Zugg Software :: View topic

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

I loaded CMud, and all of a sudden, everything is missing. All my aliases, and triggers that I spent days building, very complex triggers that are even well over my head, that I had someone help me build, that are suddenly gone.

I have no idea how to get them back, I can't seem to find them. Please, can anyone help me?

Wizard Joined: 03 Mar 2001 Posts: 1127 Location: London

It may be that CMUD is now looking inside your 'My Documents\My Games' folder now.
Take a look inside "C:\Program Files\CMUD" for a folder with the name of your mud. Take a copy of it, put it somewhere safe then make another copy of it and put it inside your 'My Documents\My Games\CMUD' folder (I think that's the place at least)

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

I do not have my mudname or charname listed in that directory. and my packages directory is also empty(if that matters)

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

Anyone who wants to give me a hand, you can contact me via MSN loftaris@msn.com.. I really seriously want to get this back. I was going to purchase CMud, but if I can't get my package back, I'm not ready to purchase it yet.

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:02 pm

CMUD won't ever delete these files, not even if you uninstall it. If there's no evidence of these files in My Documents\My Games\CMUD or in your install directory, something else has deleted them.

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

What I did, was I switch from Cmud(where I have one of my characters already set up), to Zmud(I haven't transferred this character to Cmud yet). Did a few things in Zmud, quit out of the game, went back to Cmud, and it was gone. I'm not running anything different I have in the last at least 3+ months, aside from Cmud itself..

Enchanter Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 605

Run system file search for *.pkg filename on all drives in all folders. May be you will find something.

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:07 am

Did you install CMUD in your zMUD folder or something?

GURU Joined: 23 Dec 2000 Posts: 4834 Location: USA

Are you using Vista, or otherwise restricting write priveleges for CMud? If you are, CMud won't bug out or even tell you it can't write to disk. You'll instead find out when you reload CMud and discover them not there.

There's no interplay between ZMud and CMud datafiles, except in the case where CMud attempts to convert ZMud .MUD files into CMud .pkg files and in that case CMud doesn't write to any of the .MUD files.

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:09 pm

If you are indeed using Vista and you placed CMUD in C:\Program Files, then you will find the real package with your modifications in a folder called "Compatibility Files". To access this folder, open the CMUD folder, on the bar above the folder contents display you will see a folder labeled Compatibility Files. Click on this folder and viola! you will find your modified package. Each and every time you modify a file in your CMUD folder, while it is located in C:\Program files, Vista will create a mirror file and place it in the Compatibility Files folder. While you are using CMUD you will be able to access this mirrored file because Vista will mantain a link to it. Once you exit CMUD, Vista will forget this link and the next time you open CMUD you will find that you have "lost" your updates. You can manually recover by copying back the file in the Compatibility Folder into the CMUD folder using Administrator privileges. But you'll have to do this each and every time you start CMUD.
To avoid doing this, re-install CMUD. When asked where you want the user folder to be installed, give it a path name to a folder that is not write-protected. You can place it in C:\, for instance.
After doing this, you can recover your package by moving it to your MUD's subfolder in the newly created CMUD user folder. You'll have to do some work, though. The easiest way I found to do this (and I am sure I'll get flamed for this) is to create a dummy package with the same name as the package you were using, then exit CMUD, delete the dummy package and move the actual package to the folder.

Once thing you said bothers me somewhat:

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

Cmud is installed in its own directory.

I am using Vista, as admin, with all the privelages and monitor warnings turned off.

I did find a couple .pkg files, but they don't load anything, they're just blank.

Now I'm having problems trying to create that same character.. the window loads to a fullscreen of my mapper, and it won't let me dock the map. i have to x out of the map to find my character window(which still takes a bit of work), then I have to move the character window to the main screen(will hilight the screen blue), drop it, then load my map. But now the map won't split-screen with the character window, it's either a tab, or I can drag it for a second window.

I have no idea what's going on, but Cmud got hit in the head with a hammer and really doesn't want to cooperate anymore..

Like I said.. nothings been changed, no new programs installed/deleted. I simply switched back and forth between the 2, and I can't get one.

If anyone wants to remote assist me, I'd be grateful if you can figure this out. I'm still looking, and checking regularly to find new suggestions... PleasePleasePlease!

