Shoutbox

Help...
Before formatting my PC I saved all my Messenger Plus sound files. (.dat files)
After setting up my PC again I put them back in the Custom Sounds folder but i'm not able to use them again in Messenger Plus.
Can someone tell me how to restore these files??

Make sure you put all the DAT files in 'C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Messenger Plus!\Custom Sounds'.

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Originally posted by raceprouk
Make sure you put all the DAT files in 'C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Messenger Plus!\Custom Sounds'.

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Information needs to be readded to the registry as well...

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Originally posted by CookieRevised

quote:

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Originally posted by Sunshine
To get them back you need to convert all hashnumbers (#0AAD15FB90B7.dat) into regkeys and make a registry file of the complete list (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Patchou\MsgPlus2\Nobody\CustSounds\<hash>). Next step is import that registry file into the registry, then in soundlibrary (Plus icon in main MSNM screen > open soundlibrary) select every single sound and click "edit sound"..by doing this Plus! will read the other information.

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Important part of this procedure is NOT to add any other information of the sound to the registry. The only thing to add are the hash numbers as subkeys, thus not the Category, Flags, Name nor any other registry values.

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There is actually a lot more to it (eg: if you have private sound libraries), but the above procedure will work for normal sounds in a global sound library.

If this all seems like 'Chinese' to you, then the only thing you can do is to manually add it one by one by typing "/sound #xxxx" into a conversation, this will (redownload and) re-add the proper information to the registry.

xxxx = the sound id. This is actually the filename of those .DAT files. (thus if the filename is "#3584AACA7F1A.dat", you type "/sound #3584AACA7F1A")

PS: to avoid such things in the futur, make a soundpack first (or even as a simple backup) so you can always import the pack back again!

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If you have searched the forum, you would have come across some post telling you that fatfreechicken has made a personal program for this. I obtained the source from it (to check if the procedure he followed was correct). Unfortunatly his program has many potential bugs, sometimes writes wrong info to the registry, isn't compatible with private sound libraries and doesn't support unicode (not to mention to big program size and often redundant program code). As with all things, making something like that isn't as straitforward as it may seem at first glance... So I started to fix his source and by now I actually have rewritten the whole thing from scratch. But, it is not ready yet for public (I want to add a few minor GUI thingies). Also, because it was actually a project from fatfreechicken, he must approve the release first. And as of today I have again very little (none) time to work on it for a few weeks...

But it will be released soon enough....


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EDIT: See Messenger Plus! Sound Library Fixer

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
rewritten the whole thing from scratch

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Doesn't that mean the code is yours i.e. none of fatfreechicken's code is left? So you don't really need permission to release it.

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Originally posted by raceprouk

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
rewritten the whole thing from scratch

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Doesn't that mean the code is yours i.e. none of fatfreechicken's code is left? So you don't really need permission to release it.

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true, but the project/concept was originally his and I wouldn't like it either if someone "copies" a program from me and releases it without asking first (and I think many developpers feel the same way).

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I'm just back from holiday (and The London Meeting), and recieved a mail from fatfreechicken about it and he has very little time. But I will first talk to him about it before anything is released (even if it takes a while)...

is there another way to re-add the whole custom sounds folder with the dat files?

it would take some time to use an old image of my OS just to create a sound paket x_X

What you mean with "another way"? There is only one way of adding those sounds, and that is how it is described in this thread...

The method of doing it is yours to choose, but it is always done in the same way: specific info needs to be re-added to the registry...

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised

quote:

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Originally posted by raceprouk
Make sure you put all the DAT files in 'C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Messenger Plus!\Custom Sounds'.

---

Information needs to be readded to the registry as well...

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

quote:

---

Originally posted by CookieRevised

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sunshine
To get them back you need to convert all hashnumbers (#0AAD15FB90B7.dat) into regkeys and make a registry file of the complete list (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Patchou\MsgPlus2\Nobody\CustSounds\<hash>). Next step is import that registry file into the registry, then in soundlibrary (Plus icon in main MSNM screen > open soundlibrary) select every single sound and click "edit sound"..by doing this Plus! will read the other information.

---

Important part of this procedure is NOT to add any other information of the sound to the registry. The only thing to add are the hash numbers as subkeys, thus not the Category, Flags, Name nor any other registry values.

---

There is actually a lot more to it (eg: if you have private sound libraries), but the above procedure will work for normal sounds in a global sound library.

If this all seems like 'Chinese' to you, then the only thing you can do is to manually add it one by one by typing "/sound #xxxx" into a conversation, this will (redownload and) re-add the proper information to the registry.

xxxx = the sound id. This is actually the filename of those .DAT files. (thus if the filename is "#3584AACA7F1A.dat", you type "/sound #3584AACA7F1A")

PS: to avoid such things in the futur, make a soundpack first (or even as a simple backup) so you can always import the pack back again!

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URGENT:

I am going to reformat my hard-drive very soon, and I am of course doing some backups. I have been able to back up all emoticons, moods etc., but I also want to keep my custom sounds, including those who I have imported myself AND those I have recieved from friends.

If I back up the Custom Sounds folder from Document and Settings, AND export the CustSounds registry key, will it the be plug and play pasting the folder and importing the regkey after a reinstall? Will all the custom sounds be available?

As has been quoted before in the above posts, just Export all your sounds into a soundpack, and after the format just import them all again from this soundpack. It is the easiest way of doing it, and requires no messing about with the registry or copying many files.

Hope this helps

Creating Soundpacks
Importing Soundpacks

Ahhh... Thank you!

I misunderstood Cookie, I thought the files needed to be a soundpack all from the beginning. I haven't looked too hard into the sound pack functions.

Then I think I am ready to perform a reformat. Just need to triplecheck that everything I need a backup of really is backed up!