4 after formatting your hard drive, for instance, you would scroll down the list until you come to the Westwood entries. For this game there are three separate sections, one for each component of the game - the main game, the shared internet components and the auto update feature. Right-click on the first entry and select 'advanced info'. This will open a window containing all the registry keys which would be removed if you were to uninstall the game. Choose the 'save list as text' option and export the information to a text file. Repeat this process for all three sections. Open the three text files in Notepad and combine them into one by copying and pasting the information.

We're almost there now, so bare with me for another minute. You now have to make space at the top of the text file and enter 'REGEDIT4' onto the first line. This serves to inform your operating system of exactly how you would like the file to be processed - using the Windows built-in registry tool, Registry Editor. Rename this text file to something similar to d4.reg (the extension is the important thing here, the filename could be anything) and put it in a safe place where you won't lose it.

To play Dune 4 after you have formatted your boot drive in future, you would simply locate this reg file and double click on it to add the entries back into the registry. After doing that, find the drive you installed the game to and run the main executable from there. To speed the process up for next time, you could make a shortcut to the game and place it on your desktop.

Repeat the process for all your games and you've solved the problem. It may take you a long time, but remember, this only has to be done once for each game.

Monday 24 January 2000

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Using download managers with virtual drives

Can I use Getright to download files from Idrive?

Note that subsequent to writing this entry Idrive have gone bust.

Yes, but it doesn't support resuming. First of all you will have to make a few alterations to your Getright configuration. To do this, first locate the 'Tools' menu, followed by the 'Getright Configuration', 'Advanced' and 'More' options. Now change the 'User Agent' to 'Mozilla/4.0 (Compatible; MSIE 5.0; Windows 98)', make sure the 'Send referrer in HTTP requests' and the 'Generated from the download URL' options are ticked and finally drag and drop whatever it is you wish to download into your Getright window.

If the above solution doesn't seem to be working out for you, have a look at the URL of the file you are trying to download. If the prefix of the address reads https:// instead of http:// you can try the following procedure: right-click on the file and select 'copy shortcut'. Now open Getright and select 'enter new URL' from the 'file' menu and paste the URL into the dialog box. The final step is to remove the 's' from the prefix, click on the OK button and proceed to download in the usual manner.

If none of that works, use this as a contingency plan: surf over to PCWorld.com and download the Naviscope web accelerator. Install the program and run it - the program should tack itself onto the top of your web browser. Login into your Idrive account and click on the file you wish to download whilst holding down the shift key (this prevents your download manager from attempting to download the file).

As soon as your browser begins downloading the file, its location should appear in the Naviscope window above your browser. Highlight the URL of the file, right-click and select 'copy to clipboard'. Now close the file transfer window, open your download manager, select the 'new URL' option and paste the link into the box which appears. Before clicking on the OK button, tack the http:// prefix onto the beginning of the URL. Once this task is complete, your download manager will take care of the transfer for you.

Just one quick point to note before you dash off to give this a whirl: some download managers get confused if you enter an URL which contains a port number after the .com portion of the URL. Under these circumstances simply omit the port number and carry on as usual.

Is it possible to use Getright with Freediskspace?

Yes, I've already covered this in detail in the 'tools of the trade' tutorial, but if you want the official word on the matter have a look here.

Can I use Getright to download from JustOn accounts?

Note that all JustOn file storage services were discontinued on 31st January 2001. The JustOn technology used to power its file sharing services have now been acquired by Novell, who are currently developing new ways to implement it into future applications.

Yes, with a bit of assistance from a program called 'JustGrx' this is straightforward enough. This works in conjunction with Getright by generating a download list of any number of files stored on JustOn accounts which are linked to from a given web page. Once this list has been imported into Getright you can download whatever you choose in the usual manner.

So what's the URL? Well that, you see, is the problem. JustGrx seems to have vaporised into the ether. You may still be able to find a copy of it, however, using Google.

Another method which works for some people is simpler still and merely involves making a few amendments to your Getright settings. First of all go to the advanced configuration tab and click on the 'more' button. Subsequently make sure the 'send referrer in http requests' and 'calculated from open web browser page' options are checked. Now the tricky part has been taken of, just hold down your shift key whenever you click on a JustOn link, wait for a new window to pop up and release it. If everything goes according to plan, Getright should take care of the rest, but keep in mind that this approach produces somewhat hit and miss results.

Is it possible to use Getright in conjunction with Freedrive accounts?

More changes are afoot: Freedrive has now been acquired by Xdrive.

Yes, where there's a will, there's a way. Log into your Freedrive account, click on the 'administration' tab and select the 'edit my profile' option. Now de-select the 'auto-download' check box in your profile and re-login to your account. Whenever you wish to download a file in future, click on the 'download now' link whilst holding down the control and alt keys. At this juncture Getright will take charge of the reins making the whole process much simpler.

