Elfstone
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The sound has disappeared in DROD again.

Some of you may remember that this happened to me once before about 3 months ago and resulted in me losing all the holds that I had worked through up to that point.

I have re-read that thread, but it quickly became involved in the misery of losing the holds and all the kind attempts by some of you to restore them. The sound returned, almost incidentally, somewhere in the middle of all that, but I'm hoping that I can manage to get it back this time without losing anything.

Can anyone give me any advice?

Elf

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Winner of: Novice Architect Excellence 2006.
FAPCA - Technical Design Excellence in Layout and Aesthetics

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[Last edited by Elfstone at 11-14-2006 10:14 PM]

mrimer
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File: drod.ini (2.7 KB)
Downloaded 49 times.
License: Public Domain

Elfstone wrote:
Can anyone give me any advice?

Yeah. Now that I now how the DROD Mac install works, I can help. Choose "Show Pacakage Contents" on the DROD.app you have installed, then go to the Contents/Resources/Data folder and replace your drod.ini with this one. (Before you do that, actually, would you post the drod.ini file that is currently in that folder here so I may take a look at its condition?)

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

Elfstone
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File: drod.ini (2.7 KB)
Downloaded 40 times.
License: Public Domain

mrimer wrote:

Elfstone wrote:
Can anyone give me any advice?

Yeah. Now that I now how the DROD Mac install works, I can help. Choose "Show Pacakage Contents" on the DROD.app you have installed, then go to the Contents/Resources/Data folder and replace your drod.ini with this one. (Before you do that, actually, would you post the drod.ini file that is currently in that folder here so I may take a look at its condition?)

Many thanks mike, and here is the file.

Elf

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mrimer
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Elfstone wrote:

mrimer wrote:

Elfstone wrote:
Can anyone give me any advice?

Yeah. Now that I now how the DROD Mac install works, I can help. Choose "Show Pacakage Contents" on the DROD.app you have installed, then go to the Contents/Resources/Data folder and replace your drod.ini with this one. (Before you do that, actually, would you post the drod.ini file that is currently in that folder here so I may take a look at its condition?)

Many thanks mike, and here is the file.

Urm...looks like I don't completely understand how the DROD Mac install works yet. That's the same as the file I posted, which means DROD isn't using it (because DROD adds some new lines to drod.ini when you play). Question for the Mac users out there -- which directory is the drod.ini file being maintained in again?

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

---

[Last edited by mrimer at 11-14-2006 10:58 PM]

Elfstone
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In that case, and with all due respect to yourself, I won't delete or replace anything just yet. I still have the shudders when I think of what happened last time.

Elf.

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FAPCA - Technical Design Excellence in Layout and Aesthetics

mrimer
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Elfstone wrote:
In that case, and with all due respect to yourself, I won't delete or replace anything just yet. I still have the shudders when I think of what happened last time.

I feel very bad for you. I still remember groaning when I read all those posts from people telling someone who has never used the console before in their life to go and do an "rm -rf" somewhere. The reason is that everyone who knows anything about typing commands from the console knows that one is a recipe for disaster for anyone who doesn't know exactly what they're doing and the state their computer files are in.

As I said above, the file you posted and the one I gave you are identical -- so why would you replace one with the other in any event? First, I need to figure out what is the working directory where DROD is maintaining the drod.ini file. I'm guessing that the [Sounds] section is missing from it and that's why you're not getting any sound effects. Once we confirm this, the file may be replaced with this original version of the file that has the sound effect entries and then the sound will start working again.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

---

[Last edited by mrimer at 11-14-2006 11:14 PM]

Elfstone
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File: Picture 1.jpg (353.5 KB)
Downloaded 64 times.
License: Public Domain

Mike, my ignorance of the innards of computers is showing, but I wonder if this might be of any use in diagnosing the problem?

Elf

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FAPCA - Technical Design Excellence in Layout and Aesthetics

trick
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I think that, since DROD doesn't use the drod.ini you expected it to, it might be worth checking out the drod.ini in ~/.caravel/drod-2_0, if it exists. At least if it works like the Linux version.

Unfortunately .caravel is a hidden directory, so getting to it might be tricky. Is there really no way of showing hidden directories in Finder (or whatever it is you use for graphical filesystem browsing) ?

