For users experiencing this, please visit this bug and testing post: https://portableapps.com/node/57916
When I started PortableApps I got a list of three applications that needed updating. When I tried updating I got the following error message:
"Unable to download the file. This could be due to a proxy or network issue or the hosting server not permitting downloads from your location file. File:
https://portableapps.com/redirect/?s=p&a=FirefoxPortable&d=sfpa&f=Firefo..."
I had a similar error for an update around a week or so. I'm starting to think it is systemic. I wonder if any other users have observed a similar issue? I'd like to solve this. From my side, I will try to connect to a different network. Does anyone have an idea for a workaround or solution?
Thanks
Jojo
Visit the Community page
Join our forums
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Subscribe with RSS
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on BlueSky
The end result of the redirect link above is a SourceForge download. SourceForge had 3 outages within a 2 week timeframe about 3 weeks ago. It likely had some temporary outages here and there since then. If you see this, just try the download again a few minutes later for right now. We have hot backups if SourceForge is down for an extended timeframe.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Thanks, John. I'll take your suggestion and see if things clear up next week. No problem with SourceForge. They have been good citizens for so long. My main concern was with a problem from my end. With security settings changing frequently, it is seldom clear whether it is a server or a client issue.
Thanks again.
Seems Sourceforge is still having some issues as of 03-24-2018. I had an issue with both Calibre and Hardware Info updates. had to go to website to download them.
If it's both of those you had problems with, then it's not necessarily SourceForge you're having issues with - HWiNFO Portable is downloaded directly from our download servers rather than from SourceForge.
Both calibre and HWiNFO install without issue here.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I am having the same problem where apps no longer update. Problem started when the portableapps platform was updated to version 14.4.3. I have several computers running Windows 7 (64 bit) home edition and it won't update the apps anymore on any of them, giving same msgs about proxy/network issue. I did however notice that if I run portableapps from a 32 bit version of windows 7 that the apps will update automatically. I believe the problem was fixed for windows 7 (32 bit) users when going from 14.4.2 to 14.4.3, but it still needs to be fixed for those of us using Windows 7 (64 bit). Please get this fixed portableapps.com programmers? Thanks kindly (coming from a fellow programmer).
The issue you mentioned about 14.4.2 is completely different from this. That issue prevented the updater database from even being opened on 32-bit Windows due to the 64-bit version of 7-Zip being the default. We need to know what specific apps you are unable to update to assist and the exact error.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Any new app that needs to be updated won't update on 64 bit windows. My specific apps that won't update are google chrome 65.0.33.25.181. Mcgaffe Stinger 12.1.0.2699. Mozilla Firefox 59.0.1. Error message says "Unable to download the file. This could be due to a proxy or network issue or the hosting server not permitting downloads from your location." Then it lists the file locations. Please note I use portableapps on several drives on many computers. What I am noticing is that it works great to update on 32 bit (windows 7 or 10) but I get proxy error message when using 64 bit (windows 7 or 10). Problem started after 14.4.3 udpate, updating of apps worked great on all my 64 bit computers OS's prior to that. Thanks.
All of those apps are hosted on SourceForge. There's no difference in the update process between 32-bit Windows and 64-bit Windows other than which version of 7-Zip is used to unzip the updater database. If there were an issue with that on your 64-bit machine, you would not even know which apps are out of date as it couldn't get the database.
On the affected machine, please try to download Balabolka Portable. It's a freeware app, so it is hosted on our servers, not on SourceForge.
Also, be sure you are able to download McAfee Stinger, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome from our site using Internet Explorer on the affected computer. The PA.c Updater/App Store uses Windows networking components just like Internet Explorer does. If IE can't download files, then our updater can't either.
Side note: I installed a fresh copy of PA.c Platform 14.4.3 on my Windows 7 x64 clean virtual machine and was able to install Firefox, Google Chrome, and McAfee Stinger without issue. So, there is no systemic issue with using the updater/app store on Windows 7 64-bit.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Okay, I updated from IE8 to IE11. I normally never use internet explorer cause I hate it so that's y I have never updated it. Once I updated to IE11 That solved the auto update problem on my 64 bit windows. Thanks.
PS. My 32 bit operating systems already had IE11 on them, that's y they worked earlier on the auto updates, so sorry about the confusion between 32/64 OS's.
It's tested to work with IE8 on Windows 7. Even back to IE6 on Windows XP (provided its fully patched). I just tested it on Windows 7 with IE8 clean with the defaults (TLS 1.0 only) and it works downloading from SourceForge. I also disabled all TLS in IE8 and used the patched version and it properly enabled TLS during download, downloaded successfully, and then disabled it again. Not sure why upgrading to IE11 worked on this machine but I'd wager your Windows networking components were a bit messed up.
