Another corrupt file thread

[daggs71]

Here's a thought, why not put all the .dat files necessary for the launcher into a zip file for download like you do for the client map and client cell on the faq list? It would save huge amounts of time for paying subscribers who would rather just grab those than try to re-download the game time and time again.

6 times today I have tried, both the standard and high res versions, only to be told upon install that "x".dat is corrupt. One time maybe data flow gets messed up sure, but 12 times? I had the av disabled at all times and it made no difference. I even had a local friend of mine on a different isp try to dl both versions and he ended up with the same corruption that I discovered. Perhaps something on your end has a problem?

I have a pretty slick connection, so it doesn't take long to download, but if this keeps up I might be hitting my dl caps and if I get charged because your files have issues, perhaps I will send you a bill for my overages :P

I tried using the "ignore" option when coming across a corrupt .dat file (there were several), thinking maybe when I open the launcher it would dl the proper, uncorrupted version. No luck there either.

As it stands, I am currently on my 7th attempt at the standard res version. And no, the repair option has no effect since they can't be extracted in the first place ...


*Edit 1
So the download came through, ran the installer and again got the corrupt message on the client_anim.dat and client_sound.dat Tried the repair option and it actually fixed the anim.dat ... surprising I know .. but it failed on the sound.dat

I then followed these steps -
When I install Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach the client_sound.dat file does not install. How can I get this file to install?

If you are receiving this message, please try the following:

1. Close out the DDO Client completely and make sure the launcher is closed as well
2. Next download the dat files zip from http://download.turbine.com/ddo/ddo_..._cell_dats.zip
3. Unzip the file in to your main DDO folder and choose yes overwrite this file if prompted
4. In the Patches and Forward folders in your DDO folder, delete all files that may be inside
5. Restart DDO

Which caused the launcher to crash and not re-open. So I rebooted, same issue. Un-installed and rebooted again, tried then installer only to be back at square one. anim.dat and sound.dat are corrupt ...

SIGH!

**Edit 2
Well ran it one more time, using the above method. The launcher came on and started updating ... but would not update the client_sound.dat. So that's where I'm stuck .. everything is in the ddo folder minus that pesky client_sound.dat. Does anyone know a spot online where a guy could dl this file? Or ... could someone possibly upload a copy for me to grab? That's about the only option I can see at this point. I have scoured around the net hoping to find a copy, outdated or not, to no avail.

[Wizitdry]

You do realise that client_sound.dat is around 1.5gb right? Are you downloading the full installer or using the TDM?

[Riorik]

What is it you're actually trying to do?
Is there a longer story to this where what you're attempting now is where you're at after failing to use the "standard" method?

From here: http://www.ddo.com/ddosupport/download-ddo, the game updates itself and manages the updating for you.

[daggs71]

@ Wiz - Yes I do know the file is large. I am trying to have a download of either the standard res or high res complete without either of them containing corrupt .dat files. Which is the error I get when installing.

@ Riorik - I just want to install the game man. I don't use the turbine dm, I just dl either res. The issue is, as I stated in my original post, when installing i get errors about "x".dat being corrupt. Where it stands now, the only file that will not extract cleanly is the client_sound.dat

What you're failing to realize roirik is that if those files don't extract correctly, the launcher will not update itself. I tried using the turbine method of overwriting the files with the client_map and client_cell files(via their faq list), and it works pretty well, it just does not install/update the client-sound.dat file, which causes the launcher to crash because it can't load the file to play the game.


*Edit - Was going to try the TDM(or either res version again) for a laugh but when I do I get an error about redirecting ... http://content.level3.turbine.com/si...o/dndsetup.exe
I don't think this will ever pan out lol.

[Wizitdry]

Just incase you decide you wish to do another download here is a slightly older version that my ISP supplies. If you get corruptions from this one I would check some stuff hardware side of yours. Anyway Goodluck.

[daggs71]

Thanks Wiz, I'll definitely give it a shot.

I doubt it can be my hardware though, as I transfer much larger files from home to work and work to home and have no corruption issues with compressed files. Strangely enough, a couple of local friends now have tried downloading both the standard and high res versions and have reproduced the same result ... but other people I know in different areas of the province have no issue with it. Before I moved to this town, I had downloaded the game and it installed without issue so maybe it's something with the backbone in the area causing data loss/corruption. Definitely a head scratcher lol

[Krak_Horr]

I downloaded it from internode. I too had a corrupt file in the archive. dndsetup-2.bin

Anyone know where i can just dl that one file. i dont want to spend another 9 HOURS downloading this game.

