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| Can't play Hannah and the Pirate Caves? Here's how to fix it. Saturday, July 3, 2010 5:16 pm — Guide posted by Livio |
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LEAVING ALL OF THIS UP FOR HISTORICAL PURPOSE, BUT REALLY YOU CAN IGNORE ALL OF THIS AND JUST USE FLASHPOINT TO PLAY HATPC. SEE THIS POST IF YOU WANT MORE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS
Once again, I'm rewriting an existing guide. Or rather, instead of making a "How to open" guide, I'm making one solely focused on the problems you can face when trying to play Hannah and the Pirate Caves (HATPC). I designed this guide like a flowchart to make it easier and faster to work through.
STEP ONE: Try Again
Just open and close the game window until it finally works. If it still doesn't work after about three tries, move on to the next step.
STEP TWO: DGS Error?
If you get a DGS Error, it is most likely the fault of neopets.com. Although, this theory has never been proven. Wait a few hours or a day, and if you still get the error, move on to step three.
STEP THREE: Which browser are you using?
HATPC is a very old Shockwave game, so it does not work properly in all browsers anymore. We find that HATPC works best in Google Chrome (download: here) and Apple's Safari (download: here).
If you are currently using a different browser, that may be the reason why you cannot play HATPC. Download either Chrome or Safari, then try opening HATPC from one of those browsers by clicking here. If you still can't play, move on to step four.
Side note: If you do not want to change the browser that you normally use, you may be interested in some added convenience in another of my guides, which teaches you how to create a desktop shortcut that will open HATPC from any browser.
STEP FOUR: Do you have the latest version of Shockwave Player?
http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/
Visit the above link and download the latest version of shockwave. Beware of any offers to download a free toolbar or security scan. I suspect them to be safe, since they are from Adobe, but they are an annoyance.
Try opening HATPC again, by clicking here. If still nothing, go to step five.
STEP FIVE: Try visiting the game files directly
Click here: http://swf.neopets.com/games/g349_v9_99392.dcr
This is known to work in every browser except Internet Explorer 9.
If it still doesn't work, see the next step.
STEP SIX: Try clearing your browser's cache
Your browser saves a cache for many web pages in its attempt to cut back on loading times. Some of our users have found that clearing their cache enables them to play HATPC again.
To clear your cache in Chrome, click on the wrench icon at the top-right corner of the screen. Then click on "Options". An Options window will open up. Click on the tab called "Under the Hood". Right under the "Privacy" heading, click on the button that says "Clear Browsing Data...". Another window will open. In this window, uncheck everything except for "Empty the cache". Under "Clear data from this period:", select "Everything". And finally, click the button "Clear browsing data".
To clear your cache in Safari, click on the gear icon at the top-right corner of the screen, and click on "Reset Safari...". A window will open. uncheck everything except for "Empty the cache". Then hit the "Reset" button.
Try opening HATPC here.
If it still doesn't work, you can also try deleting all other forms of browsing data, and this usually works for most people.
Finally, if it still doesn't work, try clearing it again! Surprisingly this does make a difference quite often.
If even that doesn't work, move onto the next step.
STEP SEVEN: Maybe it's not your fault
There have been times in the past when HATPC wouldn't work for anyone because something would go wrong with neopets.com's game servers. This is similar to the DGS Error problem in Step Two, but neopets is clever, always finding better ways of screwing up HATPC. While in the past, the game used to go down occasionally, it seems very rare these days. However, the possibility is still there. To make sure if something is only happening to you, try asking other Interguild members if they are having any difficulties opening HATPC. If they are having the same problems as you, then it's possible that something's temporarily gone wrong with the game.
STEP EIGHT: Try downloading someone else's cache
We've now moved on to a daring step. We will now attempt to get HATPC to work for you by downloading almost
This method was developed when I noticed that there was something in my cache that allowed HATPC to work for me, and when the cache was cleared, it no longer worked. Luckily, I saved a backup of my cache, and I tried to find out what file was in there that was allowing HATPC to work. However, because I did not know what I was doing, removing things from the cache made it very unstable, as Chrome would sense errors and automatically change things to fix them. Therefore, I was not able to reduce the file size of the overall cache that you must download. However, so far this method has managed to fix HATPC for two people: jellsprout and Yaya.
Also, I am sorry I cannot provide any support for non-Windows users.