~ Gerry, ignorant non-mac-user

Syntax
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Here's a command which cannot do any damage (from the console):

find / -name drod.ini

If you paste the result into a post, it may help.
It will probably also give a lot of "permission denied" warnings which is fine. There is a switch to turn these off but not sure what it is on the Mac. Either way, this info can't be a bad thing to have nor can it do any damage.

All it does is search your drive for all files called "drod.ini"

[EDIT]

Thinking about it, the following 2 commands could be useful output too:

updatedb
locate drod.ini

If the first one says "Command not found not" or something, then don't worry. find should be available.

updatedb indexes all your filenames, and locate searches the database so is very fast compared to find. It also shouldn't complain about permissions.

The reason I give both options is that I'm not sure which of these also searches hidden folders. I'm pretty sure locate does... not sure abou find.

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[Last edited by Syntax at 11-14-2006 11:40 PM]

Elfstone
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Syntax wrote:
Here's a command which cannot do any damage (from the console):

find / -name drod.ini

If you paste the result into a post, it may help.
It will probably also give a lot of "permission denied" warnings which is fine. There is a switch to turn these off but not sure what it is on the Mac. Either way, this info can't be a bad thing to have nor can it do any damage.

All it does is search your drive for all files called "drod.ini"

[EDIT]

Thinking about it, the following 2 commands could be useful output too:

updatedb
locate drod.ini

If the first one says "Command not found not" or something, then don't worry. find should be available.

updatedb indexes all your filenames, and locate searches the database so is very fast compared to find. It also shouldn't complain about permissions.

The reason I give both options is that I'm not sure which of these also searches hidden folders. I'm pretty sure locate does... not sure abou find.

Many thanks syntax! I found the console and the "find" window and pasted in your command, but it wouldn't do anything. I just got the "something's not right tone" that my computer does.

Do I do the "updatedb" and "locate drod.ini" in the find window as well?

Elf.

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FAPCA - Technical Design Excellence in Layout and Aesthetics

Syntax
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All those commands should be done in the actual terminal (or "term"). It's the window with only text in it and has an icon of a empty screen.

[EDIT]

When you do find the terminal it'll probaly just say something like:

$elfstone~/

with a flashing cursor afterwards... Replace "elfstone" with whatever your username is on your Mac.

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[Last edited by Syntax at 11-14-2006 11:55 PM]

schep
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These are some good ideas. Assuming you find the shell terminal thingy, I would do the 'locate drod.ini' first. If that warns that the db is old and doesn't give any filenames, do the 'updatedb' and then try locate again. If there are no such commands, move on to the find command, which is definitely there.

Perhaps more imporant, I'm pretty sure some find implementations don't allow you to assume -print, so to be more portable we probably ought to recommend:

find / -name drod.ini -print

Edit: Oh yeah, be aware that updatedb and this particular find command will take at least several minutes to finish. Finally, if the find command does drown you in directory permission errors, try:

sh -c "find / -name drod.ini -print 2>/dev/null"

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[Last edited by schep at 11-15-2006 12:10 AM]

Syntax
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schep wrote:
These are some good ideas. Assuming you find the shell terminal thingy, I would do the 'locate drod.ini' first. If that warns that the db is old and doesn't give any filenames, do the 'updatedb' and then try locate again. If there are no such commands, move on to the find command, which is definitely there.

Perhaps more imporant, I'm pretty sure some find implementations don't allow you to assume -print, so to be more portable we probably ought to recommend:

find / -name drod.ini -print

Good call... But just trying to keep things simple. The db prob won't be out of date, you're right. But no harm in running the update.

Also, "-print" is definitely default from Mac 8+ at least. I just can't remember the "silent" switch to avoid permission warnings.

Either way, these commands are harmless in any order...

Don't worry Elfstone, between all of us, we'll sort this out

[EDIT]

And I believe Elfstone is running OS X

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[Last edited by Syntax at 11-15-2006 12:09 AM]

Elfstone
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My thanks again to all of you for helping.

It's after midnight now and I'm so tired that I'm afriad of making a mistake and that might be costly, so if you don't mind I'm going to defer doing anything more bout this until tomorrow (that is later today now).

