Difficulty downloading Ravel pieces

michael_maberly · Post by **michael_maberly** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 3:59 pm

Hi;

On my first attempts to download music from this site (a wonderful site!), I ran into these difficulties:

1) Ravel, Ma Mere L'Oye, piano, 4 hands, PDF file (IMSLP #02909 - 1.13MB - 30 pages -): download would either end prematurely, accompanied by a "Done" message, or would just stop after a few pages, with a "Stopped" message.

2) Ravel, Jeux d'Eau, IMSLP #03175 - 0.81MB - 13 pages - downloaded only first of thirteen pages, giving "Done" message.

I'm using Firefox 2, which is usually fine at all sites.

Anyone have any ideas on how I might successfully download these pieces?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

- Michael

Post by **daphnis** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 6:24 pm

Michael, I just tried both of these without incident, so if you're trying to download within your browser you might check to make sure 1.) you have an updated version of Acrobat Reader installed and/or 2.) your installation isn't damaged or corrupted.

Post by **imslp** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 6:45 pm

Do you use a download manager? Can you download the file by right clicking and selecting "Save Target As..." instead of letting Acrobat open the file? Are you using a dialup connection?

michael_maberly · Post by **michael_maberly** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:00 pm

imslp wrote:Do you use a download manager? Can you download the file by right clicking and selecting "Save Target As..." instead of letting Acrobat open the file? Are you using a dialup connection?

Thanks, imslp & Daphnis.

I don't have a download manager, but I am able to right click and select "Save Link As" -- but that eventually leads me to the pdf file, which then stops prematurely and/or freezes my system.
Yes, I'm using a dialup connection.
I've been using Acrobat Reader v.6, so I guess the next step is to download a newer, clean version, and see what happens.

michael_maberly · Post by **michael_maberly** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:19 pm

daphnis wrote:Michael, I just tried both of these without incident, so if you're trying to download within your browser you might check to make sure 1.) you have an updated version of Acrobat Reader installed and/or 2.) your installation isn't damaged or corrupted.

Thanks, Daphnis. Is there by any chance a way in which I could download via ftp?
- Michael

Post by **daphnis** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:14 pm

Not to my knowledge. Un-install and then install Acrobat Reader 9.

Post by **imslp** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 1:29 am

I have received several reports of problems with dial-up connections. I would advise you to use a download manager (like http://dfast.sourceforge.net/). That way, if the download stops midway, you can resume it. You will need to paste in the URL to the PDF file into the download manager though, unless it can catch browser clicks (in which case it will tell you during the install).

michael_maberly · Post by **michael_maberly** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 12:29 pm

imslp wrote:I have received several reports of problems with dial-up connections. I would advise you to use a download manager (like http://dfast.sourceforge.net/). That way, if the download stops midway, you can resume it. You will need to paste in the URL to the PDF file into the download manager though, unless it can catch browser clicks (in which case it will tell you during the install).

Update: I downloaded Acrobat Reader9, but didn't allow it to install the various IE toolbars that had alarmed my anti-spyware. I also uninstalled Adobe Air and Adobe.com. When I clicked on the Ravel pdf file - using Firefox - I got a message saying that Acrobat Reader couldn't work with that file. When I tried the same thing using Internet Explorer, it allowed me to download the file, though not into Reader. After downloading, I tried to open the file with Reader 9, but it said that the file contained errors that made it impossible to open.

Should I: ditch Acrobat Reader9 and try Foxit Reader instead (recommended by your site), or try dfast.sourceforge.net with Reader first?

Thanks for your ongoing help!

- Michael

Post by **Peter** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 12:35 pm

I'm having these issues and other (files of 0 kb) even on a cable connection, as long as I can remember.

michael_maberly · Post by **michael_maberly** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 3:10 pm

Wow, is this frustrating! I got rid of Acrobat Reader 9, re-installed Acrobat Reader7, then downloaded the download manager at dfast.sourceforge.net, then downloaded the Firefox addon that the download manager requires, then aimed the download manager at the file I wanted -- but I couldn't figure out how to download it because it is a multi-step process that isn't all at one URL!

