Playtech Download Software Problem?

[mattymattz]

Hi everyone,
first post, so if you need to move this thread, feel free.

I've come across an odd problem that I'm wondering if anyone else has seen. I've come across 3 sites which I couldn't download their software, and all 3 happen to be playtech (betfred, tilacasino, bettercasino).

I have a feeling it's more my computer then there software. I'm running Vistax64 (surprise, surprise) and when I try to download the software, it begins downloading then I get the message the I don't "have permission to move file to this folder" or something like that.

Just wondering if anyone else has seen this problem?

Cheers, and nice to meet everyone. Great site.
Matt

 

[Nifty29]

I cant install any playtech either, and I run XP.

Downloading is fine, but when I hit 'run' it comes up with 'file corrupt'

I notice that the file size and the 'size on disk' are always out by 2kb, so I wonder whether something is being blocked during the download. Ive tried disabling firewall etc etc but it doesnt matter, and playtech support are about as useful as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

 

[winbig]

I cant install any playtech either, and I run XP.

Downloading is fine, but when I hit 'run' it comes up with 'file corrupt'

I notice that the file size and the 'size on disk' are always out by 2kb, so I wonder whether something is being blocked during the download. Ive tried disabling firewall etc etc but it doesnt matter, and playtech support are about as useful as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

Actually, the size on disk and file size difference doesn't have to do with missing information or corruption....

Basically with the NTFS file system that XP and Vista uses by default, files are kept in what's called "clusters." If you don't change them, the default size is 4096 bytes per cluster on partitions that are 2G and larger.

reference: Old / Expired Link

Which basically means that even if you had a 1 byte file on your hard drive, it would still take up 4K in space; hence the 'size on disk' entry. Right click on any small file you have, then choose 'properties' and you'll see what I'm talking about


Sooooo the moral of the story is, you shouldn't worry about the difference in size when it comes to the actual space it's using on your drive compared to the actual file size.

I always use 512 byte cluster sizes...the smaller the cluster, the more space you'll have available....

 

[mattymattz]

Thanks for the replies.

I've emailed Playtech as well and let them know of the issues. I'll keep you all posted on what they say.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[mattymattz]

Just letting everyone know that I have yet to hear from Playtech Support in regards to this problem.

Matt

 

[vinylweatherman]

Just letting everyone know that I have yet to hear from Playtech Support in regards to this problem.

Matt

You could have a long wait, most software suppliers will not reply to a player. All they are likely to do is log the issue - it is a bit like sending those error reports to Microsoft when an application fails, they NEVER seem to bother posting a solution, and all I ever get is a page telling me there is no knowledgebase article, even for long standing issues.

This seems likely, though, to be an OS issue, and related to how the OS has been set up. Vista, especially, does not permit files to be put in the "wrong" folder, and Playtech will try to place the installer/uninstaller into the main "Windows" folder, this is the "wrong" folder, since it is an application/program, it belongs in the "programmes" folder (whatever Vista calls these, I have XP and 98).
If you are running as administrator, this might allow you to overrule this in XP, but I am not sure about Vista.

I have my XP set up with no "users", so by default I am "administrator". If you have various users set up, and with passwords, then these will not be allowed to install. If there are no passwords, it seems any user can install. I have an XP PC at my Mum's place, with 3 users, but no passwords, and programs can be installed from all of them.

If it is only Playtech, then it must be a peculiarity with the installer it uses, and is probably down to where it tries to place it. If this is a new problem, then either Playtech changed something, or a recent Windows update did. (I have heard of "problems" with Vista SP2, and XP SP3 had major issues for a while).

As I am in the UK, I do not have much interest in Playtech casinos, they know why.

 

[Nifty29]

Any updates on this?

I still cant use any playtechs!

 

[Gogo]

You may try when downloading setup file change the destination folder.
When you download something OS put this file to some temp folder and then copy file to destination folder e.g. \My Documents\User x\Downloads

 

[Rusty]

From the Internet Jimmy Brush says;


This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

 

[Nifty29]

Thanks for the info me ol' Rustbucket

Im still running XP and its only been happening since SP3 (as far as I can tell), so Im surprised that other users arent having the same problem.

Interesting to note that I downloaded Titan Casino (brand new playtech) today and it installed just fine.....tried the old ones again like club dice and enter casino and nope - no dice (no pun intended)

Grrrr....

 

[Rusty]

Thanks for the info me ol' Rustbucket

Im still running XP and its only been happening since SP3 (as far as I can tell), so Im surprised that other users arent having the same problem.

Interesting to note that I downloaded Titan Casino (brand new playtech) today and it installed just fine.....tried the old ones again like club dice and enter casino and nope - no dice (no pun intended)

Grrrr....

Ahh not much use to you then, I thought you had Vista and maybe installed over XP.
Do you use a good registry cleaner?
If not it might be worth giving that a try.

 

[Nifty29]

I tried the registry cleaner - no luck

It still says 'file corrupt' when I try to run the install.

Its a royal pain in the a**

 

[vinylweatherman]

Thanks for the info me ol' Rustbucket

Im still running XP and its only been happening since SP3 (as far as I can tell), so Im surprised that other users arent having the same problem.

Interesting to note that I downloaded Titan Casino (brand new playtech) today and it installed just fine.....tried the old ones again like club dice and enter casino and nope - no dice (no pun intended)

Grrrr....

Well, there's your explanation. SP3 has been notorious for "breaking" Windows XP installations, and this has affected businesses as well as home users. Even now, there are problems. PC Pitstop recently had an update article that explained some issues were persisting with ASUS motherboards and HP machines. This kind of problem is only ever likely to affect a small number of users, since the vast majority do NOT have this combination. Recovering from an OS corrupted by installation of SP3 is not easy, and it may be that the symptoms do not offer the slightest clue as to the underlying problem. Another issue is the browser, as this is involved whenever you download files from a website. There are perhaps a few things to try (assuming you trust the casino is legit).

1) Download using a different browser, and if possible, store the file on the desktop rather than let the software hide it away somewhere.

2) Try "run" instead of "save", which will run the file from it's temporary location as soon as it has been downloaded.


Fortunately, I have not had this problem (this is about Playtech - and I am a Brit) ) However, I have had problems with many Microgaming casinos when the software does it's own updates, and a few times I have found the .exe has become corrupt and the casino unusable, yet nothing seems obviously wrong.

A more extreme solution would be to reinstall windows, although asking to be sent the CD may be easier to administer, even though you will have to wait.

I have seen issues like this in the past, and one common factor has been the use by the casino of some kind of "download manager" which overrides your own browser's settings for handling downloads from websites. Your own installation is likely to be correctly configured, but these download managers are "one size fits all", and may interact badly with some OS setups. I had serious problems with one of the Microgaming download managers, yet with broadband I do not even NEED one. The function of download managers is to handle large files that may suffer interruptions during the process, common with dial-up internet, but rather uncommon with broadband. Many casinos now seem to misuse these download managers to stream advertising to you whilst the casino downloads, or even take you through the registration process. This may also be what creates the situation where the download fails, or fails to work once done.