My internet connection is slow and i dont have a very big downlaod limit. repeatedly dling 4 gig will not only take forever but it will suck up all my data limit.

[shagspear]

So does downloading from the Internode mirror works or not?
Or is it just a corrupted file? WHAT GIVES? Why isn't Turbine making use of file mirror services like fileplanet or Ausgamer or Internode?? I found this absurdly ******** that the download manager can't fix some simple file error while downloading.

I got a suggestion for you Turbine - just put "DDO High" as a ZIP FILE ON TORRENT!! Torrent does SELF-CHECKING AND REPAIRS CORRUPTED CHUNKS! It saves a lot of bandwidth for people like me (especially for players from Australia, where we have bandwidth/download quota). Forget about the PANDO cr@p since it's just a poor imitation of real p2p client like a proper torrent client.

[shagspear]

This problem still persisted. I would get blue screen sometimes while downloading, and then resume after reboot and the files would be corrupted when installing. Why can't a so called "Pando Booster" which supposely act like a "P2P" client can't do a very simple data chunks verification and replace the corrupted download data with correct data after download have completed?? This is beyond idiotic, it assumes perfect connection without any sort of problem.
This would be my 2nd time trying to download 4GB of this data today. TURBINE, IF YOU ARE NOT BUSY COUNTING MONEY COULD YOU PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS??

[Azerah]

Cannot download due to corrupt file error during file extraction. Just want others to know they aren't alone! No sense in trying repeatedly, I'll wait until there's been a fix noted somewhere in the forums.

[DynaBonk]

Ditto. Two tries in last twelve hours, both times one of the dat files was corrupt and install could not continue.

We need a way to download parts of the installer. Having to delete all 4.5 GB and then try again seems pretty silly.

Also, an installer of this size should crc its files before proceeding with installation, why should an installer attempt to proceed with installation if files are corrupt.

So again, what we need here is a way to download the installer in parts and have file hashes posted to verify that they files we have downloaded are intact.

Parts, parts parts. Parts. Did I say parts? Pando is not working, it does not allow parts. Parts.

About to make my third attempt to download, see you in six hours, maybe.

Oh yes, other thing - why should the game touch all the .dat files on each run even if there is not an update? (presumably this is how my old install got corrupted (I lost connection while playing, and the game would not run again).

[My2Cents]

DynaBonk - may I suggest you make a separate, new post for this problem, as other readers may not see this at the end of an older post?

- What specific error message are you getting?
- Are you downloading from the official DDO download link?

I am as sure as one could be that the files in the original, official, DDO download are not corrupt. If they were, there would be a torrent (pun intended) of complaints from everywhere.

One thing to consider, if for some reason an installation file is corrupted by your system and you want to reinstall, be sure to completely uninstall, including removing the Turbine folders, emptying your recycling bin, etc.

[DynaBonk]

Thanks for the helpful suggestions, but...

I preferred to reuse this thread, as it adds weight to my case.

First error was client_cell.dat corrupt (abort/retry/ignore), second try was client_surface.dat. (I retried each three times before aborting, chose not to ignore assuming that doing so would result in an unstable install.)

Yes, using official download link:
http://content.turbine.com/sites/cli...dostandard.exe

While the files that turbine provided to pando may not be corrupt, and no, it is not a torrent tracker link, however the installer does use pando which is a peer-to-peer (p2p) system. Thus, if I am getting corrupt downloads then what I am uploading to others is also corrupt, and vice-versa, which will result in a chain reaction of corrupt files being exchanged on this ersatz gnutella-like p2p pando network.

The title of this thread and posts from others on it, indicate that this is indeed a significant problem.

I am aware of the full uninstallation procedure. Now I fear it is too late and I will never get the files back intact in a fresh install.

What is required is an ftp server that supports resume on a big fat (expensive) pipe. With the files broken down into 500MB (or less) chunks with individual links to each file posted and with checksums and hashes posted on a separate source. Nothing less will do, that is clear. That is what ftp (file transfer protocol) is for, offloading your bandwidth requirements to the client via p2p is a big fail.

