download problems

[dude883]

whenever i try to download a wsz it is automatically loaded through winamp3, then i get a error message

what can i do against it?

[Mr_Tough_Guy]

just right-click, and select "save as", then save it as a wsz

[StillWater]

It's fucking annoying, isn't it? Winamp 3 reconfigures your browser - and - moronically - it doesn't let you disassociate WSZ files from it. It's been happening to me even after I uninstalled WA3 and reinstalled WA2. Only now, I don't get WAL files, I get SZ files, which is just great. I believe it only happens with Internet Explorer.


The Solution

(This was posted by strangetheories at the 1001 messageboard. I haven't tried it myself yet - do it at your own risk) It should be fine but check the messageboard for replies to strangetheories' thread if you're hesitant..
------------------------
OK, this is how you can correct those pesky issues for skin installs.

*****WARNING*****
THIS ASSUMES YOU WISH TO ONLY USE WA2 AND NOT WA3
THIS ASSUMES THAT YOU HAVE WINAMP IN THE DEFAULT DIRECTORY
THIS ASSUMES THAT YOU ARE IN NO WAY A TOTAL BABOON
THIS ASSUMES THAT ANY WA3 FILES WITH THE EXTENSION WAL WILL NOW BE TREATED AS CORRUPT BY WA2
THIS ASSUMES YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WORKS, BUT I REFUSE TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IF YOU SCREW THIS UP

follow the steps carefully, if you flup it up, lemme know how bad and maybe we can fix it.

step ONE: Uninstall that dreaded WA3

step TWO: open control panel

step THREE: open folder options

step FOUR: select file types

STOP - look at how the list is populated.

step FIVE: click the extensions column header to alphabetize the extensions column.

step SIX: scroll down til you find WAL - select wal - click DELETE

step SEVEN: scroll down til you find WSZ - verify that this extension is still there, click advanced, verify that it has an install action and only an install action.

step EIGHT: while looking at the advanced part of the file association WSZ you then select INSTALL and then click the button EDIT

step NINE: verify the following:

------------------------------------------------
APPLICATION USED TO PERFORM THE FOLLOWING ACTION
"C:\Program Files\Winamp\Winamp.exe" "%1"

check mark on use DDE

APPLICATION
winamp

DDE APPLICATION NOT RUNNING:
blank

TOPIC:
SYSTEM
-------------------------------------------------

*****IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THESE EXACT SETTINGS, ALTER THEM TO AS YOU SEE WRITTEN DIRECTLY ABOVE*****
**IF YOU MADE CHANGES CLICK - OK IF YOU DID NOT CLICK - CANCEL

step TEN: Making WAL & SZ files Behave as if they are WSZ FILES
assuming you are STILL in the FILE TYPE menu you then do the following:

SELECT NEW
in the blank box TYPE in WAL then click ADVANCED and select in the ASSOCIATED FILE TYPE SECTION:
WINAMP EXTENSION INSTALLATION FILE
CLICK OK
DONE

Repeat Step TEN for SZ files

There ya go folks, this is the exact way to do this!

~StrangeTheories~

---------------------------

[Atmo]

So why does this only happen at 1001 and here at winamp.com??

I can download .wsz files just fine from my site.

[StillWater]

It's not just here and 1001. When Steel Rat posted his Lavalamp skin (hosted by his own homeage or something like that) I got the same thing. I'm guessing that the places which screw up are the same places that support automatic skin-loading - rather than those places where you have to download the WSZ like any other file, and - when it's finished - load it up manually. If I'm right, then it's probably because these places weren't affected by whatever clumsy fucked-up change it was that WA3 made to our browsers.


The above didn't work for me (Windows 2000-Pro / Internet Explorer 6) But it's worth trying it - it's bound to work for some people. Despite the huge amount of text, it's actually very quick and easy to do, and it's safe stuff - just note down any changes you make, and if something doesn't work, just change it back.

For me, it just made the SZ files load up into my winamp - but as 'songs' in my playlist, not as skins.

[Atmo]

Im still right clicking and choosing save as. All attempts to fix it have been a waste of time.

I might have a play around in the registry and see what i find..

[sHoTTiE]

yep doesnt work for me neither
winxp pro/ie6

[Atmo]

Searching the registry didnt turn up anything. Tho i could have missed it.