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:48 pm

OK, one thing at a time. To solve your visibility problem, double-click on the mapper tab. This should make the mapper window float. If the window then covers the entire screen, click on the Minimize box on the upper right corner, that should make the window a manageable size. Click and hold onto the title for the mapper window. You should see a blue rectangle appear. Somewhere on the center of the screen a box with 4 directional arrows should appear (a very distinctive box, you can't miss it), without letting go, drag the mouse pointer to the arrow pointing in the direction you want the mapper window to dock, and let go. The mapper window should dock at the specified border. Do this for any and all windows that you want to position. Once you have the windows where you want them, click on the Layout menu and click on Lock layout.
You disappearing folder problem seems to be as I stated. Follow the instructions that I gave you and your problem should be solved. I once had the same problem you are having. Though I discovered it while using zMUD, it is still applicable to CMUD. The fact that you are running CMUD with adminstrator privileges will not prevent this problem. Vista is adamant about protecting C:\Program Files. Adminstrator privilges will allow you to manually update files in the folder, but it won't help you if the files are being updated under program control.
EDIT:
You mentioned that CMUD is installed in its own folder but the fact is that CMUD requires two folders, not one, though it will use one folder for both needs. Keep this in mind.

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

Excellent, you fixed my display problem. There's a thin black line between the 2 screens now.. but if that's what I have to live with to have the mapper docked there, I'll be fine.

I can't find this folder you're talking about. I tried searching for it, but didnt' find it. Do I do this in Cmud, or windows explorer? is it a hidden/system file/folder?

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:48 pm

You don't search for it. On the bar above the file list for the CMUD folder (next to the BURN CD, etc) there is a folder icon with Compatibility Files legend next to it. So go to C:\Program Files\CMUD (or whatever you call the folder) and look at the screen above the folder contents display.
As to the thin black line, I don't know what that is. I have my map docked the way I showed you and there is no such line. Try expanding the map toward that line, see what happens. Somewhere along the vertical left margin for the map, you should be able grab it and drag it.
EDIT: I think I might know what that black line is... Check in the Window menu and see if one of the fly-way windows is active.

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

Anaristos, I appreciate the assistance. Just had to say that. However, I don't have any compatibility folder options. I have Organize, Views, and Burn.

Also, in my Window menu, there isn't any fly-way. However, there do seem to be 2 windows labeled both my character name. Uncertain if that's where I'm getting the black line, or if one of them is for the mapper, but I can't close one of them.

I'm wondering if maybe I should uninstall cmud completely and start with a new installation. What would be the very best, easiest way to back up all my characters so that I can install them in the new installation? I haven't used much of the packages options, so I'm not entirely sure how they work.

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

Alright, well I'm at a complete loss for words. I just started getting all my aliases/triggers set up, and I actually had them set up better this time around. I close Cmud, open it again, and now my OLD settings are all back, and I'm missing some of my newer triggers.

Seriously, if anyone else has ever had this problem, what's going on? I've never had this much trouble before.

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:29 am

Sounds like Vista permissions is going wonky on you. It's sounds vaguely like a problem another Vista user was having. Which is what Anaristos was driving earlier. Go to you My Documents folder (I forget the name of the Vista equivalent) and look for the My Games folder. If you don't have that, or you don't see your latest changes then folders are probably not set up right. And with Vista's permission nuances it can throw you for a loop.

Adept Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Posts: 250 Location: Austin, TX

Vista may be a red herring. I have had occasional flaky saving behavior with settings in 2.18, but I've never been able to find a reproduceable test case. My system is XP SP2.

FWIW, 'flaky' has meant 'failure to save changes', e.g. I open it, change settings, close it, reopen and the changes are gone, but everything else is as before. I've never seen all settings vanish, or stuff reappear as Loftaris is reporting.

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:21 pm

Red Herring or not, if you try to update a file in the C:\Program Files and your updates disappear, then Vista has moved your updated file to the Compatibility Files folder, leaving the original intact.

Adept Joined: 24 Aug 2004 Posts: 277

Well.. things are working... for now.. I plan on making many saves periodically and saving them to a completely different folder, in case this ever happens again.

I guess I'll be upgrading to Cmud PRO soon. Need that SSH so I can mud from work, instead of windows telnet :D

thanks for all your help guys, kudos to Anaristos. I still can't find that compatibility folder, but things are working for now, I'll leave it at that.

If anyone needs more information, MSN me, informations above, I'll try to get as much as i can so you can track down/fix the problem.