Pro Tip: It's a good idea to always fully upgrade IE on every Windows machine you use even if you don't use it. Upgrading IE upgrades a bunch of Windows networking components so that apps that rely on them and apps that embed a browser component as well as Windows Update and Windows itself will work better.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I too cannot update any apps. The problem after updating to version 14.4.3. I cannot update anything because it always says:
"Unable to download the file. This could be due to a proxy or network issue or the hosting server not permitting downloads from your location file. File:..." etc.
I am using Win 7, 32 bit. I never had a problem with previous versions.
Robert
Before we get more incomplete posts, if this is affecting you, please supply the following:
1. Platform version and whether it was a fresh install or upgrade
2. Connection setting in platform options (default is Automatic)
3. Windows version and bit depth
4. Full install path
5. Whether you can download the same apps via the website in Internet Explorer (only IE matters. It doesn't matter if Chrome/Firefox/etc works)
Rather than telling me specific apps that don't download, please try to install/update these specific apps. If you already have an app, you can install a fresh platform to your Desktop temporarily to try it.
1. FirefoxPortable 59.0.1 (SourceForge hosted with PA.c redirect)
2. 4stAttackPortable 2.0 (SourceForge hosted without PA.c redirect)
3. AIMP 4.50.2058 (PA.c hosted freeware, old style redirect)
4. Balabolka 2.11.0.649 (PA.c hosted freeware, new style redirect)
5. Inkscape 0.92.3 Rev 2 (Publisher hosted)
This will help determine what specifically isn't working on your machine.
This issue is not systemic as I can download on Windows 7 x86 and x64 under clean virtual machines using the platform, so we need to determine the root cause on other systems. The last time this came up was due to Internet Explorer set to warn when crossing zones (https redirect to http and similar). We need to figure out what it is this time. It could be SourceForge hosting issues (which began about when we released 14.4.3), issues with the new redirect we're setting up to handle SourceForge outages, a new version of inetc in the platform, a Windows patch, or something else.
Side Note: I defaulted the PA.c redirector to http via the platform to see if that is an issue as well.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Open "Internet Options", click on the "Advanced" tab, scroll to the bottom, check-mark all the SSL & TLS protocol.
Thanks for joining me on this sojourn.
Hello claptrap,
I assumed that you meant to do this in Internet Explorer. I did what you said and this solved the updates downloading problem. I don't know how this problem came about. I never use IE since I prefer Firefox. Anyway, thank you for your info.
Robert
Full instructions for : Windows 7 Home Premium.
1. Exit/quit all applications (including 'PortableApps.com Platform').
2. Enter/type "Internet Options" into windows start menu search box.
3. Click on "Internet Options".
4. Click/select thee 'Advanced' tab.
5. Scroll to the bottom in the 'Settings' sub window.
6. Click/select
'Use SSL 2.0', 'Use SSL 3.0','Use TLS 1.0', 'Use TLS 1.1' & 'Use TLS 1.2'.7. Click 'Apply' then click 'Ok'.
8. Start/run thee 'PortableApps.com Platform'.
9. Attempt to "Check For Updates".
Thanks for joining me on this sojourn.
The default is TLS 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2. It is recommended you enable these but keep old SSL disabled as it is insecure. SourceForge's redirector (which requires https) supports TLS 1.0 to 1.2 but not SSL anyway.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I've compiled a test fix along the lines of what I did with the cross zone warning. The updater will test to see if TLS1.0 or better is enabled, if it isn't it'll enable it before each download. On completion, it will set it back the way it was. This will only affect the current user and only for the duration of an individual download.
Please make a backup copy of your PortableAppsUpdater.exe before placing this file within the PortableApps\PortableApps.com directory. Please restore back to your old one after testing as this one will not properly upgrade you to the next version of the platform. Note that this is based on the BETA platform updater.
PortableAppsUpdaterHTTPSFix_14.99.3.1.zip
As a test, try downloading ZSoftUninstaller Portable. I have it set to use the https version of the PA.c redirector instead of the http version which I set all the others to.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Thanks John
The zip file has two files:
PortableAppsUpdater.exe and also PortableAppsUpdater.nsi.
Do I remove the PortableAppsUpdater.exe from the updater folder and then run the updater?
Please advise.
"Please make a backup copy of your PortableAppsUpdater.exe before placing this file within the PortableApps\PortableApps.com directory." Ignore the NSI it's just the source code. The EXE is what you'll be placing in that location. When done, put your original PortableAppsUpdater.exe back where it was and get rid of this temporary test version. This file will temporarily do the duties of the existing platform updater. You use the platform like usual with it.