Method two involves getting hold of a copy of DL Tools, which includes the 'Freedrive Leech Tool'. This will log into your Freedrive account and then generate a file list consisting of the real URLs of your files, which can then be opened in your download manager. It supports Flashget, Getright, Reget and Download Accelerator - see the program's help file for more specific instructions.

How do I bypass the download limit using Yahoo Briefcase?

Imagine you're trying to download a file from the following location:

http://i11.yimg.com/14/2d655c/f/45761/family-photos.zip

...but every time you click on the link, you receive the message, "maximum access limit has been reached for this file, please come back later." Obviously the people at Yahoo are talking nonsense, so ignore them for a start and change the '14' after the .com in the URL to a '15' and try again. If it still refuses to download, try one number higher and so on and so forth until the file agrees to cooperate.
Sometimes, to confuse matters further, Yahoo use letters in their URLs instead of numbers. So on the rare occasions that you run out of numbers to try, you can replace the number with a letter instead. A good one to start with is 'a', followed by 'b', followed by... I think you can probably guess where this is leading. Most of the time, however, one or two number changes will suffice.

How do I use my download manager to transfer files from Homestead accounts?

If you haven't already got a copy of DL Tools, go to the homepage now and download it. Run the program and click on the 'Easy Homestead' tab, put a tick in the 'capture links from clipboard' box and visit the HTML page where the file you wish to download is located. Right-click on the file and select 'copy shortcut' - this URL will then automatically be inserted into DL Tools. Now click on the 'get the real links' button followed by the 'create a html file with the real links' button and choose a location to copy this file to. Finally, open this web page and click on the links - your download manager will automatically take charge of the files and begin downloading.
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I am attempting to download some files from an I-drive account, but the maximum daily download limit has been exceeded. What can I do?

Note that subsequent to writing this entry Idrive have gone bust.

If you have your own Idrive account you can save the files to that instead and then download from the new location. Because fewer people are likely to be downloading from your own personal account compared with a public one, the chances are that you will get a much better transfer rate.

First of all you will need to download the 'Filo Web Clipping Tool' from the Idrive home page, which will allow you to 'side load' your files. Once this is installed, Filo will be integrated with your web browser allowing you to save files to your Idrive account on the fly to be downloaded at your leisure. Now whenever you come across a file you wish to transfer to your Idrive account (whether it is on another Idrive account or elsewhere on the web), all you have to do is right-click on it and select the 'save target to Idrive' option.

Monday 17 January 2000

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Defragging your hard drive can be fun! No, really.

Sitting in front of your monitor while your drives defragment can have a pleasant, calming influence. All your data is magically re-ordered and slotted into its rightful place without you having to lift a finger. This is very relaxing for the first few minutes, but gets a bit tedious when you're still waiting for Windows Disk Defragmenter to finish the process many hours later. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. Since the standard Windows tool isn't up to the task, why not give Vopt a chance to mesmerise you with its lightning fast performance instead?

Now all we need is a life defragmenter to take all the hassle out of organising reality!

Friday 14 January 2000

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The whys and wherefores of e-groups

An e-group is a bit like a bulletin board in that, once registered, anyone can post messages and upload attachments. At regular intervals - usually daily or weekly depending on the activity level of the group - all the subscriber's contributions are compiled in an easy to read format and made available as one long e-mail for your convenience (this is known as 'digest mode'). They key difference between an e-group and a mailing list is that mailing lists are designed to be a one-way form of communication. The role of the latter is simply to keep you abreast of any important changes made to a particular web site, not to give you a platform to voice your own opinion.

One advantage of joining an e-group is that your subscription is very quick and effortless to set up - more likely than not you will already have the necessary software installed on your computer; an email client such as Mozilla Thunderbird or simply a web browser. Besides, if you have a pop 3 or web based e-mail address you are already half way there. To find some interesting groups to join you can begin by visiting an e-group search engine - Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, Your Mailing List Provider, and Topica are particularly good ones to try.

All you have to do is type in your search criteria, select the group you wish to join and submit your e-mail address. Note that with most e-group providers you will first have to register with the company themselves before being allowed to join any of the communities they host. This involves some obligatory form filling, but should not take any longer than a couple of minutes in any case. Once you have completed this initial registration procedure you will never again have to repeat the process should you decide to join additional groups managed by the same company. In future subscribing to a new group merely involves typing your e-mail address into a dialog box and prodding the 'join group' button. The number and scope of e-group communities available to join is only limited by the range of topics comprising life, the universe and everything. So quite a few to explore then!

Tuesday 11 January 2000

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How can I download more than two files at once using Internet Explorer?