While streaming video can endure a few corrupt bits here and there (look at what pando, limewire, bittorrent are used for), lzma compressed software installers cannot. The completed installer once downloaded, as mentioned, should also run a checksum on the downloaded files before even attempting to install the product.

All that said, what I would like to know know (as I do not expect this download system to actually work), is; does turbine provide an installer on DVD media that they can ship by snail mail or fedex?

Those are the options here, ftp or fedex.

Though I suppose if individual torrent links to the parts of the installer were provided then chances of a successful download would also be increased. As it stands with the pando product, it is all or nothing, 4.5GB over and over and over. It is not working obviously. It is a common problem here from my observations.

So... does anyone have the current installer with no corrupted files and would they be willing to host the torrent trackers? (must be a trustworthy host)

I will give pando one more try tonight (I have already checked its settings and faqs yadayadayada), this will be the third attempt. This pando p2p CDN is not saving anyone any bandwidth, it is using many times more than required. (i.e. after this third attempt I will have downloaded over 12GB of data and may still not have a working installer). My conspiratorial mind suggests that this problem works to the benefit of pando, resulting in oversized invoices to Turbine.

Please turbine, post ftp links to your own server with the checksums posted separately, that is how this is done, it is how it has been done for decades and has always worked. If it is not broke, do not fix it. Obviously the ftp servers should be located separately from the game and web servers...

I know what I am talking about.

Oh "gosh darn it" (forum post filter here is a little TOO strict), now I see the fileplanet link... (Standard Resolution ZIP file. No downloader needed. ) oops. I will try that tonight instead of pando yet again.

http://www.fileplanet.com/202160/200...limited-Client
DDO_US_FP_U8P3_042011.zip
3,875.5 MB
...interesting... much less than the pando distributed installer. Ah, I see, it is out of date: 5/11/2011. I think that should be updated there.

Title: Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited Client (Free Game)
Author: Turbine
Created: 7/6/2009
Updated: 5/11/2011
Downloads: 202,916
Also known as: D&D Online Unlimited, Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited

So I can expect a lengthy update on first run... dicey...

[Marcus-Hawkeye]

Oh "gosh darn it" (forum post filter here is a little TOO strict), now I see the fileplanet link... (Standard Resolution ZIP file. No downloader needed. ) oops. I will try that tonight instead of pando yet again.

http://www.fileplanet.com/202160/200...limited-Client
DDO_US_FP_U8P3_042011.zip
3,875.5 MB
...interesting... much less than the pando distributed installer. Ah, I see, it is out of date: 5/11/2011. I think that should be updated there.



So I can expect a lengthy update on first run... dicey...

I was gonna say why are you even using pando... just download it from fileplanet......

[My2Cents]

I understand what you are saying, I merely suggested a new thread might be more likely to get attention by others as well as the occasional Turbine employee.

Since there appears to be only 1 (or 2?) other reports of this since the original posting date (sometime in 2010), I would suggest that 2 or 3 in, what, 1 million? is not going to be considered by many as a major problem.

My goal was not to debate whether Pando is/was the best option (I'm not a big Pando fan), and I have yet to meet anyone who is, but to suggest that the error you encountered may not in fact be at all related to truly corrupt files.

Please also understand that all of us who respond in this forum feel we are not only responding to a specific question but to any who encounter a similar problem.

If for any reason the download/update also fails, I'd check my virtual memory settings / pagefile size.

You sound like you have the situation well in hand, so I'll get back to whatever I was avoiding doing....

[DynaBonk]

Yup, the fileplanet hosted zip file worked for me. Much faster download too (~500KB/s vs ~200KB/s).

Thanks for the input guys, and apologies for my crankiness about it.

[fco-karatekid]

Yup, the fileplanet hosted zip file worked for me. Much faster download too (~500KB/s vs ~200KB/s).

Thanks for the input guys, and apologies for my crankiness about it.

In a separate thread, I complained about the bulkiness and wonkiness of the full Pando-driven reinstall of the hi-res client as well - I had to do it twice to get it to not corrupt itself (mine was the clientsound dat file).

Has anyone ever done a comparison of the high res and lo res versions? If there's not that much quality difference, I'd rather use the direct download in the future, myself.