V stuff not working [Archive]

ebulfin

24-04-2009, 17:42

Hi all
If you want a good laugh ring 150 and tell them this is not working. They try all sorts of resetting your username, your passwords and even try to make new user names, all to no avail. Then they tell you they have to go 'to another department' and will ring you back. This is because they can't work out the simple fact that the software is critically flawed and as they have no real technical abilities in the help centres this query takes them over the time allocated for each phone call. It is fun, and if enough people ring in they might (MIGHT) look at the software and put it right.

To add insult to injury a great advertising brochure came through my letterbox this morning telling me how wonderful the service is ............ If we could log in.

As an old Blueyonder customer I had the same problem with the website when trying to log into Vista Extras. About 2 days after they changed the web log in to allow blueyonder accounts in they discontinued the extras online. I bet they end up doing this to V Stuff.

ebulfin

27-04-2009, 19:19

Had a half an hour work-through with an idiot (sorry Customer Services representative) who had difficulty understanding that I could not log on and that I got the same message every time (User name or Password incorrect, please try again). so the idiot went through the whole process with me, I downloaded the software (again), installed it (again), it would not work (again). No surprise there then!

He then reset my password and set up a new ID for me, and I tried to log on. Huh! What a surprise it gives me the same message. Five new ID's five new passwords and it would not work (again), he then got so flummoxed at it not working he tells me he will have to contact another department and ring me back later that day. That was Friday, it is now Monday evening and still no phone call and still the V stuff does not work.

I think they should change the name to 'F' stuff as that is what it is F-ing stuffed. Excuse my abbreviations for a rude word but that is how Virgin's software makes me feel.

It even makes it worse as we all get letters addressed to us by our first names from 'Richard Branson' (NOT) telling us how great it is, I bet he hasn't tried it yet. If he had some heads would roll and it would be taken down an apology sent out to all customers and the software and server side systems all put right. If only I had Branson's E-mail address I would send him a wonderful advert for how this does not work, complete with the offer to re-brand it as F Stuff.

Did anyone else ever get it to work?

whisper53

28-04-2009, 20:10

I think I will give up on v stuff and uninstall it,it is obvious it will not work in the NW.

Turkey Machine

28-04-2009, 20:18

I think I will give up on v stuff and uninstall it,it is obvious it will not work at all.

Corrected that for you. ;)

esdxc37

28-04-2009, 22:05

Peter_

28-04-2009, 22:20

If you want help from VM staff that populate this BBS that sure is the wrong way to go about it
They post on forums with attitudes like this and are then puzzled why they do not get the assistance they expected.:D

Stabhappy

28-04-2009, 22:42

If you're good at your job I don't see why you'd take offence to being generalized with the rest of the support staff. I personally wouldn't, anyway.

Peter_

28-04-2009, 22:44

If you're good at your job I don't see why you'd take offence to being generalized with the rest of the support staff. I personally wouldn't, anyway.
It does not bother me, thats why I put the grin at the end as I find it funny and if I can help I usually do regardless of their initial attitude..;)

oliver1948uk

28-04-2009, 22:59

V stuff worked for me first time no problem (ex NTL). The only problem was that the initial upload of My Documents took 4 days (day and night). Now it automtically uploads changed files automatically without fuss.

Stabhappy

29-04-2009, 00:19

It does not bother me, thats why I put the grin at the end as I find it funny and if I can help I usually do regardless of their initial attitude..;)

Well that's what I get for making assumptions ^_^

oisin

29-04-2009, 12:03

Well it worked first time for me but not the second. Once I closed it wouldn't start up again. Uninstalled it, got a fresh download, reinstalled it. Worked first time but not again. It seems there's now a load of stuff on there I can't access without uninstalling and reinstalling again. Appears obvious a lot more work and testing should've been carried out on the software before release. :(

JamboUK

29-04-2009, 20:26

OK...OK.. I tried...I really did.

It is a piece of junk. The desktop app is useless cack. Sorry it is.

Someone please explain why if I set to upload photographs only via the Automatic Backup by file type Pictures on/off tab. It uploads ALL the video files from my desktop. Now that is clever. Not.

Also... to top it off. It doesn't let you delete the back up files from the server you didn't want backed up in the first place. Cack cack cack.

Oh yeah and the piece of junk doesn't even exit cleanly. You have to go in and end the process manually.

Also webpage log on says "Hi 818181" instead of my name.... I am not a number!!! If they can't get this right. There is no hope.

Such a shame this has been fudged.

oisin

30-04-2009, 08:45

Hi JamboUK,
Yeah, I had the same problem with it automatically backing up stuff I didn't want it to but I did find somewhere (dunno where) a way of deleting them on the first page of desktop interface. Best dumped though methinks.

ebulfin

10-05-2009, 14:11

If you want help from VM staff that populate this BBS that sure is the wrong way to go about it

I didn't expect help as I am sure most of the MV staff are on the same page as the Customer helpline and would have difficulty understanding the problem and then refer me to the help line or the online mailer form which is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. If it were not for the fact that the overall cable service is excellent and the price is fair, I would give up on Virgin Media altogether.

As for V-stuff, what I haven't had I don't miss, but the continued mails from Richard Branson (NOT) telling me how great it is does add insult to injury.

If the respondant happens to be a VM employee, I am sorry for giving the impression that they are 'all' idiots, but I notice none of them has attempted to offer an opinion on how to fix this problem.

Regards
Eddie

---------- Post added at 14:11 ---------- Previous post was at 14:01 ----------

They post on forums with attitudes like this and are then puzzled why they do not get the assistance they expected.:D

Attitude, ....Moi!

As if! I just tell it like it is and if VM can't get it right someone has to tell them ! If they can get through to someone with some minor level of intelligence, but they all seem to be on the sales staff, not on customer services.

By the way this service still does not work for all those long-term customers who have been loyal to cable broadband since long before VM was formed, and who used to get people with knowledge of the products on the end of the phone line. I even had one guy come out to repair a modem on Christmas eve nine years ago, can't even get this little V-stuff problem even close to being understood by customer Services.

If you are a VM employee give an opinion on how to fix it, or hold your peace as my ****ed off attidude will not change until I meet an employee who has the intelligence to report this problem, as a problem, or who has a way to fix it.

