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Homeofmusic Help / FAQ Section

Other Help Pages: Site Status Page

2003Apr13 Finally restarted this new much needed Help / FAQ Section. Please note, it will probably be several weeks before it is fully complete, so if you feel there is anything missing, or any topic that isn't clear or should be further developed, please let me know in the Site Problems / Ideas Section of the Forum.
Another place to check out is the Information For New Members and Users Section of the Forum.

NOTICE Please NEVER E-MAIL ME for problems about the site. The best and virtually only way to get quick help with the site, is to post in the Site Problems / Ideas Section of the Forum.
The reason for this is because 4 times out of 5, the solution to a problem has already been discussed in the forum. But more importantly, if you have a certain problem, chances are, you are not the only one having the same problem. So if you report your problem in the forum, and I or another member solve your problem in the forum, then EVERYONE else in the future with the same problem can find the solution in the forum, and save me from getting 10 e-mails a day asking the same question.

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THIS ENTIRE SECTION BEFORE ASKING FOR HELP !!!

HOW TO GET AND WHERE TO FIND HELP
KNOWN SOLUTIONS TO COMMON SITE NAVIGATION PROBLEMS (refresh, clear cache)
HOW TO ENABLE JAVASCRIPT FOR INTERNET EXPLORER
HOW TO DOWNLOAD FILES
PROBLEMS LOGGING INTO THE FORUM
LOGGING INTO HOMEOFMUSIC RADIO
LOGGING INTO THE HOMEOFMUSIC DIRECT CONNECT HUB
BROWSER COMPATABILITY (Netscape Users Read Here)
REQUESTS and ASKING FOR THE NAMES OF SONGS / ARTISTS
NEW DOWNLOAD SERVER INFORMATION PAGE

HOW TO GET AND WHERE TO FIND HELP. [Info last modified: 2003Apr13]
Until this section is completely finished, there is sure to be alot of help missing from this section. Do not worry, if the information you're looking for isn't here, please feel free to use the Site Problems / Ideas Section of the Forum.

As for checking the forum, it's fairly easy, there is helpful info in the forums. To get to the forum, enter the site and look on the left-hand menu for the word "FORUM", then look for the section called Site Problems / Ideas. There is also a section in the new section called Information For New Members and Users, it is a good resource for new commers to the site for beginner information.

Note that to use the FORUM, you must register first. When you do, the forum will e-mail you an activation code (not your password, your activation code is only used to activate your account, and the only way to get your activation code is through your e-mail). The only exception for this is the Site Problems / Ideas section, you do not need to register before writting a message in that section.

Also don't forget to do a forum SEARCH to see if your problem has already been discussed.

If you're going to use the new forum, please read the info on top of each section first for guidelines and rules. Also, when reporting a problem, make sure to list ALL information you can think of. Including:

Your browser
Browser version
Your location
Your type of connection (speed and ISP)
Your type of computer (with components)
Your Operating System
The error you get (be as specific as posible)
What page you are having the error on
If it is about a specific song or link, give all details, including date, page and specific server. (More info on the file servers below).
Date / Time you started having the problem
Did you ever have the problem before?
Did you change any software or hardware when the problem started?

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THIS ENTIRE HELP SECTION BEFORE ASKING FOR HELP !!!

KNOWN SOLUTIONS TO COMMON PROBLEMS. (refresh, cache) [Info last modified: 2000Aug06]
Before going to the forums for help, here are solutions to 90% of the problems:

Do NOT use Netscape, less than 1% of the internet now uses Netscape, and seeing as I already spend 50 hours a week on the site, I can't waste time remaking each page for netscape. If you use Netscape, you'll have to change before using the site or you'll definately run into navigation and link problems, as well as layout problems. Your best bet is to use Internet Explorer version 5 or above. Click here to get Internet Explorer 6.0 (the same version I use).

Refresh the page. If you're just having problems with a page in particular, it might just be because I was updating the page the same time you were downloading it. Try waiting a minute or two, and then refresh the page. The way to refresh the page without the navigation bar above, is to simply press the [F5] key on your keyboard (I think this only works with Internet Explorer).

