BEFORE Posting an error downloading FF filters PLEASE see this thread

Hello,
I have seen lots of threads asking for help because they have errors downloading filters and can´t do it and feel frustated and wonder WHY I can´t do it.

Well I want help you here and have some sugesstions you can try if you have problems with downloading filters.

Please try one or all the follow suggestions to fix and solve the problem of downloading.

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SUGESSTIONS AND TIPS TO TRY WHEN HAVING PROBLEMS DOWNLOADING FF FILTERS

1 - THE FILTER DOWNLOADING PROBLEM IS FROM THE FF ONLINE LIBRARY OR FROM THE FORUM?

2 - TRY MANY DIFFERENT BROWSERS

3 - DO YOU GET THE "get_families_versions-list() failed." WHEN TRIED TO DOWNLOAD A FILTER ?

4 - NEED URGENTLY TO DOWNLOAD A FILTER AND NONE OF THE ABOVE THINGS WORK?
TRY THE FILTER FORGE BROWSER INSIDE FF

5 - HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR SECURITY SOFTWARE BEFORE THE ERROR HAPPENS?
ARE YOU USING SOME OF THE INCOMPATIBLE SECURITY APPLICATION WITH FF ?

6 - ARE YOU GETTING A INTERNET ERROR MESSAGE THAT FF CAN´T CONNECT TO DOWNLOAD FILTERS? DO YOU HAVE A PROXY?

7 - UNINSTALL AND REINSTALL FILTER FORGE MAKING A BACKUP OF YOUR FILTERS

8 - IF STILL YOU CAN´T FIX IT YOU CAN TRY TO CLEAN YOUR REGISTRY IN WINDOWS

If I find more options or possible errors that are not here in this 8 points I will put them in a post below in this thead.

Here below are this points more explained in full detail

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1 - THE FILTER DOWNLOADING PROBLEM IS FROM THE FF ONLINE LIBRARY OR FROM THE FORUM?
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If you are trying to download a filter that has been uploaded to the forum and you are NOT getting the .ffxml file that should be please read this thread here

Do not use Internet Explorer to download .ffxml files from the forum

Found bug in Internet explorer 9 when try download FF filters (.ffxml file) from the forum

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2 - TRY MANY DIFFERENT BROWSERS
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Probably you are trying to downloading to download one filter with ONE of the available browsers, and after trying many times you can´t do it.

Have you tried to download the same filter with ANOTHER DIFFERENT browser ?

It has happened to me that sometimes using one browser it does not work, BUT when I try another I CAN get it to download. Do not ask why this happens.

There are at least 5 very well known and popular browsers available:

Firefox
Opera
Google Chrome
Internet Explorer
Safari (Windows and Mac versions)

USING INTERNET EXPLORER

Be aware that Internet explorer have 2 versions, one for 32 bit and another for 64 bit, and they work in different way, and sometimes one can see well a webpage and the other can´t.

Also if you use Internet Explorer you can activate the "Compatible view" option by clicking on the first icon after the loupe close to URL address box. Looks like a page cut in half. This sometimes can solve and fix things, please try it with and without.

IS RECOMMENDED ALSO TO USE THE LATEST VERSION OF THE BROWSERS

The browser are updated and have many versions changed very frequently, so if you are having a problem, is possible that in a newer version, this have been already been fixed.

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3 - DO YOU GET THE "get_families_versions-list() failed." WHEN TRIED TO DOWNLOAD A FILTER ?

The best solution and fix I found is to wait some time and will be fixed itself, see below
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I have copied this post fr om another thread

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When I try to download a filter I get the following error: Quote Initial data download failed. Reason: 'get_families_versions-list() failed.'. I tried more than one filter, and I keep getting this error. Yesterday I got no errors.

YES, this can happen frequently, perhaps today you can download without any problem and tomorrow you get this error, and then in the next day, this error is gone making the SAME thing (or it can happen in the same day)

Nobody have yet explained why this error happens and what is this, BUT the good thing is that if you have tried many browsers and does not work, you only have to WAIT some time, and then try again later. It can be 1 hour, a few hours, or even next day, but most of the times it gets fixed without having you to do nothing.

IS DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE FILTER YOU HAVE CHOOSEN

I have seen that the problem happens with ANY filter you want do download, and it does not get fixed if you try download other different filters.

OR perhaps it could happen that when you try to download it does not work, and few minutes later it works, and you think that it was because you choosen a different filter, but this is NOT true.

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4 - NEED URGENTLY TO DOWNLOAD A FILTER AND NONE OF THE ABOVE THINGS WORK?

TRY THE FILTER FORGE BROWSER INSIDE FF
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Probably not everybody knows that downloading filter from the FF online THROUGH A BROWSER is NOT the ONLY way to do it as you can see ALSO the Filter Forge Browser that is built inside the Filter Forge application.

By default is NOT activated, and you have to go to inside FF to:

Tools --> Options ---> Online and choose "Library browser obsolete" and click OK

Then to be able to enter to this FF Browser you go to the main window of FF and look in the top right corner wh ere is put "Download more filters" and when cliking on this it will appear.