Regards
Eddie

Peter_

10-05-2009, 15:16

ebulfin

10-05-2009, 15:40

If you are still having issues with V Stuff and want to be able to use it then I would advise you call during the week of a morning after 0800 on 151 from a Virgin phone or 0845 454 1111 from any other phone.

Then they will be able to check out your issue and if required they will be able to escalate the issue to our 2nd line support who have more diagnostic tools at their disposal.

Trying to diagnose issues with a product such as V Stuff via a forum is not the best way to troubleshoot it so please follow my advice and call in.

Hi Moldova, thanks for at least trying to be of use, but if you read the mail I posted on 27-04-2009, 19:19 you will see an abbreviated description of the conversation I had when I phoned them, and as for ringing on an 0845 454 1111 number, why should I pay for them to keep me on the phone for up to 20 minutes to get through to a person, then half an hour for them to try all the same procedures (after talking to me like I am an idiot and getting me to 'try' all the things I tried over the last three weeks) and still not be of any use, and ring off or tell me they will need to get advice and then still never ring back. If the mails I got were really from Richard Branson and not just a mail shot, I could have written back to tell him how bad the service is. He needs to come back from Formula 1 racing and kick some Virgin Media butt.

If it is so easy to fix by a simple phone call then don't you think that would have been tried already. As with most of my forty mails to them not one of the respondants had read the mail, they just sent out a pre-formed reply of 'look at the status page', 'look at the FAQ pages' or worst of all ring 150. Are they trained NOT to read mails, as you did on my mail on 27-04-2009, 19:19 .

I don't think this is the right forum to try to give out information on services that don't work, unless you have the authority to be able to make a change in VM's customer focus, or at least have the absolute conviction that satisfaction will be obtained by your response.

Kind regards and thanks
Eddie

---------- Post added at 15:40 ---------- Previous post was at 15:36 ----------

Moldova, I just thought of this: How do you contact anyone who is not in Customer Support who is IT trained as they might have an idea how to fix this, as I am positive it works for those with a Virgin.com or VirginMedia.com E-mail address and just needs a tweak to make it accept those with old Blueyonder and NTL E-mail addresses.

Perhaps you could suggest it when you go into work next, as a link on the web pages.

Regards
Eddie

Peter_

10-05-2009, 16:05

As I said above it needs escalating to 2nd line agents who have more tools and the time to call you back with help and advice regards V Stuff.

I can understand your anger and frustration with the poor help you appear to have received to date but to fix this problem you are probably going to have to call in and ask to speak to a manager for help resolving this issue.

paulmorriss

16-05-2009, 12:29

My theory on why it doesn't let you log in even though you correctly put the username and password is this:
I've successfully logged in as main my email address on one of my XP users. I log in as a different one and it never works. So I think that if I want that second user to use it I have to log in with a different email address. However because I only want it to work as one user I haven't tried out that theory yet.

kayc3660

16-05-2009, 13:35

ebulfin

16-05-2009, 14:18

I just used all three users (mine and the two the Customer Services guy gave me to try to help) and still none will log in. I tried the Password the Virgin guy set up for me, no go. I tried my password that works every day for my E-mails, no go. I assume your E-mail address is @virgin.net, @virginmedia.com or @ntworld.com and these are working in the script they use to log customers on. I am positive it is a scripting problem and a simple and/or alteration to allow @blueyonder.co.uk customers log in will stop this annoying problem.

This is still not working for me, I even tried installing and logging in from a newly installed Vista set-up just in case it was my Windows 7 that was the problem. I have turned off all firewalls, Windows Defender and my virus check program. Still it won't log in on this dual operating system nor on my laptop running Windows XP.

One day it might work, but the VM inefficiency was causing me stress waiting for their E-mails that tell me to do all the things I have already done, each mail tells me to check the FAQ's or the Status page, then goes through the simplest of checks to make sure it is not my PC. To finally end telling me to ring them, which takes a lot of courage and mental strength as I find it almost impossible to speak following a series of strokes, left me partially paralysed ad effected my speech.Why can't someone with one iota of intelligence there find a simple answer to this without telling me to ring them.

As you can see from my previous entries on this thread, there is no problem with me making myself fully understood with e-mails and blog entries, it is just that they don't understand their own systems so get lost if the problem is not customer error.

I am glad you got it to work, and hope you make good use of it the more people who use it the quicker it will fail and be withdrawn, so I won't feel left-out by not having it.

regards
Eddie

My theory on why it doesn't let you log in even though you correctly put the username and password is this:
I've successfully logged in as main my email address on one of my XP users. I log in as a different one and it never works. So I think that if I want that second user to use it I have to log in with a different email address. However because I only want it to work as one user I haven't tried out that theory yet.

Joxer

16-05-2009, 14:33

Works fine for me, on a blueyonder address. I logged in using the same address as for My Virgin Media, i.e. the first email address in the first mailbox.

The real surprise is that Vstuff runs under wine - totally expected it to fail at some point.

ebulfin

16-05-2009, 14:35

Thanks Kayc3660, I have done exactly that. Perhaps he will get information on it passed to him, but I expect it will be forwarded on to Customer Services in Virgin Media, and I will get their usual e-mail back telling me to look at the FAQ's, the Status page or to ring 150.

Thanks again anything is worth a try.
Eddie

email address is richard.branson@fly.virgin.com you get a auto reply, as if its coming from Virgin airways, but it is actually the CCEO office. I have emailed this address and then been phoned by someone in the chairmans office. Not Richard Branson obviously, but closer than customer services.

drintoul

16-05-2009, 14:41

I just used all three users (mine and the two the Customer Services guy gave me to try to help) and still none will log in. I tried the Password the Virgin guy set up for me, no go. I tried my password that works every day for my E-mails, no go. I assume your E-mail address is @virgin.net, @virginmedia.com or @ntworld.com and these are working in the script they use to log customers on. I am positive it is a scripting problem and a simple and/or alteration to allow @blueyonder.co.uk customers log in will stop this annoying problem.

