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Frequently asked Questions
Can't find an answer? ICQ me !
Q. PG Offline crashes when I use the search facility.
A. You have a problem with the file MSCOMCTL.OCX.
Either this file requires to be upgraded to a later version or it is corrupt.
You should download this
file and follow these instructions:
Back up your current copy of MSCOMCTL.OCX and copy the new version to the same folder.
For Windows XP this file should be located in the C:\windows\system32 directory.
For Windows NT & 2000 the folder is C:\WINNT\system32.
For Windows 95, 98, or Me look in C:\windows\system
Using your mouse, click on the "Start" button and then click on "Run".
According to your Operating System, type the following command to register this file:
Windows 95, 98, or Me:
regsvr32 \windows\system\MSCOMCTL.OCX
Windows NT or 2000:
regsvr32 \WINNT\system32\MSCOMCTL.OCX
Windows XP:
regsvr32 \windows\system32\MSCOMCTL.OCX
You should see a message saying "DllRegisterServer ... succeeded"
If you are getting an error telling you that the file is missing, then you are not typing the command in correctly. You will need to type it in *exactly* as as shown above for your operating system.
* Please note that there is a SPACE after "regsvr32" and before the rest of the command.
You should probably copy and paste the command so that you cannot mistype it.
Q. With some groups I get the message 'Message #### does not exist” where #### is the message number but the message does exist on Yahoo.
A. The problem is caused by Yahoo server software. There is a bug in their software which shows up as the error messages you are seeing. Unfortunately there's nothing to be done except wait for them to update the server you are on. They do eventually update them all, its just a question of when. Could be weeks, could be months.
In the meantime what you can do is see if anyone else on the group is using PG Offline. They're likely to be on a different server and so may be able to get the messages. If they can get messages, ask them to Export the messages to a file, zip it up and then email it to you. You then need to unzip and Import the file. Importing files is described here
Q. With some groups I get the message 'Invalid page!' when I try to download
messages.
A. This can have 3 possible causes:
| 1. |
You do not have the latest version. Check to see if a
patch is available here |
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| 2. |
You have entered your login details incorrectly and PG Offline
cannot sign you into Yahoo. |
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3. |
You have non-alphanumeric characters (like £,$,%,&) in your password
or username. |
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Q. I am seeing the message 'Error: You were locked by Yahoo' when I try to download groups.
Typically this happens after I have downloaded 20000 - 50000 messages.
A. Yahoo limits the activity of individual users by logging hits on
their server from your IP address. Once you have fully downloaded
your group & are only doing regular refreshes this wont be an issue.
If you are trying to make an archive of your group for the first time
you should try these suggestions:
| 1. |
Your group may already be archived and available free on the
Downloads page.
| | | If you don't see your group archive
in that list you can send a polite email to your moderator, asking him to request
that it be made available. Moderator requests should be emailed
here info@pgoffline.com |
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| 2. |
PG Offline allows you to either throttle your
download speed or (recommended)
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perform a 'download, wait, repeat' cycle.
This functionality is available from File--> Options --> Download.
We recommend setting values like this
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| 3. |
If you do get blocked, the length of time the block is imposed is related
(in part) to how long PG Offline continues to
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request messages after it has been blocked. PG Offline automatically detects the
locked out condition & can be set to automatically resume a download after a user defined period.
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Q. Can I use PG Offline without a Yahoo ID?
A. No. You will need both a Yahoo ID & a current membership for any group you
wish to download or import as a file.
Q. I left my laptop on overnight to download groups & I came back in the morning to a Blue Screen!
A. Switch off your power saving mode.
Your laptop powered down the hard disk while PG Offline was still running.
Q. The number of 'Local messages' & 'Web messages'
does not tally on some groups.
A. This is correct. Some groups, particularily the bigger groups may
have either archived off earlier messages or particular messages may have been deleted
by the group moderator. This leads to discrepancies between the highest message number
and the actual number of available web messages.
Q. How does PG Offline handle duplicate attachment filenames?
A. PG Offline handles attachments by generating random strings & adding
them onto the name along with an identifier for duplicates. The format of this is :
(original name)rad(five digit random hex number)
so a duplicate of 'image001' might become 'image001radEF452'.
PG Offline holds the original & new name of the attachment in the ygr_(groupname)_Att table.
Q. When I import an archive file & it has missing attachments,
will these invalid attachment links overwrite valid attachment links in my database?
A. Not from version 2.0.128 onwards. 2.0.128's main new feature is that it does
an intelligent merge when importing archives. If the incoming message has a valid attachment link
it will overwrite a message with an invalid attachment link. If the incoming message has an
invalid attachment link, it will not overwrite a message with a valid attachment link.
Versions prior to 2.0.128 will allow valid links to be overwritten.
Visit the download page
here for upgrade patches.
Q. What should I do if I see "Runtime error 339 Component DHTMLED.OCX is either missing or invalid" when installing PG Offline?
A. DHTMLED.OCX is an Internet Explorer file used by PG Offline.
Occasionally it does not register correctly, or the currently installed version does not work with PG Offline.
Check for the presence of the file dhtmled.ocx in the directory
C:\Windows\System32.
If the file is present, run command (Start -> Run) regsvr32.exe C:\Windows\System32\dhtmled.ocx.
If this does not help, it will be necessary to reinstall Internet Explorer. If neither of those
two solutions work, you have an error in your system. I have had a user report that they fixed
this by running Ontrack Fix It utilies available here
Q. What should I do if I see "Error : The HTTP redirect request failed"?
A. The Yahoo groups service is busy. Try your download again later.
Q. What should I do if I see "Error : The server name or address could not be resolved"?
A. This can have 4 possible causes:
| 1. |
You are running a Firewall & you have not given PG Offline permission
to access the Internet. |
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| 2. |
You are not connected to the Internet... check your modem & wiring. |
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3. |
Your ISP's DNS server is down... contact your ISP. |
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| 4. |
Yahoo's servers are down... wait & try again later. |
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Q. What should I do if I see "Error information: Index out of bounds"?
A. This is caused by change of locales settings or corrupted registry settings. Follow these steps:
| 1. |
Uninstall PG Offline |
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Manually delete [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\PG Offline] from the registry.
You can use Start--> Run--> regedit to edit the registry.
See a step by step guide here
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3. |
Re-install PG Offline back to the folder you first installed it to. |
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