Elf.

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FAPCA - Technical Design Excellence in Layout and Aesthetics

mrimer
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Guys, Elf's not used to using the terminal. Just saying "do this in the terminal or shell" is Greek to her. I'm guessing 95% of Mac users have never opened a terminal window, much less even knowing how to use it.

So here are some Mac-user instructions.

How to open a terminal window:
Use the spotlight and type terminal. The search will show "Terminal" under the Applications section. Double-click this choice to open a terminal window. A terminal is a window with a white background and some text. In a terminal window, you enter commands by typing text instead of using the mouse.

For example, type (without the quotes) "find / -name drod.ini 2> /dev/null", hit Enter, and then wait a couple minutes while your computer searches for all files on your hard drive called drod.ini. Once you do that, would you post a screenshot of the results? (BTW, how do you perform a screen capture on Mac? I don't know how to.)

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

---

[Last edited by mrimer at 11-15-2006 12:24 AM]

Syntax
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After midnight? Check your clock! It's 2 mins to

I need to get up in 5 hours so guess that's good advice... Natural Born Killers is on tho... maybe that's not your thing tho

Let's continue this tomorrow...

schep
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mrimer wrote:
So here are some Mac-user instructions.

Hey, there we go. I would have included that sort of thing if I actually knew myself how to find the terminal. In fact, I'm going to copy that paragraph somewhere safe for the next time I'm trying to help somebody on OS X remotely.

Syntax
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mrimer wrote:
So here are some Mac-user instructions.

Yeah I didn't know that... and I agree, but I thought Elfstone had managed to open up the terminal last time around.

Anyways... screen capture shouldn't be necessary if Elfstone just copies and pastes the results (the terminal uses standard copy, and I'm sure she's done this before)...

Elfstone
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Syntax wrote:
After midnight? Check your clock! It's 2 mins to

I need to get up in 5 hours so guess that's good advice... Natural Born Killers is on tho... maybe that's not your thing tho

Let's continue this tomorrow...

I posted that at 00.09 yesterday and you posted at 00.11. Maybe your own clock isn't quite accurate? I obviously felt washed out last night because I was sickening for a cold; off work today and going through tissues like they are going out of fashion, as my Granny would have said!

Yes, I do have OS 10.4 and I had used Terminal once before, but I am by no means confident about doing things to/with the innards of the computer.

Elf.

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Elfstone
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File: Picture 2.jpg (172.4 KB)
Downloaded 61 times.
License: Public Domain

mrimer wrote:
. . . type (without the quotes) "find / -name drod.ini 2> /dev/null", hit Enter, and then wait a couple minutes while your computer searches for all files on your hard drive called drod.ini. Once you do that, would you post a screenshot of the results? (BTW, how do you perform a screen capture on Mac? I don't know how to.)

Done - here's the results

and screen capture is by tapping "shift, apple, 3" (without the quotes) and the picture icon appears on the desktop.

Elf.

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schep
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Okay, looks like the file actually being used is /Users/Auntylil/.caravel/drod-2_0/drod.ini . If you paste that into the DROD forum's 'Attach File' thing (rather than using 'Browse'), it should be the version Mike wants to see.

Elfstone
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schep wrote:
Okay, looks like the file actually being used is /Users/Auntylil/.caravel/drod-2_0/drod.ini . If you paste that into the DROD forum's 'Attach File' thing (rather than using 'Browse'), it should be the version Mike wants to see.

Thanks schep.

Trying that . .
no that's not working. When I click 'Choose File' on the preview page I have to choose from a drop down menu of files on my computer and that one doesn't seem to exist.

??

Elf.

Edit: I'm going to sit with a coffee and the Missing Manual "Tiger" book to see if it will shed any light on this.

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---

[Last edited by Elfstone at 11-15-2006 03:10 PM]

Syntax
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Sorry, I'm at work so gonna have to be brief...

The reason that you can't browse for the file is because the .caravel folder is hidden. The reason why typing the filename in doesn't work is due to browser security with regards to uploading files.