Im gonna try logging into my pc under a different user name later and see if it works.

If its in hkey_current_user it will be easier to find.

[dimichan]

For once my procrastination in NOT installing WA3 seems to have been a blessing in disguise... I had another application/media player that did something similar, if only I could remember what I did to fix it... (it made all my rm files audio only which was fun)

[Atmo]

Ok, i've found nothing that looks suspicious in the registry, and logging on with a different user account makes no diff.

/me wonders wtf is going on...

[dam]

/me wonders why he dosent have the above problems.

[Saotome 2.0]

Ok, this should make sense, please let me know if it doesn't.

1. Automatic Skin Loading - Skin automatically downloads into a temporary folder (ie: C:/Windows/Temp/Temporary Internet Folders), then installs itself. Works the same way that our being able to see JPEG, GIF, and PNG files in a browser window works.

2. Winamp 3 configures your browser to download files as .wal, because it is that agressive.

3. Winamp 3 is your default media player, so when you download a skin from a site that supports autoloading, it only makes sense that it will install with Winamp 3.

4. The only way to fix it is just to right-click and click "Save As" then save it as a WSZ file. Even I haven't been able to crack this one.

That's my explanation. I started using the "Save As" command about a month ago, because I use two different computers. The one with Internet acces doesn't have Winamp, 2 or 3, and the one that has Winamp, 2 and 3, doesn't have internet. I got sick and tired of having to search for my files in my Temp folder, so I started saving them where I can find them. I did that with Saturn in the Wintertime, Nostromo, and Bleu Thing. As far as I know, there is no way to fix it other than to avoid the problem. On my puter, 2.80a is my default for .wsz, and Winamp3 is my default for .wal, as it should be. So I just download them, put them on a disk, and move them over. Then, when I install them, they go on the right version.

If anyone knows of any other way to do this, just let me know.

[StillWater]

Originally posted by Saotome Takuya
As far as I know, there is no way to fix it other than to avoid the problem.

Of course there's a way to fix it. If it worked before we installed the god-forsaken winamp3, it can work now. It's just a matter of finding and removing the changes winamp3 made.

[Saotome 2.0]

Yes, but can you do that?

[StillWater]

Originally posted by Saotome Takuya
Yes, but can you do that?

No, and neither do you. But just because you don't know how to fix it doesn't mean you should make five-point posts telling everyone what they already know and then implying that there is no way to fix the problem, when there is. There is always a way. Especially here, where it worked properly for us all a just a few days ago.

[Saotome 2.0]

I concede the point. But I will continue to study the problem, and maybe I can fix it by tomorrow. Well, I'm off for the night. Talk to you all tomorrow, and hope to see you on #skinlove.

[garetjax]

I removed winamp3 then cleared cache....removed the association in my File Types (wa3). Edited the wa2 associated as aforementioned to boot...it works great now!.

[Atmo]

Ok, heres what i've found.

1. Neither wa2 or 3 installed (just like a clean windows install), wa2 skins download as .wsz (but gets a popup asking what you'd like to do with it).

2. Wa2 only installed, skins download as wsz just fine.

3. Wa2 & 3 installed (with no file types associated to wa3), wa2 skins download as .wal

4. Wa2 installed, Wa3 uninstalled, wa2 skins download as .sz


5. There doesnt seem to be anything in the registry making wsz convert to wal.

6. Skins from certain places (like my personal webspace) seem uneffected either way.

This was tested on a laptop that had never had wa2 or 3 installed previously, wa2 had files associated to it, wa3 did not.

If anyone can shed some light onto wtf is causing this, i'd like to hear it.

[Jellby]

Does it happen with every browser or just with IE?

[dude883]

hm, don't want to uninstall wa3, guess i have to go with the right clicking. hope someone at nullsoft will fix that stupid problem in 3.1

[StillWater]

Jellby: apparently it only happens with IE

Dude883: uninstalling winamp doesn't solve anything anyway - it just makes the files download as SZ instead of WAL.


I'm really hoping that this isn't a ploy to make people use WA3 exclusively, since the WA2 skins are now configured to auto-load in WA3 instead of WA2 (even though they look crap in WA3)