Then if what you need to download is very new filter, you have to configure it to see "new filters first" so it appears in the first positions.

Here you have to choose all the filters you want and then click on "download" button on the bottom right corner.

Do you get and error when using this FF browser and can´t download ?

Well I am sorry, but I have no solution for this. I have never had a problem downloading with the FF Browser so I can´t tell.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of using the OL and OLIFF Filters Library

I have made in this thread here a list of the advantages and disadvantages I have found from using both ways to download filters, please take a look at it.

http://filterforge.com/forum/read.php?FID=5&TID=8939
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5 - HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR SECURITY SOFTWARE BEFORE THE ERROR HAPPENS?

WHAT SECURITY SOFTWARE DO YOU HAVE INSTALLED ?

ARE YOU USING SOME OF THE INCOMPATIBLE APPLICATION WITH FF ?

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I did not say this before, because I suposse and think that you USUALLY have not problems to download, so is not a problem with the firewall and/or the security software you are using.

There a thread in the forum to solve and fix problems with incompatibility with some security software and FF

See here --> Comodo IS, ZoneAlarm, Spyware PC Doctor – incompatibility w/FF

I myself after testing many security softwares, I decided to use the best I have found and is Norton Internet Security 2012, works seamless, without interfering in your work, DOES NOT HOG AND SLOW DOWN you computer as others do, and is very friendly with software installed, and is very agressive and like a police, when stopping unwanted malware and viruses.

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6 - ARE YOU GETTING A INTERNET ERROR MESSAGE THAT FF CAN´T CONNECT TO DOWNLOAD FILTERS? DO YOU HAVE A PROXY?
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Here in this thread --> Can´t download filters there is this error

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<class XFW::OSCallError> ::InternetQueryOptionA(proxy settings) failed with error code 0x0000000E: Not enough storage is available to complete this operation.

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GMM wrote: do you use a proxied or a direct Internet connection? Please delete the following file: %APPDATA%\Filter Forge 3\Options.xml and try again.

See the thread link for a possible fix if this does not work
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Please if you know any other problems that could happen when downloading filter it would be good that you tell it here so it would be good to help even more.

If you have had a problem downloading filter that has not been included in the above list, please tell it here.

Thanks for your help

I may have found the problem in that there was a problem with the install on my machine and the stand alone part of FF did not install only the plugin for PS.
This is a rather old computer and it may suffer from a few problems that crop up from time to time
I have another machine at home to try later so I think it may well be on my side.
Thanks for the help.
Wyndham

I do not know why this thread looks bad when viewed in the windows version of the Safari 5.0 browser (with Google Chrome browser you can read it right)

All the texts are overlaid over the right columm

I think it is because I have it wrong putting oversized and too long lines like this ones

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and of course I can´t edit them to make them shorter as this one shown here

If you want to report a download problem in the forum, would be good to know more about what happens, and when does it happen, and if you get any kind of messages and what they say, so would be better and more easier to help, rather than saying just that you have problems downloading filters.

This Thread is put in the Windows part and there is also this other thread for Apple MacOS users

For MacOS users see this thread

It has a link to this thread, but you could make any comment related to MacOs in that thread if you want.

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deespx Thanks so much, SpaceRay! I couldn't download filters like I used to (it's been a while), no way, no how. I was just about to ask for help before I finished tearing out my hair . . . when I saw this.

Glad and happy that this thread has helped you and has been useful and thanks for your comment and for putting it here to know about it.

Yes, changing the browser can make a very big difference, I am having many problems to download filters with Internet Explorer 10, but if I use other browser I have no problems.

MAKE THIS THREAD STICKY TO HELP MORE AND FIND IT EASIER?

I know that this thread is not easy to find in the forum, because is not a sticky thread, and perhaps it could be a good idea to put it as sticky to it would be more helpful to other persons like you that have problems downloading filters, but I am not the one that can make it, it is only GMM that can make and decide it.

i have seen that the problems are still happening as shown on this thread here about the same topic so I put it there if it could help anyone having these problems

MAC VERSION OF THIS THREAD

Sorry that I forgot that I have made also a thread for Mac user that is here

ABOUT THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD THAT MAY BE TOO HARD

I wanted to change the name of this thread as it is not right, because as this thread is not a sticky that is always visible, and of course you can't know that this thread exists, so then the title is wrong in that as it is is too rough and seems to be agressive and bad, and seems that I fill bad because you should read this this thread BEFORE posting a filter downloading error, but is not this at all, I just want to help.

As this has not been made a sticky, I have tried to change the name asking to GMM but did not want to do it, as he said the name is right

Just started having thi issue today.

FF 4.0, Google Chrome, Windows 8.1. Version acquired April 2016.

Sel ected a filter from the library on filterforge.com, it was a v1.0 filter. Software opens OK, goes to get fr om the library but then tells you that you need 'a newer version of Filter Forge' then asks you if you want to upgrade now, click 'No' and it fails to download completely. Given I wasn't going for 5.0 filters, but for 4.0 or under, this should have never happened.

Tried again, different v1.0 filter, exact same thing. Closed then retried it. Same thing.

What is going on here?