Any tips???? Thanks in advance!

Peter, how do you work around these difficult to download files?

- Michael

michael_maberly · Post by **michael_maberly** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 3:45 pm

imslp wrote:I have received several reports of problems with dial-up connections. I would advise you to use a download manager (like http://dfast.sourceforge.net/). That way, if the download stops midway, you can resume it. You will need to paste in the URL to the PDF file into the download manager though, unless it can catch browser clicks (in which case it will tell you during the install).

Success at last!!!! Thank-you!

I had to figure out how to use Flashgot and wxDownload Fast, and experiment with various URLs -- in the end, the URL from the Disclaimer page did the trick.

It took wxDownload Fast 5 attempts to get the whole score. If this site's downloads are dependent on using a download manager -- and that's been my experience -- perhaps the site should add some instructions on how to find, download and use the required apps, as well as a big warning explanation that one will probably have to use them in order to download successfully. Has anyone else drawn the same conclusions?

Thanks again for your help.

- Michael

Post by **Peter** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 4:45 pm

michael_maberly wrote: Peter, how do you work around these difficult to download files?

- Michael

Retrying a couple of times or waiting a few days.

Post by **imslp** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 5:16 pm

Peter, you should have told me earlier! Under no circumstances should the downloads not work, but having people just tell me "downloads don't work" doesn't help me at all, since I am not experiencing any problems, and don't know why problems persist.

What I need is someone willing to go through the bug reporting process with me, which means patience and a lot of testing. For starters, if anyone is having trouble downloading the complete file, please send me the incomplete file.

Michael: Why do you need to try wxDownload 5 times? Can't you resume using that program? That was what I wanted you to test. If you cannot resume, then again please send me the incomplete file, because that could contain a lot of hints as to what is wrong and whether I could fix it on IMSLP's side or not. No, downloading from IMSLP should not need special programs, etc. I don't use any and I download fine. But there are people who don't, which is why I need someone willing to help me troubleshoot this problem.

michael_maberly · Post by **michael_maberly** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 6:02 pm

imslp wrote:Michael: Why do you need to try wxDownload 5 times? Can't you resume using that program? That was what I wanted you to test. If you cannot resume, then again please send me the incomplete file, because that could contain a lot of hints as to what is wrong and whether I could fix it on IMSLP's side or not. No, downloading from IMSLP should not need special programs, etc. I don't use any and I download fine. But there are people who don't, which is why I need someone willing to help me troubleshoot this problem.

Hi, imslp. I'll be glad to help. First, I didn't have to try wxDownload 5 times -- forgive me if I conveyed the wrong impression: I initiated wxDownload once, and it did the complete job. However, the data logged during that job showed that it had to reconnect to the site five times in order to get the complete file -- I can't recall the exact wording, but the gist was that there were a series of 'copy errors', which repeatedly terminated the transfers. wxDownload would then try to reconnect to the site again, and would then wait for the file to begin from where it had previously had the error and been cut off/lost.

Had I thought of it, I would have saved the data log and passed it on to you.

I don't know if my being on a very slow dialup connection was a big factor or not -- Peter has stated that he's experienced similar problems on fast connections.

I had tried to download two of Ravel's pieces at least ten times over the past two days, and none of the attempts succeeded until I used wxDownload. I've almost never had that problem on other sites -- even with very long downloads (some over-nighters!) -- which makes me wonder whether others are having similar problems at your site, and whether it would be a good idea to post instructions for using wxDownload (and Flashgot, if using Firefox).

Let me know if I can be of further help!

By the way -- it's a really wonderful site, especially for folks like me (I'm a composer, who can spend many joyous days studying how a great composition works). Being able to freely download a score -- without even leaving home -- is an amazing privilege! Thank-you

- Michael