If you're not comfortable or do not understand the above, please do not test this fix. This is a quick EXE replacement fix. A proper patch that will be applied as a normal platform update will be released once we've confirmed that this fix works.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hi John:
FYI, I'm using Windows 7, 64bit, and the latest version of the portableapps platform.
I replaced the exe and tried downloading bleachbit, Inscape, Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird browsers and Mcaffee stinger. No joy.
Any suggestions welcome.
Did you suggest going straight to SourceForge and downloading the newest version and replacing the older version with it?
I'll try downloading ZSoftUninstaller Portable. I have it installed, so should I download it from the home page of PortableApps or from somewhere else.? I tried updating, from the help folder, and I got an error message that said "some kind of error has occurred".
Did you try to download the above within Internet Explorer (and only IE) from our website on the affected PC? Also, could you please open up your control panel, get into Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, scroll to the bottom and take a screenshot please?
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hi John:
Thanks for the timely reply.
Before I received your latest reply I decided to go back to what Claptrap suggested and went into Internet Options, clicked the Advanced tab and clicked on TLS 1.0 , TLS 1.1 , and TLS 1.2. I didn't unclick SSL 3.0, but if you think it will help then I will.
So, using these new settings, and my default Chrome Browser (even though I have Internet Explorer) all the applications updated successfully except for one, PrivateBrowsing by PortableApps, it downloaded but gave me an error that "the downloaded file is not valid and cannot be installed". I don't think that is the problem we are discussing here.
I took screenshots of the control panel and the error message but wasn't able to paste them in this message. Any help there would be appreciated.
So in conclusion, my advanced options tab didn't have, for some reason, any of the three "use TLS 1.x" options enabled under security. After enabling them the updates proceeded well, as they had before. I don't know what could have turned them off other than some Windows update that randomly changed some settings.
In any event, after the update I restored the PortableAppsUpdater.exe program. It seemed to work since it downloaded the PrivateBrowsing update successfully.
If you want the screenshots please advise how to paste them in, or if there is anything else I can do to help users solve this issue.
all the best
Jojo
In my testing, as soon as I uncheck the 3 TLS options, downloads from SourceForge fail. But, with them still unchecked, if I swap in my modded PortableAppsUpdater.exe file, the downloads work again as expected. Notr sure why that doesn't work for you.
Private Browsing and fre:ac had incorrect hashes in the updater database. It was fixed earlier today, so that's unrelated to all of this.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hi John. I'm not sure what happened with my use of your PortableAppsUpdater mod. It could have been, for me, still using the Chrome browser.
I did swap out the PortableAppsUpdater.exe modded version for the original. Totoche reports that his swapped out version didn't work either. Before I went to IE I wanted to try the 3 TLS options with Chrome. That worked, and soon after the Private Browsing update worked. So my PortableApps install is working just fine.
Thus I wouldn't put much stock in the failure of your modded PortableAppsUpdater for me since I only used it with Chrome. Did anyone else report whether it worked or not, inside IE, aside from Totoche? If you consider the issue significant I'll do the experiment of unchecking the 3 TLS options and restoring the modded PortableAppsUpdater and see what happens. Please let me know.
Thanks again for all the prompt help and effort you obviously put into this.
all the best
Jojo
The settings within Internet Options for TLS have no effect on Chrome or Firefox. They only effect Internet Explorer and apps that use the Windows networking components like the PortableApps.com Updater and App Store. That's why I had asked you to test in Internet Explorer (and specifically not Chrome) because it helps determine if your Windows networking components are configured and working properly.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Hi John;
Thanks for the suggestion of using IE. I'm keeping this and the temporary fix in a folder inside my PortableApps folder marked "Downloads". I may want to come back to it. As I noted below, for some reason the TLS boxes were unchecked, so I checked them. I don't know if that was the source of the updating problems for all the other forum readers. It did work for me and ClapTrap.
Finally, after a day's delay, I was able to update the "Private Browsing by PortableApps" application. So now all my PortableApps are updated and good to go. Since I started this thread I'll state that, for me, the thread is successfully completed and closed. It may not be for others, so I plan to check in every few days to see if other peoples updating issue is resolved and how.
I want to thank you and the other commenters. It is a pleasure having such involved fellow users and admins.
all the best
Jojo
i try with with "PortableAppsUpdaterHTTPSFix_14.99.3.1.zip"
same message, same pb :
https://framadrop.org/r/CZlAL90J6w#qtgcUfQnJUQffXSrYsNE8XSVBv1ql40STE7Hi...
Hi Totoche:
Sorry to see you still get the error. One good thing I got from your comment is how to post an image to the forum: upload it to dropbox or some other online hosting site and then post the link.
I hope your update problem gets resolved quickly. One suggestion that worked for me was to check to see if your TLS 1.0-1.2 are clicked on in the advanced tab of your browser. It is described in more detail in my comment above and in ClapTraps.
all the best
Jojo
Jojo et al - Note that it is preferred to use an image hosting site, such as Imgur, rather than dropbox or other file hosting sites, so the images can be seen without needing to be downloaded.