This is still not working for me, I even tried installing and logging in from a newly installed Vista set-up just in case it was my Windows 7 that was the problem. I have turned off all firewalls, Windows Defender and my virus check program. Still it won't log in on this dual operating system nor on my laptop running Windows XP.

One day it might work, but the VM inefficiency was causing me stress waiting for their E-mails that tell me to do all the things I have already done, each mail tells me to check the FAQ's or the Status page, then goes through the simplest of checks to make sure it is not my PC. To finally end telling me to ring them, which takes a lot of courage and mental strength as I find it almost impossible to speak following a series of strokes, left me partially paralysed ad effected my speech.Why can't someone with one iota of intelligence there find a simple answer to this without telling me to ring them.

As you can see from my previous entries on this thread, there is no problem with me making myself fully understood with e-mails and blog entries, it is just that they don't understand their own systems so get lost if the problem is not customer error.

I am glad you got it to work, and hope you make good use of it the more people who use it the quicker it will fail and be withdrawn, so I won't feel left-out by not having it.

regards
Eddie

Not sure if this will be of any help but I had a similar problem and when I called then was told I should be using my primary address which I told them I was. They then asked me to tell them what it was and informed me that I had the wrong primary address and gave me an address made up of a string of letters and numbers that I'd never heard of. We are in our 19th year as cable customers with I think the 6th company so I can only assume this address was created at one of the takeovers or upgrades and I've either never had it or lost it.

Thought I'd share this in case some of you are in a similar position. Once I had this address I was able to give my other addresses access to the system and have found that it has worked faultlessly ever since.

Hope that helps

ebulfin

16-05-2009, 15:00

Drintoul, thanks for that information, perhaps I am in the same position, but I think the Customer Services could have told me that (as they did for you), and a lot of aggrevation could have been avoided.

I will try to get hold of the same type of address from whoever answers my latest mails.

Thanks again that certainly sounds right, and I am also in my sixteenth year with them, starting off with Telewest.
Regards
Eddie

Not sure if this will be of any help but I had a similar problem and when I called then was told I should be using my primary address which I told them I was. They then asked me to tell them what it was and informed me that I had the wrong primary address and gave me an address made up of a string of letters and numbers that I'd never heard of. We are in our 19th year as cable customers with I think the 6th company so I can only assume this address was created at one of the takeovers or upgrades and I've either never had it or lost it.

Thought I'd share this in case some of you are in a similar position. Once I had this address I was able to give my other addresses access to the system and have found that it has worked faultlessly ever since.

Hope that helps

Joxer

16-05-2009, 16:27

ebulfin

16-05-2009, 16:50

Joxer
Easily found out.

1. Log into webmail.
2. Click 'compose'
3. Click 'from' - it's on the list.

As I never use online E-mails, I prefer to use Thunderbird (a bit like Outlook Express but much smaller footprint on my PC) I tried this and it gives me the user ID that I use to log on to Virgin Media sites and to send and receive mail from Thunderbird. This is also the same user ID and password that I use for uploading my web site to the web on my FTP software. All use the same ID and all use the same password. however; this combination does not work (for me) on V-Stuff.

Thank you for stating the obvious, and the same information I got from the original mail from Customer Services, who are trained to give out the obvious and anything else confuses them.

Thanks again for at least trying to help.
Regards
Eddie

Easily found out.

1. Log into webmail.
2. Click 'compse'
3. Click 'from' - it's on the list.

Or, preferably...

1. Log into selfcare http://selfcare.blueyonder.co.uk
2. click email and password
3. First one listed.

However and feel free to call me an idiot (again), but I still say it's the first one in that mailbox - visible when you click details.

drintoul

16-05-2009, 16:54

Easily found out.

1. Log into webmail.
2. Click 'compse'
3. Click 'from' - it's on the list.

Or, preferably...

1. Log into selfcare http://selfcare.blueyonder.co.uk
2. click email and password
3. First one listed.

However and feel free to call me an idiot (again), but I still say it's the first one in that mailbox - visible when you click details.

It would appear that there might be differences between different areas. I've done as you suggested and logged onto webmail. When I compose a message "from" is not a hyperlink and there is no list to choose from. To, CC etc are hyperlinks but not from.

When I log onto selcare and ask for email details I get the following message:

Information

Error
It has not been possible to retrieve your email subscription details.

Please contact Virgin Media for further assistance. Click on 'Contact us' above for our contact details.

As mentioned earlier I am a very long term customer and I suspect that could be part of the problem as the cable company providing my service has changed several times.

From memory I think we have had East Lancashire Cablevision, McLean Hunter Cablevision, Nynex, Cable & Wireless, NTL and currently Virgin Media.

I had a similar problem with a bank account recently where my account was so old it had to be upgraded on an overnight system before i went back the following day to change some details on it.

sixfoottwo

16-05-2009, 21:27

I want o delee a load of files from V Stuff, which are not neeed.
Still not found how you can do it.

ebulfin

18-05-2009, 14:33

ADMIN EDIT - Please do not post VM employee's direct contact details unless they themselves contact Cable Forum to give their expressed permission.

Drintoul, thanks for that, it seems I did have a numbered account set up at some point in one of the takeovers, it comes out a little like this (letters and numbers changed for security of account) eb112r5817. I checked that one out as well on the day I had the telephone call to Customer Services, that guy didn't know what the number was or where it came from but we tried it anyway. I guess that was a problem from before Virgin Media took it over, so can't hold them responsible for not knowing what it is.
Regards
Eddie

chamelion

18-05-2009, 18:56

to delete files, just go to clean backup, you can remove everything.

features that'd be nice:
- backup NOW, i.e. manual backup
- changing backup schedule time. how stupid can you get that you can't set the back schedule time after the initial set up?

the client software needs heaps more work, right now it's a shell for a piece of sh**.

ebulfin

19-05-2009, 12:06

Well, went to the top man and he tried changing my user ID, changing my password and that didn't work (I had tried all that before, but he had to prove it to himself). Then he issued my log in details to a techy in Swansea, who logged into my account straight away.

I think the problem here is communication as the techy 'logged into my account'. Well; I can log into my account online, I just can't log into V-stuff freestanding software on my PC and laptop. Tried again with the laptop (a whole new connection with new IP address), running Windows XP and still no go. VM are sending a technician out on the 29th to sort this mess out.