If that doesn't work, then you should close ALL your browser windows, then re-open Internet Explorer. Once you get to Windows Explorer, type www.homeofmusic.com in the address bar. Do NOT use an old bookmark, as it could be that your old bookmark leads to an old out of date page, as I move the site to different directories alot, which sometime cause new pages not to appear. Anyhow, once you're on the new page, refresh the screen again.

If that doesn't work, then you probably have your browser set to check your cache more than it should, the quickest way to solve this, is to clear your Browser's temporary internet files cache. To do this, do the following in Internet Explorer:

Close ALL browser windows
Reopen just one browser window
Chose "Tools" from the choise of menus on the top of your browser
Then choose "Internet Options ..."
When you choose that, you will find yourself in the "General" section
Look for the middle area called "Temporary Internet Files"
This is also know as your browser's cache
Click on the "DELETE" button
Click OK in the pop-up to confirnm you want to delete the files
Click OK to close and confirm the general Internet Options menu
Close ALL browser windows again
Reopen Internet Explorer
Enter "www.homeofmusic.com" in the address area (Do NOT use an old bookmark
Enjoy the site !!! :)

[additional steps to ensure it doesn't happen again]
After step 9 and before step 10, do the following:

9B- within the same Temporary Internet Files area, choose "Settings". On the top of the new menu, you'll see "Check for newer versions of Stored Pages". Select either "Everytime you start internet explorer", or even better would be "Every visit to the page".

For those who want to know, your internet cache is basically when you browser saves pages from previous visits to all the sites you recently visited, and instead of going to the internet for the page (whiich it doesn't know if it has been updated), it just gets the old out of date page that it saved to your hard drive you last visit (or several visits ago).

HOW TO ENABLE JAVASCRIPT FOR INTERNET EXPLORER [Info last modified: 2000Oct31]
Note that you will need to have JavaScript enabled to access most if not all of the site. JavaScript is already enabled on about 95% of serfers, but some people might have their security settings needlessly too high. Anyhow, in order to get full access to the site, make sure JavaScript is enabled. You can enable JavaScript on Internet Explorer by doing the following:

Close ALL browser windows
Reopen just one browser window
Chose "Tools" from the choise of menus on the top of your browser
Then choose "Internet Options ...". When you choose that, you will find yourself in the "General" section, switch to the "Security" tab.
You should then see 4 icons on the top of your screen, click on the one for "Internet" (it should actually already be on it though).
Now lower the security level from whatever level you currently have it on.
- Note, that if you don't want to lower security for everything, then click on "Custom Settings", you'll then get a pop-up with many options, make sure "Enable" is selected for all options having to do with "Java" and "Scripting" (not necessary for options with Active X). For those options that don't include an "enable" option, just choose a lower option than you currently have (go from high security to medium security, or from medium security to low security). The particular options to change might varie depending on your browser version, but here's an example of what to look for with Internet Explorer 5.0: (Microsoft VM: Java Permissions, Scripting: Active Scripting, Scripting: Allow Paste Operations Via Script, Scripting: Scripting Of Java Applets). Click on "OK" at the bottom of the options pop-up to close that pop-up and save the changes.
Press "OK" on the bottom of the "Internet Options" pop-up to close that window and save all changes.
Close ALL browser windows again
Reopen Internet Explorer
Enter "www.homeofmusic.com" in the address area (Do NOT use an old bookmark
Repeat the whole process again if it doesn't work, but this time lower the settings you chose another level.
Enjoy the site !!!

HOW / WHERE TO DOWNLOAD MUSIC FILES [Info last modified: 2003Apr13]
There currently are NO direct downloads on Homeofmusic. If you want tunes, you can check out the Music Exchange Center section of the forum to find make requests. But remember to read the rules first, and that what goes around comes around. People will help you out much quicker if they know you're an active member of the Homeofmusic Community who also helps others and participates in the conversations.

There's now a new method to grab tunes. It's through a Napster like system called Direct Connect. Here at Homeofmusic, we now have a private Direct Connect (DC) Hub (server) for our members. Please read here for more information on how to be a part of the HOM DC Hub.

PROBLEMS LOGGING INTO THE FORUM [Info last modified: 2003Apr13]
Because of your browser settings, you might be experiencing problems with not being able to log into the forum. If you're having this problem, the read here for a lot more information.

