Downloads still not working

[DJ]

...I hate to see you spend time uploading files if they are corrupt or whatever.... -Allen

I appreciate your concern but no worries there. None of the files are corrupt. I've downloaded a large sampling of them and they all open just fine.

I have to agree with Ed here. If you're using dialup for Internet access, there's not a lot I can do on this end to help solve your problem. Dialup is highly problematic in many ways. While you certainly may be able to DL large files from some other places, I'd bet that's not actually the case everywhere else but here at Lancisti.

I also run a couple other web servers for various reasons so if there's anything that you really need just me know and I'll put it in another location to see if you can grab it ther.

[DJ]

The best I could track down the problem was that some of the software was no longer supported and hadn't been for years...

Well, sorta. The old downloads section was a module within the open source (free) MK Portal software which I used as a front-end overlay to the older vBulletin forums software. It provided some of the additional functionality like the downloads area and a way to wrap the external gallery in a consistent looking interface. The forums software itself was always current code.

MK Portal stopped support for their product on October 30, 2009 due to lack of available programmers to continue ongoing development. Even with the old software it seemed that most of the problems (other than the dual login bug) could be traced to slow connectivity or long distance connectivity to remote International locations. That wasn't always the case but seemed to constitute the bulk of the issues we experienced.

I have to admit that I normally don't even think to ask if a user is using dialup anymore because it's just so uncommon. I do appreciate that some folks feel that dialup is all they need but I'm surprised that anyone on dialup would even try to use these forums as graphics-intensive as we are here. I may try to see if there's a less graphical style that I can make available for dialup users. I know such styles are available but never thought that someone might want to have it available.

[azscr4mbl3r]

I think your problem is that last word--dial-up. I'm running IE8 with both firmware and software firewalls, didn't even bother to clear cookies, and I uploaded a 14Mb file with no problems at all. But that's with DSL.

What are you 13? how does that help?

-Allen

[DJ]

Sorry, Allen, but what the hell does that mean? Ed was simply trying to point out (accurately) that your method of Internet access is the most likely culprit.

Not to be critical, but dialup Internet access is all but a dead technology, especially since most phone lines aren't even "real" phone lines anymore. They are digital IP-based lines which means that you're using a device which acts like a telephone but converts the signal to an IP stream that can be transmitted over the Internet, then is decoded by a similar device on the other end. Essentially, on an IP phone line you're actually using the Internet to access the Internet in a roundabout and backdoor sort of way. Packet loss is highly commonplace and nearly constant. For voice transmission it's not nearly as critical because the bandwidth requirements are fairly low. But data transmission is highly sensitive to the loss.

[azscr4mbl3r]

It means I am not impressed he has DSL. It is a problem. It is at your end. I was trying to help and THAT problem was all mine I'll give you that no good deed goes unpunished. I guess the other people with this same problem are just SOL. How does Ed being able to UPLOAD on DSL help these people that can't DOWNLOAD on DIAL UP? It doesn't. Good luck fixing it though.

Sorry, Allen, but what the hell does that mean? Ed was simply trying to point out (accurately) that your method of Internet access is the most likely culprit.

Not to be critical, but dialup Internet access is all but a dead technology, especially since most phone lines aren't even "real" phone lines anymore. They are digital IP-based lines which means that you're using a device which acts like a telephone but converts the signal to an IP stream that can be transmitted over the Internet, then is decoded by a similar device on the other end. Essentially, on an IP phone line you're actually using the Internet to access the Internet in a roundabout and backdoor sort of way. Packet loss is highly commonplace and nearly constant. For voice transmission it's not nearly as critical because the bandwidth requirements are fairly low. But data transmission is highly sensitive to the loss.

[DJ]

...It is a problem. It is at your end.

Sorry, but you're simply wrong. I've checked things and tested things exhaustively and there's no problems with the server or the system. The server I run Lancisti on is a very powerful multi-processor machine that has huge "pipes" for connectivity. It's a simple fact that you will continue to have this sort of problem with downloads as long as you continue to use dial-up Internet access. It doesn't matter how fast I can send the file to you if I'm having to stuff it through a tiny hole on your end.

FWIW, nowadays I work with such things on a daily basis in the telecomm business so I do have something of a clue about this. I also happen to be friends with one of the executives at your ISP (Frontiernet) and know that your phone line is a digital VOIP line. As I described previously, it's significantly "less than optimal" connectivity for Internet access. Even slight packet loss can result in the data stream overrunning your modem's ability to receive it and correct errors. This is especially true when the server is streaming it really fast and normally results in a broken data connection and an incomplete file that appears corrupted. But it's not corrupted. It's just not all there.

I was trying to help and THAT problem was all mine I'll give you that no good deed goes unpunished.

I always appreciate any help offered and no one here has tried to "punish" you. But bitching about problems when using dial-up to download massive files simply is no more helpful in solving your problem than your knowing that Ed uses DSL.

I guess the other people with this same problem are just SOL.

That's possibly true. I simply can't guarantee perfect service to someone who uses largely imperfect Internet connectivity. I'm truly sorry that it doesn't work well for you but I guess all I can say that you get what you pay for...both with your Internet access AND the totally free access to Lancisti.net. As I stated before, if there's a file you really need, I'll make every effort to get it to you via another web server. Heck, I'd even burn and mail a CD if that's what it takes. What more can you possibly expect?

How does Ed being able to UPLOAD on DSL help these people that can't DOWNLOAD on DIAL UP? It doesn't.

Actually, it does. If you can't download a file because the connection flakes out it's likely that you can't upload one either. And vice-versa. It also points out that high-speed Internet access is really necessary nowadays to be able to fully take advantage of all the wonderful things the 'net has to offer.

[1,6 HF]

It means I am not impressed he has DSL. It is a problem. It is at your end. I was trying to help and THAT problem was all mine I'll give you that no good deed goes unpunished. I guess the other people with this same problem are just SOL. How does Ed being able to UPLOAD on DSL help these people that can't DOWNLOAD on DIAL UP? It doesn't. Good luck fixing it though.

I understand your computer problem, but you appear to have problems well beyond that. You were insisting that the site wasn't working, because you were having trouble with some uploads or downloads. I said that the site seemed to be working fine, as I was able to upload large files (generally more likely to be a problem than downloading). And I suggested that the difference appeared to be that I was connecting on DSL, while you were connecting with dial-up. I'm not sure what part of that you didn't get, but it's very clear that you didn't get it. Because I couldn't possibly care less about you being impressed or not; I was simply trying to help you figure out why you were having trouble. I'll give you one thing, though; you're right--no good deed goes unpunished.

[zanetti]

Hi DJ,

What on earth would you want to download from any South African site??

I have tried everything from a 512k to a 4mb line and no change - pc and mac... same story...

I would gladly use a download manager but the problem is that the download manager continuously downloads "download.php"

Do you have a direct link to the file? such as an ftp site... ?

[DJ]

zanetti, it was some time ago but as I recall it was mostly some parts references and diagrams I had found on a couple of sites down there.

Also some travel and tourism brochures about the region that we were trying to get last year when we were considering a job in Namibia.

Which specific file(s) do you need?

[1,6 HF]

What on earth would you want to download from any South African site??...

Aside from the fact that there's a very active Lancia club in South Africa, Lancias used to be shipped CKD to South Africa for final assembly there. That means that it can be a good source for parts, and Lancia Service Cape Town, for one, maintains a very useful site.