I noticed here that others are having similar log on problems and that it seems it could be an issue with locality. I am going away to London for a week (just my luck the first week away for years and that was the week VM techy was going to come in) and will try from a wireless connection on the laptop from there.

I'll let you all know how this pans out.
Regards
Eddie

ebulfin

19-05-2009, 14:19

Just a thought, could this problem with some logging in annd others not be related to the small link on the VM dashboard page at https://my.virginmedia.com/dashboard/start
which says:
V-Stuff
The easiest way to backup, store and print photos online.

V Stuff usage temporarily unavailable

Go to your files

Clicking on the link to go to your files gets the message: Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage. Followed by:
This problem can be caused by a variety of issues, including:

Internet connectivity has been lost.
The website is temporarily unavailable.
The Domain Name Server (DNS) is not reachable.
The Domain Name Server (DNS) does not have a listing for the website's domain.
There might be a typing error in the address.
If this is an HTTPS (secure) address, click Tools, click Internet Options, click Advanced, and check to be sure the SSL and TLS protocols are enabled under the security section.

So perhaps the service is not working after all, but is restricted to only work on some servers making it a regional problem (on local servers) that nobody has noticed. I am not that technical when it comes to servers and relays around the country, but if we were talking radio or TV signals if a local transmitter is failing then nobody looking at the main transmitters can see a problem. Perhaps a techy here could explain if this is just a stupid thought, but it could be something along the same lines

Regards
Eddie

hansi

19-05-2009, 16:37

I just got VStuff and it got as far as scanning for the initial backup to 1.5 gig out of 5gb and it's stuck on that. Think I'm going to dump it.

---------- Post added at 16:37 ---------- Previous post was at 16:21 ----------

to delete files, just go to clean backup, you can remove everything.

features that'd be nice:
- backup NOW, i.e. manual backup
- changing backup schedule time. how stupid can you get that you can't set the back schedule time after the initial set up?

the client software needs heaps more work, right now it's a shell for a piece of sh**.

Also, it told me it needed three days!! to back up my files and to leave my computer on overnight. I cancelled it all. I do a back up to an external hard drive, so I'm not too worried. I think this software ned a lot more tinkering!

sixfoottwo

20-05-2009, 15:53

Where is clean back up?

Joxer

20-05-2009, 16:12

It's on the advanced tab of the VStuff application.

sixfoottwo

20-05-2009, 19:11

Thanks

paintguy

24-05-2009, 09:25

VM are sending a technician out on the 29th to sort this mess out.
Please let us know how you get on Eddie, as I'm having the same problem. I simply can't log into the software on my PC despite trying every email address and password that I've ever had, right back to the random alpha numeric one I was given by Telewest :(

As you point out, the Vstuff area on MyVM is showing as unavailable too.

I must admit, apart from having a handy place to store some of my most important files (the more backups in different forms the better ;)) my main reason for using VStuff is to take advantage of the 50 free photo prints per month. I hope VM will back date this figure and let me have the free prints I should have been able to take advantage of whilst their software wasn't working (although I very much doubt that they will!).

Andy.

ebulfin

29-05-2009, 19:33

Andy,I am glad you can't log on I was beginning to think it had to be me. Today the engineer promised by VM's CEO turned up. He was able to check my cable connection, check that there was a signal in the cable, then check my TV worked and the phone worked. Then he managed to agree that the modem was working and I had connection to the Internet.

I knew all that. He then gave me a phone number to ring so that the software engineer could help me while online. I had already made VM very aware that although quite literate with typing, my speech was terrible and my following simple verbal instructions on the phone are poor following a series of strokes leaving me with brain damage. Oh well at least their CEO was going to contact me later today to see how the engineer got on .....NOT, he didn't mail me and when I sent him a mail (around lunchtime) I got an autoresponder telling me he was out of the office until Monday.

I know what you nean about the free photos, that is all I wanted from this pile of junk, but as the offer was started in April I have already lost those and as May ends over the weekend I will have lost May's free prints. I just hope that the CEO has some power to give away something to make me feel a little better towards VM. This was the first time I had any free offers from them and it has been a nightmare getting the junk up and running.

I did tell the CEO to come onto some of the cable forums (hope he finds this one) to see just how many others can't get it to work and how bad a name VM are getting due to their ineptitude.

Warm regards to all VM staff on here I am sure most of you are very nice people.
Eddie

---------- Post added at 19:33 ---------- Previous post was at 19:29 ----------

There is still the official line being used that there is no problem with V-stuff. Take a look at the Q&A page or the service Status page there is nothing to say they know V-stuff does not work.

Please let us know how you get on Eddie, as I'm having the same problem. I simply can't log into the software on my PC despite trying every email address and password that I've ever had, right back to the random alpha numeric one I was given by Telewest :(

As you point out, the Vstuff area on MyVM is showing as unavailable too.

I must admit, apart from having a handy place to store some of my most important files (the more backups in different forms the better ;)) my main reason for using VStuff is to take advantage of the 50 free photo prints per month. I hope VM will back date this figure and let me have the free prints I should have been able to take advantage of whilst their software wasn't working (although I very much doubt that they will!).

Andy.

Joxer

29-05-2009, 19:40

I must say that there haven't been a large number of calls about this that I have noticed - and none that I have received I haven't been able to resolve there and then.

paintguy

29-05-2009, 19:49

Thanks for replying Eddie, even though it wasn't quite the answer I was hoping for.

Joxer - any ideas what the problem might be? :)

ebulfin

29-05-2009, 20:08

Brilliant, then perhaps you could give me some pointers on what to try next. (hold on, I have to ask first if you are in the Uk or India and didyou ring off last week with a promise to ring back the same day, as I am still waiting for that call).
Any way here goes:
I have tried dual operating systems using Windows 7 or Windows Vista with no firewall, no Windows Defender and no virus checks. I have also tried on a laptop using Windows XP and still it won't log in.

I tried new passwords, the operator who rang off tried new passwords, new User IDs and more new passwords and still it would not log in. The CEO then checked my ID and gave me another new password, then he tried to to give me another new ID and password. Still won't log in

I have tried all previous answers here and still no go. What do I do next?