Unfortunately it seems that making hidden folders visible in Finder requires a bit of a hack so I think the simplest solution is typing the following in terminal:

cp /Users/Auntylil/.caravel/drod-2_0/drod.ini /tmp/

This command is safe and just makes a copy of your drod.ini and puts it in the tmp folder. You should be able to navigate to this using browse. The tmp folder is typically where one puts temporary stuff so I've given that as an example. You can find it right at the top level of all folders.

If you're not sure where to find this, you can type:

cp /Users/Auntylil/.caravel/drod-2_0/drod.ini /Users/Auntylil/

This should make a copy in your home folder. You can remove this copy at a later date if it clutters up your home folder.

Briareos
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Syntax wrote:
The reason that you can't browse for the file is because the .caravel folder is hidden.

Whoever invented the "feature" of totally hiding "pseudo-hidden" folders in GUIs needs to be shot with gummi bears, repeatedly...

Trying to out-smart the user *is* bad UI design.

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Syntax
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Briareos wrote:
Whoever invented the "feature" of totally hiding "pseudo-hidden" folders in GUIs needs to be shot with gummi bears, repeatedly...

Trying to out-smart the user *is* bad UI design.

Totally agreed... MS makes if obscure enough, but Mac OS X seemingly needs a hack (from a few mins of googling).

AlefBet
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To get around the hidden folder issue, do you think something like this might work?

cd /Users/Auntylil && ln -s .caravel caravel
exit

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Briareos
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AlefBet wrote:
To get around the hidden folder issue, do you think something like this might work?

I guess it should. (Although that's just an educated guess...)

np: Kettel - My Dogan (My Dogan)

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Elfstone
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My thanks to you all again - you all deserve medals for patience
that reminds me - I must start giving you mods for all this!

I spent some time this afternoon (between sneezes ) reading bits of the Missing Manual book that I hadn't bothered with so far. I have discovered things about 'bash' and 'shells' and 'tildes' that I didn't realise I didn't know, far less understand that I didn't know that I needed to know

. . . I think

Anyway it seems that using unix(?) I can find anything, anywhere in my computer whether it is hidden or not, just so long as I can figure out how to ask it. I'll have to read that section again - eventually my eyes glazed over - because it is using language and jargon in a way that I'm not used to.

Elf.

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mrimer
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Elfstone wrote:
and screen capture is by tapping "shift, apple, 3" (without the quotes) and the picture icon appears on the desktop.

Thanks, it worked!

Thanks for your image. Schep+syntax are right that the first file in the list is where the drod.ini that gets used is stored. I'll reiterate the steps posted above that will help you attach the file here:
1. Open a Terminal window.
2. Type "cp /Users/Auntylil/.caravel/drod-2_0/drod.ini /Users/Auntylil/"
(In general, you may copy-and-paste the text inside the quotes, and any other commands, into the terminal window if you don't want to type them by hand.)
This step makes a copy of the drod.ini file from that hidden folder into your home folder, which is called /Users/Auntylil. Now you'll be able to see the copy and post it here. (BTW, the newest version of DROD on Mac has moved where the working DROD files are stored so that they are no longer in a hidden directory. Thank goodness!)
3. Attach this copy of the drod.ini file from your /Users/Auntylil folder to the forum.

I spent some time this afternoon (between sneezes ) reading bits of the Missing Manual book that I hadn't bothered with so far. I have discovered things about 'bash' and 'shells' and 'tildes' that I didn't realise I didn't know, far less understand that I didn't know that I needed to know

Good initiative on your part. Knowing these things will provide you another useful way of navigating your computer.

Anyway it seems that using unix(?) I can find anything, anywhere in my computer whether it is hidden or not, just so long as I can figure out how to ask it. I'll have to read that section again - eventually my eyes glazed over - because it is using language and jargon in a way that I'm not used to.

Yup...it's like learning another language. It may take a time or two to learn the terms, but then you will know them for life. Feel free to ask questions about various Unix commands if you want clarification or reassurance that you really understand what they're talking about.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

Syntax
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AlefBet wrote:
To get around the hidden folder issue, do you think something like this might work?

cd /Users/Auntylil && ln -s .caravel caravel
exit

That would work but is riskier. There may already be a subfolder called caravel in Elfstone's home directory.

With my commands, I've tried to take the lowest risk and least destructive approach possible.

But yeah, that would syntactically work