|
Running Installation Files
If you get the message Unexpected error, Quitting when starting TIFNY, click here for a solution. For solutions to other common installation problems refer to our Installation FAQ .
|
|
I just installed TIFNY, why is the start and other buttons greyed out?
In TIFNY 5 we wanted to make sure that you can download at least 1 file before enabling any of the more complication features including the automated search. Follow these steps to download 1 file.
- Press
 and enter your news (nntp) server information.
- Press
 and subscribe to your favorite newsgoups.
- Press
 next to the newsgroup name to download the available headers
- Click on the subject to download a file
For more help see the Getting Started tutorial.
|
|
I've been using TIFNY for a while and now it doesn't run.
You might encounter the error "cannot create temporary file tmpdb1.mdb".
Just in-case one of the installed files became corrupted; first try re-running the installation package
If this doesn't help, it might be that your database became corrupted due to a system crash, you will have to restore from a backup. You could have made a backup by manually saving the database called "tifny5.mdb" to another location or by performing an Export from TIFNY's File -> Database menu.
To restore from a backup, first close TIFNY. If you manually saved the database, simply delete the database in your TIFNY directory and replace it with the file you saved. If you performed an Export from the TIFNY file menu, delete the database in your TIFNY directory and the next time you start TIFNY, it will automatically re-create your database using your exported files.
If you don't have a backup, you will have to delete your database. Delete the file called "tifny5.mdb" and the file called 'thumbs4.mdb" from your TIFNY installation directory. You will loose most of your information like your position in the newsgroups, your preferences, and the information like author, newsgroup and subject from the files you downloaded. But you can still see the files using TIFNY by adding your own files to TIFNY's database.
You should export your database regularly to avoid loosing information in the case of a database problem. And you should compress your TIFNY database regularly for maintenance.
|
|
The thumbnail doesn't show a picture for image files anymore.
Verify that you have enough free disc space on the drive where you have TIFNY installed. Also verify that the picture files still exist in the same place on your hard drive. If you can see the full size images when you click on thumbnails, then the image files are probably OK.
TIFNY stores your thumbnails in a format that is dependent on your video settings. If you change your video settings you should delete your thumbnail database. Choose Database then Delete Thumbnail Database from the File menu. TIFNY will automatically recreate the thumbnails for you.
If this doesn't help, first close TIFNY, then delete the file called thumbs4.mdb located in your TIFNY directory. Then the next time you start TIFNY, it will make a new thumbnail database.
|
|
TIFNY has errors connecting to my news server.
|
Look at the top tool bar for the error message. The actual error message you encounter depends on the news server and reason. Common error messages are No permission to talk, Connection is forcefully rejected, Connection is being refused, Not allowed to talk, 502 - Authentication Error, and 502 - Permission Denied. Here are some of the possible reasons and what you can do about them. Here are some of the possible reasons and solutions. |
 | The Windows dialer is not connecting with your Internet Service Provider. Make sure the connection works with your e-mail program or browser and then try TIFNY again. |
| You entered an incorrect news server name. In this case you will usually see the error Host Not Found. Click Servers on the Options menu to open the TIFNY Servers dialog box and fill in the required information. You can also get the error Host not found when your ISP's DNS server is having a problem. Try again later. If the problem persists, contact your ISP. |
| Your NNTP (news) server requires authentication and you have not entered a valid User Name and Password. Press to open the servers dialog box and fill in the required information. |
| Your NNTP server does not require authentication but you are trying to connect to an NNTP using an Internet service provider that is not allowed to connect to your NNTP server. Your ISP will have to find a way to connect to the NNTP server or you'll have to use a different NNTP server or a different ISP. |
| When you set up your news server, you turned on the option "Send Authentication at Start" and you do not need it. This option is only used for NNTP (news) servers that require authentication for specific newsgroups. Having it turned on can cause an error when used with an NNTP server that does not require this type of authentication. |
| Your NNTP server is undergoing maintenance or has an unplanned outage. Try again later. If the problem persists you should contact your ISP. |
|
|
I don't find many images or music files in the newsgroups.
Sometimes an ISP will block certain newsgroups or offer fewer articles for all or some newsgroups. A solution to ISP's who block newsgroups or simply offer a limited collection of articles is subscription based servers. This is where you pay a fee, usually monthly for enhanced Usenet service. The service will provide you with a NNTP server name to connect to and a user name and password to use to log on to it. The following sites offer subscription based Usenet service.
|
|
How do I use more than on connection to my newsserver?
TIFNY uses to up to 6 NNTP (news) server connections simultaneously. If you have fewer servers, it creates multiple connections the servers you’ve defined.
Problem: I've defined 6 active connections, but TIFNY only uses 2 of them. Answer: Some ISPs or pay news servers limit the number of open connections from a single IP address. They reject any additional connections. Your ISP can tell you how many simultaneous connections they accept.
Problem: My ISP doesn't limit connections, but TIFNY only opens 2 connections. Answer: You can specify maximum number of active connections, the default is 2. Choose Preferences from the Options menu to increase this number.
|
|
Can I use TIFNY with AOL?