Most people who ring in have simple stupidity to blame, they used the wrong ID or password or worse still were trying to log in on the VM dashboard and don't understand why they were not getting V-Stuff. But I have all the right ID's and passwords as checked by VM help desk and VM CEO, so where next?

Help me to resolve this there and then like you have the others who rang you. What do I try next. As you may notice from my mails I am getting more exasperated each day, and just want a service offered, advertised and made out to be great (in the mails supposed to be from Richard Branson), to just work.
regards
Eddie

I must say that there haven't been a large number of calls about this that I have noticed - and none that I have received I haven't been able to resolve there and then.

Joxer

29-05-2009, 21:55

All I can say here is what I would do.

Check you are using the correct email address.
Reset the password.
Check you can log in elswhere,ie selfcare, webmail and my virginmedia.
- at this point we would get the error

Information

Error
It has not been possible to retrieve your email subscription details.

Please contact Virgin Media for further assistance. Click on 'Contact us' above for our contact details.
So I would check the address you where using for selfcare (there us more than one) - if correct I would attempt to log in myself - if I get the same error I would call second line.

If I could log in we could try clearing cache cookies etc. Most likely this is the incorrect address, iirc that is the error you get when using the wrong one - did you use the link I gave?

If we both can log into selfcare eventually then I get stuck as I don't have vstuff installed and can''t install it at work so I would try and get it installed so we can troubleshoot issues like this by escalating using the appropriate process.

I would then call 2nd line and see if they have it installed (I don't know as have never had need to ask).
If 2nd line can replicate it in either case they will escalate it to IT for resolution.

Moldova mentioned calling after 8:00 am Monday to Friday - I am in at eight all weekend.

ebulfin

29-05-2009, 23:32

Yup, you followed all the rules, and still you didn't read the message. I can't use a phone.

If you do work for VM, then you suffer from the same disease they all suffer from! nobody reads what the customer tells them.

I, the customer services chap, the engineer and the CEO all did exactly what you suggested and none of them could log into any of the possible mail addresses, so why should it work today just because you say it will. It won't, it doesn't and I have tried it about twenty times today with all three E-mail addresses and changed the password a dozen times.

Please do not be like all the others and learn to read what has been written.

Sorry to sound rude, but you justsuggested all that has been tried and all that I had already written had been tried by me and others.

Nice try though at least you suggested what was tried last week (and the week before and probably a few days before that.

Thanks for trying
Eddie

All I can say here is what I would do.

Check you are using the correct email address.
Reset the password.
Check you can log in elswhere,ie selfcare, webmail and my virginmedia.
- at this point we would get the error

So I would check the address you where using for selfcare (there us more than one) - if correct I would attempt to log in myself - if I get the same error I would call second line.

If I could log in we could try clearing cache cookies etc. Most likely this is the incorrect address, iirc that is the error you get when using the wrong one - did you use the link I gave?

If we both can log into selfcare eventually then I get stuck as I don't have vstuff installed and can''t install it at work so I would try and get it installed so we can troubleshoot issues like this by escalating using the appropriate process.

I would then call 2nd line and see if they have it installed (I don't know as have never had need to ask).
If 2nd line can replicate it in either case they will escalate it to IT for resolution.

Moldova mentioned calling after 8:00 am Monday to Friday - I am in at eight all weekend.

Joxer

30-05-2009, 00:37

At no point have you mentioned it being escalated to 2nd line or anyone trying it from their end - if you trust me you could PM me your email and password but I can only access that from home and not from work which gives me a problem. All you have said is you did what you where told to do - there is not enough information to diagnose the problem - though obviously you would not want to post that here. You did not even reply to my question so how you expect me to help without merely a yes or no to a simple question I do not know

If you are unable to use a phone I would suggest getting someone to call on your behalf or using the newsgroups.

http://www.virginmedia.com/help/cable/newsgroups/setting-up-outlook-express-exntl.php

The group you need is virginmedia.support.broadband.cable

ebulfin

30-05-2009, 09:30

Thanks for this mail, I can see that you are really trying and want to help, which is commendable.

To raise this to the second level has to be done on the phone, and the web mailer form just receives an autoresponder then a message from a real person who just tells me to try all the things I set out in the mail and then when they get a reply that I have done those and still cannot log on they tell me to phone 150.

Right get someone else to phone. Great idea, but that still requires me to follow the simple instructions relayed between VM and the caller, which means I have to follow the simple verbal instructions, which after my second and largest stroke is very difficult as I have to keep asking what it was that I had to do, and if I don't find the menu or control panel section straight away I forget what I am doing and even what I am looking for. This becomes very aggrevating (I get very annoyed at myself for being so stupid which, in turn, makes me even more aggitated). I know this is difficult to understand by anyone who has not had a stroke or know anyone who has, but not being able to express myself verbally and not remembering what I was doing is terrible. This is why I use E-mails as I can print out the instructions, take all evening to follow them to the letter and get it right.

I just sent a PM, thanks again for this help.
Eddie

At no point have you mentioned it being escalated to 2nd line or anyone trying it from their end - if you trust me you could PM me your email and password but I can only access that from home and not from work which gives me a problem. All you have said is you did what you where told to do - there is not enough information to diagnose the problem - though obviously you would not want to post that here. You did not even reply to my question so how you expect me to help without merely a yes or no to a simple question I do not know

If you are unable to use a phone I would suggest getting someone to call on your behalf or using the newsgroups.

http://www.virginmedia.com/help/cable/newsgroups/setting-up-outlook-express-exntl.php

The group you need is virginmedia.support.broadband.cable

esdxc37

30-05-2009, 11:52

check your private messages

ebulfin

30-05-2009, 13:31

Joxer has offered to try to sort this out over the weekend (in his own leisure time) for me. If he does not find a fix by Monday I will accept your kind offer.

Joxer

31-05-2009, 00:07

It seems you may have this sorted, glad you have if this is so.

ebulfin

31-05-2009, 09:27

I was offered help on this, but as you were going to try, I asked if we could leave that help for a while. As it turned out my problem was misunderstood by esdxc37 and he just got fixated on logging into my dashboard, even though I explained it in about seven different ways that it was not the dashboard (I can log into that, I can log into my mails and my account details) but that it was the standalone software. His final message actually said "What do you mean software". Supposedly a VM employee yet doesn't even know VM has a piece of software, even though I sent a link to the actual download page. About the same level of help as the Customer Service advisors I had try to help before.