The people at Microsoft in their infinite wisdom have set a limit on the maximum number of simultaneous connections you are permitted to make when using their homegrown browser. This limit can be exceeded by adding the following details to your registry...

REGEDIT4[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings] "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:00000010 "MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:00000008

A quick way to achieve this would be to copy this information into a plain text file, save it with a .reg extension and double-click its icon.

Now you'll be able to download up to ten files at once. This should be more than enough for anyone, but if you're feeling especially greedy you can modify the transfer limit figure yourself in Notepad before saving it.

Monday 10 January 2000

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Sometimes when I try to download a file I am presented with a forbidden (403) error message. What's that all about then?

403 error messages usually appear when you are trying to connect to an access restricted site, irrespective of which download manager you happen to be using. In order to gain access to the file you will require a valid login username and password - these can be entered into the properties menu associated with the file you are attempting to download.

If you are using Flashget, for instance, you can modify the login details by right-clicking on the file in question and selecting 'properties'. Then you would tick the 'login to server' check box and enter the username and password in the fields below. If you do not possess the necessary login details you can contact the administrator of the site to see if it's possible to have your own account setup, yet very often if a site requires you to login before being able to download, you shouldn't be there in the first place.

On other occasions the file isn't really inaccessible due to username/password restrictions, but nevertheless, your download manager reports the problem as a 403 error. Getright is one such program known to be guilty of this. Luckily a workaround to this dilemma has been discovered. Open the 'advanced configuration' tab, click on the 'more' button and choose either 'generated from the download URL' or 'random from the download URL' from within the 'Protocols' tab.

Friday 7 January 2000

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Whenever I try to download a file from an Angel Fire server using Getright I receive a tiny web page instead of the linked file? What am I doing wrong

This is happening because Getright is sending the wrong referrer value to the server. The people over at the Getright HQ have spotted this problem and have provided a registry fix to correct it - you can download it from the FAQ section of their home page.
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I created a .bin file a long time ago and have since lost the cue sheet. What do I do now?

If it's an application which doesn't necessarily have to be installed from a CD, you can use ISO Buster to extract the .bin file to your hard drive. Once extracted, all that remains to be done is to sift through the files until you find the main installation file and run it.

Otherwise you can convert the .bin file to another format before burning it. The best tool to accomplish this task is probably Win ISO - in case the name of the program hasn't already given the game away, what I'd suggest you do is convert your bin file to .iso format.

Now use Easy CD Creator or Nero to open the new .iso file, and finally, select the 'create from CD image' option from the file menu and burn it in the usual way.

Thursday 6 January 2000

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I've just burnt a data CD image, but have ended up with a useless audio CD. What am I doing wrong?

Did you load the cue sheet or just the main .bin file before writing the CD? If you've bypassed the cue file stage you've probably confused your CD writing software. Because the cue file lets your software know which mode to use when burning a CD image, if you don't open this file to begin with, it automatically uses the default setting - usually it assumes you want to make an audio CD.

Another possible explanation is that your cue file could contain incorrect file location information. If this is the case you can edit your cue file to check which directory it is pointing to. If your bin file is in a directory other than the one referred to in the cue file, you have two options; you can either relocate the bin file to match the path stated in the cue file, or you can edit the cue file so that it corresponds to the directory in which your bin file is stored. It is often more practical to delete the path reference altogether, leaving just the name of the file. This way, your burning software will assume that the bin file and cue file are situated in the same directory.

Monday 3 January 2000

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Every time I try to download a file from a Xoom server using Getright I cannot connect, so the file will not begin transferring. What's going on?

Several recent changes at Xoom have meant that files stored on their servers are inaccessible to Getright without first altering your configuration settings. Visit the advanced configuration tab found under the 'tools' menu and click on the 'more' button. Now in the 'user agent' item, pick a different value. Something starting with Mozilla should work fine.

Sunday 2 January 2000

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Is it possible to download a large set of files without clicking on them one by one?

Yes - this can be done in a variety of different ways providing that all the files are stored in the same location. Hover your mouse over the first file in the set, press the right mouse button and select 'copy shortcut'. Next paste this address into your FTP client, or your download manager's FTP browser and delete the file name. Now if you press the 'connect' button you will be presented with a list of all the files stored in the same directory as the first file in the set. All you have to do now is highlight all the files you wish to download and select the 'download' or 'add' button.

Note that not all servers will let you access these directory listings. Some will present you with a 'forbidden' (403) message and others will just time out before retrieving the list. If this happens you might want to try using a download manager which allows you to download every linked file on an HTML page with a few simple mouse clicks. Reget and Flashget are two such download managers that support this tremendous time saving feature. Refer to the "tools of the trade" tutorial to find out exactly how to go about doing this - you may find it helpful to search for the phrase "download all by Flashget".