AOL's news server does not support the generic NNTP protocol that most newsserver and newsreaders use. You can only use AOL's newsreader software with AOL's newsserver. Although you can continue to use AOL as an Internet service provider, you cannot user their news server and use TIFNY. You can try a public or subscription newsserver, as described in our NNTP FAQ
|
|
Can I use TIFNY with MSN?
TIFNY doesn't support the authentication method used by MSN's news servers. Although you can continue to use MSN as an Internet service provider, you cannot user their news server and use TIFNY. You can try a public or subscription newsserver, as described in our NNTP FAQ
|
|
How do I specify the directory for files?
You can specify a different directory to use depending on what newsgroup the file was downloaded from. Press  to go to your subscribed newsgroups view. Right click anywhere on the line for the newsgroup and select Change Directory from the pop up menu.
|
|
Why do I get decompressor errors playing video files?
When you attempt to play an AVI file you can get an error like Video not available, cannot find 'vids:cvid' decompressor . Every AVI file is created using a CODEC (compressor-decompressor) which determines exactly how the video and audio data is stored within the AVI file. The error means the AVI was recorded with the help of a codec for which you don't have an appropriate decoder installed. For information about the latest codecs visit http://codeczone.virtualave.net/fixes.htm.
DivX is the name given to a video codec based on the MPEG-4 compression format. MPEG-4 is a new standard of video compression that is both high quality and low bitrate. For the latest information and Divx downloads visit http://www.divx.com/index.php
|
|
Why do I get the error You may need to update your Windows Media Player?
TIFNY's player uses the engine from the Windows Media Player to play audio and video files. Some files are not playalbe if your windows media player is out of date.
 | Download the latest version of the Window's Media Player from Microsoft.
|
|
|
How do I download RAR files?
RAR is a technique for compressing large movie files and splitting them into multiple pieces. PAR files are parity recovery files that can be used to recovery missing or corrupted segments of an RAR file set. Each RAR part is posted in more than one piece. But a RAR file consists of more than one RAR part. TIFNY locates the segments of a single RAR or PAR part and puts them together for you. The default TIFNY configuration does not define the file types needed to download RAR files. But you can add them yourself.
| 1. | Press  to switch to the file types list. |
| 2. | Right click anywhere on the line for any of the existing file types. A shortcut menu appears. |
| 3. | Select New, A dialog appears. |
| 4. | Type RAR and press Add |
| 5. | Type PAR and press Add |
Because of the method used to post RAR files, TIFNY does not put together the RAR file from the parts. To decompress RAR files, you will need a copy of WinRAR, which you can get here: www.rarsoft.com. After downloading a set of RAR and PAR files, run WinRAR.
 |
Select any one of the RAR parts. |
|
Click anywhere on the thumbnail with your right mouse button and choose Launch from the popup menu. |
WINRAR may still say something is missing or corrupt. Due to the nature of RAR files, you will often need access to more than one news server to find complete copies of all the RAR parts
|
|
Spyware detection software reports monitoring software when I run TIFNY.
We have a strict privacy policy, which we faithfully adhere to. TIFNY products do not bundle and are not bundled with any other software by the developer or any other party.
While we recognize the seriousness of the Spyware situation, many popular Spyware detection programs including SpyHunter, SpySweeper, and Comcast security manager are reporting false positives about honest programs like TIFNY. Please report this misleading and potentially slanderous inaccuracy to the makers of your Spyware detection software.
Our software installation programs are menu driven and requires user interaction including agreeing to a license agreement and choosing the installation directory. If you cancel out of the installation, no software is installed When you run any of our installation programs, only the program you choose is installed.
|
|
I re-installed my computer and need to re-register TIFNY.
If you purchased TIFNY from BMTMicro(after June 20, 2003)
To register TIFNY, you have to install the installation package you downloaded from BMT Micro when you registered TIFNY. Please save this file in a safe place so it's available if you re-install your system. BMT Micro, our e-commerce provider hosts the download for the paid TIFNY installation package.
When you downloaded the installation package, your web browser should have saved it to your harddrive. You should locate this file. If you lost this file, within 60 days of purchase you can re-download using the password included in the Product Information email. After that you'll be charged a $3 fee to re-download. If you have problems downloading or did not receive the Product Information email please contact BMT Micro at bmt@bmtmicro.com or 800-414-4268 / 910-792-9100 with your order number.
Then you can double click the file name to run the installation program. During the installation, you will be asked to enter your serial number located in the top portion of the Product Information email. After a successful registration you will see the message Thank you for registering TIFNY
If you purchased TIFNY from DigitalRiver (before June 20, 2003)
To register TIFNY, you have to install the installation package you downloaded from Digital River when you registered TIFNY. Please save this file in a safe place so it's available if you re-install your system. Digital River, our e-commerce provider hosts the download for the paid TIFNY installation package.
When you downloaded the installation package, your web browser should have saved it to your harddrive. You should locate this file. Within 30 days of purchase or if you purchased the extended download option you can also go to http://service.digitalriver.com to re-download your order. If you have problems downloading please contact 1-952-253-8400 or service@digitalriver.com with your order number.
Then you can double click the file name to run the installation program. During the installation, you will be asked to enter your serial number. Your serial number was provided in the email confirmation you received when you purchased TIFNY. After a successful registration you will see the message Thank you for registering TIFNY
|