In answer to having it sorted, I am into the third week of trying to explain it does not work for some users and it appears to be that the whole service is intermittent (although I try at least once every hour to log in), with some areas being able to access it all day and others never having access. In my opinion it might be due to the individual servers those who cannot log in are being served by, as it is a php log in which could be affected by individual servers not being (lost the word, but I mean set up to run php - bloody strokes I will probably remember the word tonight some time) correctly.

At least you have tried and got the service unavailable part that I have had. I guess Linux running an emulator might be one way to get it running, but as I used windows (used Amstrad windows based operating systems long before Microsoft copyrighted the idea) based software I would probably have difficulty learning how to install and use it (strokes have hit my cognitive function and I find it difficult to fully understand new information).

Thanks for trying, I really appreciate it.

It seems you may have this sorted, glad you have if this is so.

Joxer

31-05-2009, 21:14

Yup, it is borked. Your VStuff doesn't appear to exist.

AndiTails

01-06-2009, 16:55

Hi,

I (luckily it would seem) didn't have a problem getting V-Stuff setup and working.
However, since upgrading from 20meg to 50meg, V-Stuff Backup still says I only have 10gb of space available, whereas on 50meg it should 'unlimited' (within fair usage).
I've tried logging it out and in again.
Since it's working, I don't really want to uninstall and reinstall, as the 8.2gb it uploaded did take a while..!

Is there something that needs a kick at HQ in order to see my correct quota, or is it the software caching the details and therefore not updating?

Thanks to any VM techs reading this who could help!
As its not exactly serious, I didn't think it warranted a call to 150, as I didn't want to go through changing passwords etc when I'm sure that's not the issue.

Zanny

01-06-2009, 18:08

trying for first time today, quick observations.

OMG its so slow it took forever to upload 92 meg and nearly 6 hrs later it still hasnt generated thumbnails for all the photos.

Once you can even see a thumbnail of the pic it takes forever to select the ones you want, click 1 wait 40 secs click another wait 40 secs etc etc.

Good idea but at the moment terrible execution.

EDIT:- Its literally taking all afternoon to select 50 prints sometimes the page freezes completely and i got to hit reload, thankfully it seems to remember the selections.

rezb0

02-06-2009, 14:22

Hiya,

Took a look on here since my V stuff login problems have been escalated and still no reply after 2 days. Just the usual one where it tells me have the wrong userrname / password.. which i don't. This was verified by the guy who then escalated it.

I live just outside Hemel Hempstead.

Hope they find the problem, cos this tool sounds good.

Are there any other auto back up programs that are comparable and have less issues?

Thanks

/Andy

Peter_

02-06-2009, 14:29

Virginmedia help pages for V Stuff
http://www.virginmedia.com/help/vstuff/cable/ (http://www.virginmedia.com/help/vstuff/cable/)

ebulfin

03-06-2009, 16:34

Help pages! This just about says it all VM did not even know what software we were all talking about, the CEO had never heard of any problems and neither had one of his senior Technical advisors. It has now been passes from Ben Husdan on to John Powell, who tells me the Database Engineers admit to there being a problem for around nine days, he was genuinely shocked when I reminded him that my first contact and complaints of the service not woking was over two months ago (9 weeks not 9 days). Looks like an outright lie to protect someones ass.

As for sending links to a Q&A page or Troubleshooting page, you should have checked there first to see if the problem was admitted and a fix listed. As the problem was not being recognised by VM there was no fix in the Q&A page, nor in the STATUS page or the maintenance pages nor did the call centres know of any problems. Links to help pages are fine for customer stupidity problems, but not for real technical faults that VM will not admit to.

John Powell has now told me this 'might' be fixed in 2 days, but that is only what he (as a boss) has been told by a middle manager, who has been told that by a manager who got the estimate of a week from the Database engineers, but doesn't want to sound as if they can't do their job. At least with the men at the top asking questions those responsible for the awful software and php glitches will have to put it right .... At last.

Virginmedia help pages for V Stuff
http://www.virginmedia.com/help/vstuff/cable/ (http://www.virginmedia.com/help/vstuff/cable/)

---------- Post added at 16:34 ---------- Previous post was at 16:29 ----------

I suppose my last mail should have just been:

And?

Don't boast about working for VM, it is like saying I was the Finance Executive for General Motors, and we all know how bad a financial state they are in.

Virginmedia help pages for V Stuff
http://www.virginmedia.com/help/vstuff/cable/ (http://www.virginmedia.com/help/vstuff/cable/)

Peter_

03-06-2009, 19:54

I suppose my last mail should have just been:

And?

Don't boast about working for VM, it is like saying I was the Finance Executive for General Motors, and we all know how bad a financial state they are in.
I post a link to the V Stuff help pages and you react like that:D

I am not boasting about who I work for just letting people know that I can help by stating my job in my signature as I provide help and advice on here of my own volition, if you do not want help then do not ask for it.;)

ebulfin

05-06-2009, 10:22

Hooray VM finally have a light at the end of the tunnel This is from Benjamin Husdan:

Hi Eddie,

We have found the fault, Im just waiting for the IT guys to come back to
myself and John to confirm this has been resolved.

Im out of the office until 4pm today, but will come back to you when I
return with any relevant updates.

Kind Regards

Ben

I notice this is still not on the V Stuff help pages so kindly referred to before as being worthless, nor os there any mention of it on the Status page or the troubleshooting page. A 'known' problem , being worked on and still not showing up for others with problems to know it is not them, not their machines or their firewalls.

That is why I reacted to the adding of a link to a worthless page.

ebulfin

05-06-2009, 17:20

Well they told me they would have it fixed by 4:0pm, and it was not too long after that an E-mail arrived asking me to try to log in to both the online version and the software version. I can get into both now, so anyone else who has not been able to log in should now trt. I hope you are able to get in. Now all that remains is to see if it works as poorly as some have said.