Here are the steps to successfully replace your cache with mine:
- If on Windows Vista or Windows 7, go to:
C:Users[USERNAME]AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser DataDefault
If on Windows XP, go to:
C
ocuments and Settings[USERNAME]Local SettingsApplication DataGoogleChromeUser DataDefault
The [USERNAME] represents the name of the user that you are currently logged into on your computer. There will be a folder named after that user name.
If you are having trouble finding some of these folder, it may be because they are hidden. Click on the Start menu at the very bottom-left corner of the screen and type in "folder options" into the search. Click on the "Folder Options" program that comes up. Click on the "View" tab, then look under the group of options under "Hidden files and folder" and select the option to "Show hidden files and folders". Now try again to find the above folder locations. - Delete the following folders entirely:
Cache
Media Cache
(if you don't want to lose your caches, for whatever reason, you may want to just rename those folders in case you want to keep a backup). - Open this: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0By4BC80t6oOoNzQ5YjZhNzctNWY1NS00M2ZmLWEzNWYtNjk3NGI2Njk3YjY4&hl=en&authkey=CN3A8PAK
- Take the two folders inside that zip file and extract them to your "Default" folder, mentioned in the first step. Make sure that the Cache and Media Cache folders within the zip file are placed directly into the Default folder. You do not want them to be inside a new folder (which may be automatically called "ChromeHATPCcache").
If this doesn't work, try going through this step again, but instead use this cache: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0By4BC80t6oOoNzlkNGIzMjktMWUwZC00YTgyLWJiOTUtNjk5YzMyMjAxYTZh&hl=en
Be aware that this file is nearly 290 MB.
STEP NINE: Ask for help
If you still can't get HATPC to work, just post a comment below. Try explaining in detail what happens when you try to load the game, and I or some other members will try to figure out what's wrong.
User Comments (290)
| evil534 | ||
| a bearded monk Age: 23 Karma: 1 Posts: 73 Gender: Male Location: United Kingdom pm | email |
'Isa' said: Can you load regular levels? no 'jellsprout' said: Are there any other error messages you get when loading the game? no Spoiler: | |
| jellsprout | ||
| Lord of Sprout Tower Karma: -2147482799 Posts: 6445 Gender: Male pm | email |
I can't get HatPC working on IE either. No error messages, the game simply stops loading. It does work on Chrome, however. Have you tried Chrome or other browsers? Spoiler: | |
| evil534 | ||
| a bearded monk Age: 23 Karma: 1 Posts: 73 Gender: Male Location: United Kingdom pm | email |
I use chrome. Spoiler: | |
| canadianstickdeath | ||
Age: 35 Karma: 350 Posts: 2990 Gender: Male pm | email |
It's weird to me that it freezes at "press jump to start". You're aware that the space bar is the jump button? Is the HATPC window in focus? | |
| evil534 | ||
| a bearded monk Age: 23 Karma: 1 Posts: 73 Gender: Male Location: United Kingdom pm | email |
Yes I'm aware, and I'm pretty sure it is in focus. Spoiler: | |
| Livio | ||
Age: 31 Karma: 470 Posts: 9620 Gender: Male Location: Arizona, USA pm | email |
Hey I just deleted everything in Chrome's browsing data, not just cache (which took a long time, btw) and then i went to see if HATPC could work, and it did. That's funny because this approach never worked for me before. | |
| canadianstickdeath | ||
Age: 35 Karma: 350 Posts: 2990 Gender: Male pm | email |
...... Your cache right now is likely significantly smaller than the currently uploaded one, yet should still help people play HATPC? | |
| Yaya | ||
Age: 29 Karma: 747 Posts: 5367 Location: Ohio (US) pm | email |
Hey, I didn't have to redownload Livio's cache this time! I just had to empty mine. w00t.  COMING SOON: A giant meteor. Please. Give me +karma. Give me +karma. | |
| Livio | ||
Age: 31 Karma: 470 Posts: 9620 Gender: Male Location: Arizona, USA pm | email |
'canadianstickdeath' said: ...... Your cache right now is likely significantly smaller than the currently uploaded one, yet should still help people play HATPC? Okay, I deleted my browsing data again, and HATPC still works. Here's the new cache file. The old one was 290M while this one is 23K  https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0By4BC80t6oOoMmVhZDc3YjQtNzkzMi00MDA0LWJjYmUtOGQ1M2YwMTYxNmY5&hl=en&authkey=CIXbuMYN someone who can't get HATPC to work, try this. | |
