Displaying Errors

[skeeber]

I'm using version 0.6.14. In the older versions when an article was missing from the server, it would display that there was an error at the bottom of the queue page along with the number of errors. You could click on it and it would take you to the status page and you could see the errors. The program doesn't do this anymore. It doesn't tell you about ANY errors. Even when a file is not repairable it doesn't tell you about it. If there is not enough blocks to repair a file I don't know about it until I look in the incomplete folder or look at the history page.

I looked through the settings and didn't see a way to turn error display on. It there anyway to do this?

Thanks.

[shypike]

Not sure what you mean.
Older versions displayed lots of useless warnings about missing articles,
even if the job was perfectly repairable afterwards.
Recent versions show in the mouse-hover-over popup in the queue how many articles
are missing so far. Finally the History entry tells you what the end result is.
The nature of Usenet posts is such that you only know after at least one repair attempt
whether the job can be completed or not.

[skeeber]

Well, sometimes I download old files or files that happen to be missing a lot of articles. When I see that a lot of articles are missing, I just cancel the download and delete it. For instance, if the first RAR of a 100 part RAR file is missing 20 out of 35 articles and the second RAR is missing 25 out of 35 articles, I know right away that there is no way there will be enough PARs to fix it so I just stop it and delete it. Saving lots of wasted time and bandwidth.

The way it is now I won't know a download was unsuccessful unless I look at the history or look in the incomplete folder. Shouldn't there be an alert telling me that the download failed rather than having to look at the history?

Also, I don't see this mouse-hover-over popup anywhere in the queue. Where am I supposed to put my mouse? I've put it pretty much everywhere and I don't get any pop ups.

[shypike]

The popup will show when you move the mouse cursor over an entry in the queue.
That is, when you use the default Plush skin.
The next major release will have a pre-check option, that tests availability first.
It won't be perfect, but that's due to the way Usenet posts work.

[semel]

The next major release will have a pre-check option, that tests availability first.
.

WIll it use HEAD checks(like newsbin pro) or STAT checks(like nzb download checker) ?

Some providers dont support properly STAT checks( readnews resellers) They just show you that almost everything is incomplete which is not true

Anyways i dont think it should be automatic. Checking a BD50 takes quite some time especially if there are many incompletes
Also it should use backup servers present. so as to give a clear picture whether one is able to get this particular release with all those block accounts active(newsbin does the same. if you have a fill server active it checks missing on the main server articles there as well

[shypike]

Basically it will do a dry-run requesting presence instead of actual downloading of each article
(including backup servers when needed).
It is very time-consuming and should only be used by people with low download quotas.
Also the method is fundamentally flawed in that it detects missing articles.
The problem is that par2 works with data blocks and not with articles.
The correspondence between blocks and specific articles cannot be reliably determined
until after the actual download.
The experience so far is that it's good enough to detect real hopeless cases
but that it often guesses wrong when encountering fringe cases.

[skeeber]

Do you think you could make displaying warnings a pre-check option for the classic view? Or at least make it so failed download warnings are displayed? The other day I looked in the incomplete folder and saw a folder with files in it. I didn't know about any failed downloads until I looked there.

Also, while I'm at it, could you make a range option for selecting multiple files in the classic view? Maybe using the shift key to do it also?

Thanks.

[shypike]

Currently all failed downloads result in a (single) warning and a failed History item.
The folder you found is probably left-over from deleting an item from the queue
without selecting "delete files". It's likely not a failed item.
In 0.7.0, a failed pre-check will result in a failed history item which can be retried
if you want to take the gamble. The retry will do the actual download.

[skeeber]

Well, I didn't get any warning. In the history it says "Repair failed, not enough repair blocks." And all the RAR and PAR files are in a folder in the incomplete folder. Where else would the files be after a failed download? They're not supposed to be deleted, are they? The folder I found corresponds to the failed item in the history.

The only warnings I get are when a file fails an SFV check.

[shypike]

That's normal fare.
You suggested (or it seemed so) that there was an "incomplete" folder without a History entry.
You can have SABnzbd send you an email for failed items.
You can set the History to failed only, for a quick overview.
Depending on what goes wrong a warning might be logged.