Regards
Eddie

paintguy

05-06-2009, 18:12

I uninstalled the software last night as it happens, as I could see no resolution to this problem.

Just reinstalled and I still can't log in, so it seems they haven't cured the problem for everyone :(

ebulfin

05-06-2009, 18:29

That's a bummer, and they've gone home for the weekend now. I hope you get it to work soon, the free prints are worth using.

ro53ben

05-06-2009, 18:55

How much does the postage and packing work out to? Online places like photobox do great deals including free prints for regular customers and I wondered how it compared.

vstuff doesn't work for me as all my photos are stored on an external drive.

ebulfin

05-06-2009, 19:03

I'll let you know when I send off for them.

BRIANANNIE

09-06-2009, 14:20

I've just tried to instal V stuff as Mr Branson says it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. It was horribly complicated to install and understand the instructions. The installation ran for about an hour and then my cumputer crashed. Microsoft reckon I've had a 'blue screen failure' whateverf that is. I've tried to open V stuff from the shortcut icon and it defies all attempts to open it. Personally I thin Mr Branson should V stuff his product up his ????????

ebulfin

09-06-2009, 14:38

BRIANANNIE
I think this product was far from ready to launch, and is still 'Flakey' to say the least. It finally works for me, but at 5 gig it is only really good for saving one year of my E-mails on it. I haven't sent off for any free photos yet, but do intend to use that online service (Free but will cost for the P&P), and will let everyone know how that goes.

ro53ben

09-06-2009, 16:52

5GB of email a year? wtf?

ebulfin

10-06-2009, 00:08

7.25 GB at present, but I only protect the important ones.

I help out with advice and research material for a self help group whose members have an incurable, little known, debilitating and often fatal disease, and run a survey of patients which needs the use of study forms returned as an e-mail. A lot of E-mails.

graf_von_anonym

10-06-2009, 00:46

ebulfin, two quick questions:

1 - While VStuff is [redacted], I would also recommend backing up your emails offnet if you don't already.

2 - Did you move from one Virgin (or ntl or Telewest) area to another at any point, and have your email details moved to your new account?

ebulfin

10-06-2009, 08:51

Hi, thanks for the concern over my mails, in answer to 1. Yes I did move over from Telewest to Virgin and my e-mails are all removed from the servers on download to my PC as I prefer outlook or more recently Thunderbird to control, file and recover mail. This way I have them on my hard drive, which is now a separate drive dedicated to saving my mails only. I also back them up onto an external drive as well, and then use my online web space to store a copy. Vstuff will replace, or duplicate (I am not sure which yet) the copy in my web space as I need every byte of that for my web site and survey reports.

As you can see this is a'belt and braces' form of storage as I have had two hard drives fail beyond recovery over the years and losing mails that can be used to prove my survey results as being a true and accurate record I need to make sure they are safe and recoverable.

Vstuff is still working for me, I have managed to use it quite easily, which is a real bonus as an advert for the service as I have had a series of strokes and hundreds of mini-strokes over the years and it has effected my brain with learning and memory being hit most. If I can understand and use it, then it must be easy to use. LOL

I hope it is still working for all who have posted here and those who had use problems have persevered with it as for a free service it has to be a good deal.

Joxer

10-06-2009, 23:35

Glad you got it finally working.

graf_von_anonym

11-06-2009, 20:07

There seems to be an issue with email accounts set up after a house move and VStuff failing to work. I think it's got something to do with the way email information gets pulled from one part of the system to another. I will lay the blame on the arcane way Vm's systems seem to have grown up over the years.

roughbeast

14-06-2009, 09:20

I have a few questions about v stuff too.

Why, sometimes, does it refuse to respond to 'show' from the desktop tool bar? I end up reinstalling every time this happens.

Why does it persist in uploading the whole of my second internal hard drive when I only ticked a limited number of directories?

Why has v stuff been able to upload files from one of my usb external hard drives when everyone says it isn't supposed to do that? No I haven't confused my hard drives. lol

Why is v stuff so naff?!! I have done a complete reinstall 3 times now, completely refreshing local config.

When is the next, bug-free, version being released?

dukeofearl

14-06-2009, 13:21

I agree with the previous poster.

My vstuff insists on backing up my new external g: drive even though there are no options in the settings to select files on external drives.

It really is a very poorly written piece of software. It runs so slowly too...

jamiefrost

14-06-2009, 17:33

Have I used up all of my allocated space? :D

Such a great program :rolleyes:, I know I take a lot of pictures with my digital camera but this is ridiculous.

JJ

casino888

22-06-2009, 23:24

V stuff is appaling,how can anyone defend it?I used to get better results 10 years ago with dialup ,an AMD 500 processor and 64 meg of ram,it took days to do back up and still it does not respond in any timescale not measured in hours or days,it really is the most crass piece of software I have ever come across,what are Virgin thinking of ?
You have to wonder that whoever wrote it,were they realeased back into the community or did they escape ?

AndyCambs

23-06-2009, 09:08

WelshPaul

23-06-2009, 10:07

I can't use mine, everytime i click on a link it takes like a min or so to load.

I'm not even joking, it would take weeks or months just to upload my pictures!

chamelion

23-06-2009, 23:32

mine took about 8 days to upload about 6gb. i havne't even been able to log on for the past few days, website or via the backup software which absolutely sucks.

they really shoudln't even bring out software like this if it hasn't gone through any user experience testing whatsoever. or if it has, obviously has absolutely no quality control.

roughbeast

28-06-2009, 22:07

I am giving up on V Stuff. I have just reinstalled it for the 8th. time. It never runs properly for more than a couple of days before it asks me for my login details. This it rejects repeatedly before finally accepting them. It then tells me I have completed 2 back ups. Do I want to restore or delete them or start a new back up it asks. Well neither actually I just want it to complete the original backups. Unfortunately when it gets to this point it won't let me proceed until I delete a back up and reinstate it.

Today I am deleting the software until they come out with a properly tested version.

hansi

29-06-2009, 05:29

I uninstalled mine the day after I installed it. Total rubbish!

ebulfin

17-07-2009, 16:07

Well; got it going, been using it for a few weeks and had 25 free photos. These are good quality prints with some minor corrections for poor quality images. I am very happy with the service for quality , but (I bet you were all waiting for the BUT) the logging in, uploading and viewing of your storage files takes forever. Today I left my PC loading the 'Viewing' page while I had my lunch, still not loaded an hour later when the browser finally timed out.