| canadianstickdeath | ||
Age: 35 Karma: 350 Posts: 2990 Gender: Male pm | email |
23k? How big is HATPC itself? | |
| Livio | ||
Age: 31 Karma: 470 Posts: 9620 Gender: Male Location: Arizona, USA pm | email |
this cache is from before I opened hatpc, but I guess I should make one for after opening it.... | |
| Livio | ||
Age: 31 Karma: 470 Posts: 9620 Gender: Male Location: Arizona, USA pm | email |
alright, here's the new cache. I guess I should get rid of the old one since it's just what you get when you clear the cache. https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0By4BC80t6oOoNzQ5YjZhNzctNWY1NS00M2ZmLWEzNWYtNjk3NGI2Njk3YjY4&hl=en&authkey=CN3A8PAK | |
| FlashMarsh | ||
Age: 25 Karma: 99 Posts: 2727 Gender: Male Location: UK pm | email |
Umm... I download the file, but it tells me that windows can't open this type of file... How do I get it up? | |
| evil534 | ||
| a bearded monk Age: 23 Karma: 1 Posts: 73 Gender: Male Location: United Kingdom pm | email |
I fixed my problem! Thanks for helping, and sorry for inconvenience  Spoiler: | |
| Isa | ||
| No. I'm an octopus. Age: 31 Karma: 686 Posts: 7833 Gender: Male Location: Uppsala, Sweden - GMT +1 pm | email |
You're not supposed to open it, you're supposed to place it in either of these, and then reopen Chrome. Quote: If on Windows Vista or Windows 7, go to: C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\ If on Windows XP, go to: C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\ | |
| soccerboy13542 | ||
| ~*~Soccer~*~ Karma: 450 Posts: 4466 Gender: Male Location: 1945 pm | email |
Hmmm.... I can't seem to get it to open D: 'Livio' said: You know, I was thinking of getting an internship at Microsoft, but I'm not sure I want their lameness to rub off on me. | |
| Livio | ||
Age: 31 Karma: 470 Posts: 9620 Gender: Male Location: Arizona, USA pm | email |
get what open? HATPC? the cache file download link? the cache files themselves? | |
| soccerboy13542 | ||
| ~*~Soccer~*~ Karma: 450 Posts: 4466 Gender: Male Location: 1945 pm | email |
well hatpc has the shockwave error and then i try to download cache it works. but i can't do step 7 , 1. 'Livio' said: You know, I was thinking of getting an internship at Microsoft, but I'm not sure I want their lameness to rub off on me. | |
| Isa | ||
| No. I'm an octopus. Age: 31 Karma: 686 Posts: 7833 Gender: Male Location: Uppsala, Sweden - GMT +1 pm | email |
Place it in the appropriate folder? What OS do you have? | |
| soccerboy13542 | ||
| ~*~Soccer~*~ Karma: 450 Posts: 4466 Gender: Male Location: 1945 pm | email |
does os mean operating system? i have windows 7. 'Livio' said: You know, I was thinking of getting an internship at Microsoft, but I'm not sure I want their lameness to rub off on me. | |
| Isa | ||
| No. I'm an octopus. Age: 31 Karma: 686 Posts: 7833 Gender: Male Location: Uppsala, Sweden - GMT +1 pm | email |
That's the same as me then. What troubles do you experience when you're trying to do step 7.1? | |
| soccerboy13542 | ||
| ~*~Soccer~*~ Karma: 450 Posts: 4466 Gender: Male Location: 1945 pm | email |
it says that that folder doesn't exist. my "username" on this computer has a space in it so i don't really know what to replace [username] with. 'Livio' said: You know, I was thinking of getting an internship at Microsoft, but I'm not sure I want their lameness to rub off on me. | |
| canadianstickdeath | ||
Age: 35 Karma: 350 Posts: 2990 Gender: Male pm | email |
You don't need to type it in, just navigate to it? Open up "my computer", click C:, click users, etc... | |
| soccerboy13542 | ||
| ~*~Soccer~*~ Karma: 450 Posts: 4466 Gender: Male Location: 1945 pm | email |
There is no "users" option for me D: 'Livio' said: You know, I was thinking of getting an internship at Microsoft, but I'm not sure I want their lameness to rub off on me. | |
| Isa | ||
| No. I'm an octopus. Age: 31 Karma: 686 Posts: 7833 Gender: Male Location: Uppsala, Sweden - GMT +1 pm | email |
You're in System (C: ), and have no Users option? Could you supply a screenshot? | |
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