Thanks for the clarification, Gord. It makes total sense to use an image hosting site rather than a file hosting site. One never knows what might be coming along for the ride on an unmonitored file hosting site.
all the best
Jojo
I'm using Windows 7, 64-bit up-to-date as of March 2018.
The error message I receive is:
"Unable to download the file. This could be due to a proxy or network issue or the hosting server not permitting downloads from your location. File:.."
Up until recently (and apart from the occasional SourceForge hiccup) the portableapps platform has been pretty good. Having said that, the updating mechanism (for me at least) is now completely broken and the error message that you show us is less than helpful. There are some apps I don't use very often but other open-source apps like Firefox and LibreOffce are updated all the time. Having to see the same error week after week and be forced look up the app page, manually download, and then install the updates is a real pain..
It's especially frustrating to get that error while trying to update Firefox, which I then use to manually download the file (without error). If the portableapps platform *knows* that I have Firefox why isn't it using the browser to download the update as a fallback when it encounters the error above?
See:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Command_Line_Options
Whatever native Windows component it is that you're relying on - please, stop using it. There are other reliable, secure, open source programs that you can include with the platform to fetch files from the internet. The auto-update feature is pretty important; it's the number one reason why I (and I imagine others) use the platform. It cannot remain in this broken state.
- edited -
Sorry, I posted without including all the info you had requested before:
1. Platform version and whether it was a fresh install or upgrade
Portableapps platform 14.4.3 under about. fresh install.
2. Connection setting in platform options (default is Automatic)
No idea. I haven't explicitly set anything like that so my guess is default?
3. Windows version and bit depth
from explorer: Version 6.1 (Build 7601: Service Pack 1)
4. Full install path
of Windows? C: in the default places. If you meant the portableapps platform it's running from my user directory
5. Whether you can download the same apps via the website in Internet Explorer (only IE matters. It doesn't matter if Chrome/Firefox/etc works)
Internet Explorer is turned off under: Programs & Features > Turn Windows features on or off. (policy. cannot be changed)
Whatever components shared by Windows have been updated as of March (verified in update history)
Pasting a download link from the app's page on your site into explorer launches Firefox and downloads the files successfully.
Unfortunately, if Internet Explorer is turned off, I don't think the Windows components get properly updated so they're likely too outdated to connect to current https servers. Which means any app the embeds a browser or uses those components won't work on your system. I've never encountered a system set up this way outside of users who use those 'slim' Windows installers to strip out components they don't want (IE, Media Player) which have the same effect of breaking the Windows internet components and are thus unsupported. It's also possible that turning off IE disables those Windows components and prevents things from working. Although, in theory, that should not be the case. Do you get the actual list of updates? Can you load the app store? If so, then downloads from portableapps.com itself are working. Did you check Internet Options (via the control panel) to ensure that TLS is not disabled within the Advanced tab as mentioned above?
The inetc plugin in NSIS is currently the only internet plugin that can display download progress within the GUI. Outside of that, I'm working on bundling CURL as a secondary option, but no progress will be displayed. I'm also considering rewriting the app store in Delphi or another language for better download and SOCKS support as well as an improved GUI. This will take a lot of time and I do not have said time at present.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
[x] can check for updates
[x] can install new apps
[_] can update old apps (problem)
If I click on Apps from the portableapps start menu I can choose 'Check For Updates'. (The Updater window opens and lists all the apps that have updates)
I can also click on 'Get More Apps...' which opens and displays the Portable App Directory window by filter. (I can install *new* apps from this window without a problem)
The update mechanism is the thing that is broken. Something is failing silently during the update process and we're getting the typical non-helpful Windows error message. Is there a built-in logging mechanism in the platform that I can enable?
This wasn't one of those unsupported shady/slim installs. Windows 7 is genuine and Internet Explorer was disabled via a method approved (and provided with the OS) by Microsoft. As far as I know applications that utilize the IE components internally (Windows help for example) still function. Admittedly, I don't use many of the built-in programs; we use open source here if we can and fallback to Windows if we must. With that being said Windows is kept up-to-date, albeit locked down as much as possible.
Yes, TLS is enabled under Internet Options.
Including curl/wget are better ideas than requiring Internet Explorer for the platform to work. I mentioned this above but FirefoxPortable (if present) in headless mode should also be able to download the update (most people I know that use portableapps have it installed). I wasn't aware of the NSIS limitation.
I've compiled a comprehensive bug and testing post for this issue here: https://portableapps.com/node/57916
Please go there, read through, and perform any relevant tests so we can solve this for you.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!