LOGGING INTO HOMEOFMUSIC RADIO [Info last modified: 2003Apr13]
Homeofmusic Radio runs through the Live365 website. Unfortunately before you can listen, you must register and log-in at Live365. Once you've registered, you can simply enter homeofmusic in their search box and you'll find the homeofmusic radio page. You can also directly access it here:

http://www.live365.com/stations/homeofmusic

After your first visit, you will need to activate your membership at Live365 using the information they e-mailed you (similar to the system used here at homeofmusic). But from that point on, you'll be able to listen simply by clicking the listen icon throughout the homeofmusic site or by clicking the word Listen in one of homeofmusic's menus.

If you are experiencing problems listening, you might want to change players. You can do this from any LIVE365 page. At the top right you will see MyLive365 (next to Log Out). From there, select the Listen Settings tab. The Player365 is supposed to be the most stable, but you can try different ones. You can also check the Homeofmusic Status page to see if there is a scheduled downtime or other HOM specific problems.

LOGGING INTO THE HOMEOFMUSIC DIRECT CONNECT HUB [Info last modified: 2003Apr13]
You need to activate your account before getting access to the Homeofmusic Direct Connect Hub (HOM DC Hub). But in order for your activation to be approved, you need to be a member of the Homeofmusic forum with at least 10 substantial posts.

You can find all the information you'll need by starting here.

There is also an entire section of the forum devoted to the Hub, but you must be a registered member of the forum and logged into the forum before you'll be able to see the Homeofmusic Direct Connect Hub section of the forum (just below the Shared Files /Tunes section of the forum).

BROWSER COMPATABILITY (Netscape Users) [Info last modified: 2003Apr13]
For the reasons stated above, make sure you're only using Internet Explorer 6.0 or later. You will definately experience problems with Netscape, and I DO NOT have time to support Netscape, if you really want to use the site, use InterNet Explorer version 6.0 or above.

Get Internet Explorer 6 at microsoft.com

If you want to know what version of internet Explorer you are using, open a new browser window, select "Help from the menu on top of the window, then choose about Internet Explorer, you'll see something like "Version 5.00.1423.4024". You browser version is basically the first number followed by the next 2 numbers after the first decimal point. In this example, the browser version would be 5.00.

REQUESTS and ASKING FOR NAME / ARTIST OF A SONG [Info last modified: 2000Aug06]
Please note that I get over 25 requests per day (on ICQ and through e-mail), and it is IMPOSIBLE for me to even organise them all, much less find them all. I really don't have time for requests any more I'm sorry to say. ALL Requests through ICQ or e-mail will be ignored, as it simply takes time away from me working on the site. There are NO exceptions.

The best place to make requests is in the Music Exchange Center (MEC) section of the NEW Forum. Note you have to register to the forum before using it. When you register, the forum will e-mail you an activation code (different from your password). So after you register, check your e-mail and then use the activation code and instructions in your e-mail to activate your account. Please make sure you read all the rules of the MEC before making your request. Most notably:

DO NOT put in your request that you "are willing to trade" or "exchange" songs, as at HOMEOFMUSIC.COM, I fully EXPECT people to help each other out. People are VERY helpful at homeofmusic.com, and help for the sake of helping others, not to just trade songs one for one.
If you have files you want to share, please check out the "Shared Files" section of the forum.
Be polite in your requests. I can easily say the over 850 members of the forum EASILY finds well over 25 requests per day, so chances are EXTRELY good your request will be found if you ask nicely. :)
Be precise in your requests. Try to include artist name, song name, the name of the remix you're looking for if any, AND don't forget to include the type of music it is, AND around the date it was released if you know that information.
If you don't know the name of the song, or the artist, use the "Name That Tune" section of the forum to find out first, then once you know the names, you can return and ask in the MEC. Do NOT post in the MEC until you know the name of the song and the artist.
You may only list a maximum of 15 songs per request topic.
You may only start ONE new topic per 3 days. If you have any other requests, add them to your original topic (Do not go over 15 total songs).
Post in the forum when you've found your request so people stop looking for it.
Thank the person who gave you the song.

If you're just looking for the name of a song, again, do not e-mail me if you just want to know the name of a song or an artist who sings a certain song. The only place to ask for that information, is in the Name That Tune Section of the New Forum