Frequently Asked Questions for DiabAid.

This FAQ is distributed with DiabAid version 1.2

gregleg@pobox.com


Q:  What's the purpose of this utility?
A:  Diablo stores the character information for a multiplayer game on your 
    local hard drive, but in an encrypted form and hidden in several locations.
    Simply finding the hidden file and copying it around is not sufficient to 
    "back up" the character reliably.  This program (and others like it) back 
    up all the necessary data.

Q:  I reinstalled Windows 95 (or NT) on my computer, and now my characters 
    won't restore.  Why?
A:  The most common cause of this is that when you reinstalled your operating 
    system, the "Computer Name" changed.  Diablo makes use of the "computer 
    name" as a way to attempt to detect cheating.  To check your computer name,
    bring up the Control Panel, and bring up the Network dialog.  Check that 
    the Computer Name edit box hasn't changed from what it was.  (If you can't 
    remember what it was, and know how to use a hex viewer/editor, the computer
    name is stored in the DiabAid *.dbk files.  For versions prior to 1.2, the 
    first 4 bytes in the file are the length of the computer name, then next N 
    bytes are the name itself.)

    Characters created under one operating system won't usually restore 
    correctly under the other using DiabAid (that is, characters from a machine
    running Windows 95 probably won't work correctly under Windows NT).  That 
    is a different issue.

    New to version 1.1:  The error message you get in this situation will tell 
                         you the current computer name and the computer name 
                         that the backup came from, saving you the effort of 
                         figuring this out yourself.
    New to version 1.2:  DiabAid will offer to change the machine name FOR you.
                         You should only do this if you're SURE it's safe to
                         rename your computer.  If you're on a network at work,
                         it probably ISN'T.  If you're on a single PC at home, 
                         and just reinstalled your operating system and get 
                         this message, it probably IS safe, but you do so at 
                         your own risk.

Q:  I just purchased a new {computer, hard drive}.  Can I use DiabAid to move 
    my characters to the new machine?
A:  Yes, if you have control over the name of the new machine.  If so, you're 
    basically in the same situation as the previous question.

Q:  I just installed a new network card (or changed to a new Internet Service 
    Provider), and lost my multiplayer characters.  Can I bring them back?
A:  This is another "machine name changing" situation.  See above.

Q:  My character just lost all his inventory!  Help!
A:  If you're running Diablo 1.0, there was a bug involving Daylight Savings 
    Time and the way Diablo "detects cheating" using timestamps.  One thing 
    that I can suggest is, if you have a backup that was made before the clocks
    changed, patch Diablo to 1.02 or 1.03 and THEN restore.  I don't honestly 
    know if it'll work since I didn't run into this problem;  if someone 
    verifies that this works, please send me email.
 
    No matter what version of Diablo you're using, the dreaded machine name can
    also bite you.  Sometimes when Diablo "detects cheating", the characters 
    will remain but lose their toys.  If you're running Diablo 1.02 or 1.03 and
    you just lost inventory, check if anything in your configuration changed 
    that would cause the computer's name to change.  (Attempting to restore 
    from a previous backup will tell you this real quick ;-).  If this is the 
    case, see if you can change the name back to what it was.

Q:  Isn't backing up your character cheating?
A:  Depends on what you do with the backup.  Making a backup, joining a game, 
    dropping all your stuff, leaving the game, restoring your character, and 
    rejoining the game is cheating (and the patch from Blizzard attempts to 
    address this problem, with limited success).  Making a backup, playing a 
    game, having your machine crash or lose power, trying to play again, 
    discovering your character is corrupted, and restoring from the backup, is
    NOT.

Q:  I had a character with some really cool equipment, but I died and couldn't 
    fight my way back to my stuff.  So I restored my character.  Was this 
    cheating?
A:  YES!  The backup program is intended only to be used to protect yourself
    against computer problems, not in-game stupidity or bad luck.  (Now, if
    Diablo crashed before you could get back down to get your stuff, that's a 
    slightly different story...)

Q:  I made a backup, then created a new character.  I restored from the backup,
    and the new character vanished.  Why?
a:  (Yes, I've actually been asked this one!)  Well, duh.  The old backup 
    doesn't contain the new character, so after the restore the new character's
    gone to the bit-bucket.  *Always keep your backups current!*

Q:  Why can't I use your program while Diablo is running?
A:  DiabAid works with the on-disk character stats, NOT the stats in memory.
    (This is why the same program works under both Win95 and WinNT, and why it 
    continued to work after Blizzard released their patch.)  As a result, I 
    make sure that DiabAid doesn't try to read/write the save files at the same
    time Diablo does, or very bizarre things can happen (trust me on this ;-). 
    The only reliable way to do this (without getting too complicated, anyway) 
    is to make sure that Diablo isn't running at the same time.  Yes, I 
    realize it's a bit inconvenient to quit Diablo to make a backup, but 
    that's the way it is.