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Problems downloading SOME Portable Apps

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November 24, 2011 - 2:55am
#1
OLLI_S
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Problems downloading SOME Portable Apps

Hello,

I downloaded and installed the PA Platform.
I have the German user interface.

After starting it and going to "Manage Apps" I selected "Get More Apps...".
Here a very huge list of applications is shown (so network access is possible).

I also was able to download the following applications (via the PA Platform):

  • AquaSnap (1 MB downlaod size)
  • WinDirStat (1 MB downlaod size)
  • CrystalDiskInfo (1 MB downlaod size)
  • Eraser (1 MB downlaod size)
  • System Explorer (2 MB downlaod size)
  • Instantbird (11 MB downlaod size)
  • Noteüad++ (5 MB downlaod size)
  • Virtual Magnifying Glass (1 MB downlaod size)
  • ViruaWin (1 MB downlaod size)
  • FreeCommander 2009 (3 MB downlaod size)
  • Notepad++ (5 MB downlaod size)
  • WinMerge (4 MB downlaod size)
  • Sudoku (1 MB downlaod size)

But if I try to download one of the following Apps, the download and installation fails:

  • VLC Media Player (21 MB downlaod size)
  • Songbird (15 MB downlaod size)
  • Thunderbird (15 MB downlaod size)
  • Firefox (15 MB downlaod size)
  • OpenOffice (92 MB downlaod size)

In the download window I see the text "Connecting" and then the following error message is shown:
The downloaded copy of Mozilla Thunderbird, Portable Edition is not valid and can not be installed.
This could be due to an incomplete download or other network issue.
Please try running the updater again when complete.

Some suggestions about the message:
1st: this message should be spit into 3 lines (add two line breaks like I did it above)
2nd: this message is not translated into German language (do you need my help here?)
3rd: should it be "issues"?
4th: "...when complete" What should I complete here?

I tried to switch the language of the PA Platform to English, but this does not help.
Downloading and adding the portable app manually works.

I want to help solving this problem.
Here at work we have a proxy and at some applications I have to enter the proxy data.
But why is the download of other apps wprking?

One thing that looks suspicious might be the file size.
The apps I have downloaded are not very huge (max. size is 11 MB).
But the apps that fail are 15 MB or larger.
Maybe this is a reason?

Greetings

OLLI

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November 24, 2011 - 3:04am
John T. Haller
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Network Issue

It seems like there is a network issue on your end. Likely it is interrupting your download at around 12MB or so. In a browser, the download can usually be resumed, often automatically. Within the PA.c Updater and App Store, resume is not supported as it results in files left behind on the local machine. I've only seen this once before and it was a user on a DSL connection that would drop out briefly when he did large downloads.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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November 24, 2011 - 3:33am
(Reply to #2)
OLLI_S
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Here at work

Hello,

here at work we have a T4 (or even faster) connection.
Downloading files via the browser is always working.

I suggest the following:
1st: the PA Platform should create detailed log files (option to turn it on or off)
2nd: add an option to resume broken downloads

If the first suggestion (logs) is implemented, the log files might help finding the reason for this poblem.
I will test this issue at home, were I have no restrictions.

Greetings

OLLI

P.S.
Please note my suggestions in my first topic about the message dialog.

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November 24, 2011 - 3:51am
(Reply to #3)
John T. Haller
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Nothing To Log

There's nothing to log, unfortunately. The error message you see is as much as we know about the problem. So, if we had a log, it would merely say that it started the download, that it finished as OK and that the MD5 didn't match. Your network told the download component that the download was finished. It didn't error and disconnect. It dropped it as if it were the end of the file. At this point, the downloading component has done its job and thinks it has gotten the file. So the updater compares the checksum and sees that the file isn't all there, it's invalid. The only thing that causes this is network issues. If you're at work, are you using a proxy you log into? Or one you don't? It may have an upper limit of what you can download per connection and then drop after that. A browser will resume - well, some browsers will - but the downloader currently won't. (Incidentally, this is an awful way to have a network behave.)

As already stated, we can't do resuming without leaving installers behind on every PC, which is not portable (and a disaster).

Altering the message dialog makes it less readable in my opinion.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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November 25, 2011 - 2:37am
(Reply to #4)
OLLI_S
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Works at home

Hello,

at home the download of these "huge" applications is working.
So it must be a restriction in the network.

When I download such a "huge" application via the platform, then I just see "Connecting" and then the error message appears.
I think the file is downloaded by a server and then refused there (file size).

But anyway, if the platform just shows "connecting" and the download progress bar is not beginning to fill, is this important for you to know?
Maybe something to log?
Maybe you jut need to change something in the ownload procedure and it will work also here?

If not, then I know that I have to download the "big" apps at home or download the portable version manually.
This is no problem.

About the error message:
I have a wide screen monitor here (1920 pixels wide) and the message is quiet long.
So I have to move my head to see the whole message.
If you would have line breaks, the message dialog would be smaller (horizontal dimension).

Sorry, I work as an ergonomic engineer and usability engineer.
I check applications under ergonomic aspects (DIN-EN-ISO 9241).
So I thought this would increase the "readability".

Greetings

OLLI

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November 24, 2011 - 1:25pm
depp.jones
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The error message is already

The error message is already translated (see line 257 here) but seems not to be used by now.
(If you want to contribute to the translation, have a look at the german discussion here. We froze the translation for now until the next pre-release)

@John: Should I report it in the bugs thread, too, or do you keep track of that elsewhere?

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November 24, 2011 - 1:29pm
(Reply to #6)
John T. Haller
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Got It

I just added it to the bug tracker.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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