Still not a good service and one that needs to be looked at from scratch. I am supposed to have a 10 Gb service so it should not be a problem loading a page from the Internet, but one hour seems a little ridiculous.

I guess it is a case of the people at the top of the tree (in Virginmedia) not getting accurate feedback and honest answers when they ask (the staff) if the service is working, as nobody will admit there is a problem in case thay are found to be part of the problem. That is only human nature I suppose, stick your head in the sand and not get involved in problems.

caph

18-07-2009, 22:50

I installed mine a couple of months ago and told it to back up one folder with about 3Gb of photos. It runs every time I switch on my PC and always shows "Upload in Progress" with "Real Time Backup Active" but it has never got past backing up 680Mb.

I tried to upload a large file (circa 600Mb) to my storage space three times. Each time it said it had uploaded and each time there was nothing there.

I've tried to use the web interface to check my files several times and every time it has been unusably slow with me having to wait for minutes after each click.

This is truly train-wreck software. I gave it a go because I had nothing to lose but in my opinion it is unstable beta code that is not yet ready for release. If it ever makes into release code I'll give it another try. It's a good idea in principle.

ebulfin

18-07-2009, 23:09

As you say "A good idea in principle", shame nobody at the top of VM has any idea that it is actually causing the train wreck (I loved that description, thanks). Perhaps they will take my advice and look at some of the forums where there are real problems being discussed. I did send the CEO the url's for some of them, but I doubt they will ever do any more than raise a memo to someone lower down the food chain to get them to 'report' on the issue.

Regards
Eddie

This is truly train-wreck software. I gave it a go because I had nothing to lose but in my opinion it is unstable beta code that is not yet ready for release. If it ever makes into release code I'll give it another try. It's a good idea in principle.

Lee0

06-08-2009, 19:27

hansi

06-08-2009, 19:35

Don't worry about it. It's rubbish anyway!

roughbeast

08-08-2009, 10:50

Hi Guys,
Tried using V Stuff today only to get the following message: “You’ve entered an invalid user name or password”
I think that this is probably due to the following message that I see when I log into my virgin media self care help: “V Stuff usage temporarily unavailable”

It has been saying this for over a week now.

Shame I was looking forward to using this service:(

Don't get me on to this. :rolleyes:

Virgin have a cheek pimping this product as part of their main paid-for package when it clearly doesn't work for many. Their apology of a few week's ago just doesn't wash if there are still problems today.

They should tell the French outfit who are handling vstuff to sort it out now or lose the contract. Also remind them of Waterloo.

I eventually overcame logging on problems by reinstalling a few times from scratch and then picking up my backup from there. Unfortunately it continues to upload my external hard drive files when it isn't even supposed to pick those up. It certainly didn't ask me if I wanted to upload them.

Basically vstuff is rubbish and is a blot on dear Richard's reputation.

Bigbadbod

15-08-2009, 12:04

Just to jump in about this problem. Finally decided to claim the free 25 pics a month yesterday.
Reluctantly installed VStuff, (hate installing/using stupid bloatware filled GUIs)
Logged in, seemed fine
Choose my Favourites and Pictures folder to backup
Took 44 seconds to upload 1 Internet Shortcut (size 104bytes!!) :shocked:
I am on the upto 10mb connection.
Whilst I got bored I looked around and saw a logfile, checked it and out of 100 IE shortcuts and 25 Pictures it had skipped almost all of them apart from 5 of the shortcuts, no reason given.
I was able to login to Snapfish through Virgin Media, uploaded the pictures, (took about a minute) and ordered them.
Today, I can't login to the app or snapfish, only to get the following message: “You’ve entered an invalid user name or password”. I can login to the online account for email, but I get the details not available for the backup...
So basically its borked!!!!!!

---------- Post added at 11:04 ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 ----------

Now this is freaky, after finishing the last post I gave it one more go. It worked............:confused:
I have spent an hour this morning trying it with no success, now the app allowed me to login, the online snapfish account worked. This is one weird problem.

robbert69

28-12-2009, 02:01

try msn free 25 gig to there users... yes v stuff also slow but did kinda a work 4 me but i back my files up on a hard drive and if i need me files somewhere ells i just upload to msn which i think a bit faster plus remember u get free 25 gigs :) 1 down side you got to do it by hand not like v stuff that auto updates your files 4 you when it works

Welshchris

28-12-2009, 02:16

i find a lot of these online storage things unreliable, slow and i worry about security.

Just invest in an external hard disk, maybe more expensive but atleast its quick, easy, reliable.

roughbeast

28-12-2009, 09:34

Already invested in external network drives (2TB) which I keep in my roof space. I keep my massive music collection there.

I thought I would go for a belt and braces approach. You never know your house may burn down. ;) V stuff doesn't even detect your network drives even though they are part of MyComputer! A few months ago I couldn't stop it uploading USB HDD data. How crappy can software be? They have had virtually a year to iron out problems and improve it.

I give up.

chrispy2000

03-01-2010, 11:29

I was thinking of giving this Vstuff another try to see if it had got any better, looks like it as not.
Can’t even get to the web page for errors and they want us to trust them to store our pictures don’t give much confidence does it?

Sephiroth

04-01-2010, 15:11

If the broadband that you pay for from VM doesn't work well then don't expect the so called freebies to be of any value whatsoever! VStuff/PCGuard). :shrug:

roughbeast

05-01-2010, 17:22

If the broadband that you pay for from VM doesn't work well then don't expect the so called freebies to be of any value whatsoever! VStuff/PCGuard). :shrug:

I gave up on PCGuard some time ago. It takes up too many resources and lets some real nasties through. It took an installation of SpyHunter to clear an infection out of my boot file.

What other VM freebies are pretty well useless? eg. free track downloads?

christianK

08-01-2010, 13:49

I am glad I have read this forum.

I was about to format my HDD but just realized now that there is nothing wrong with it.

It is f***"" V Staff is making it crash.

Uninstalled V Stuff and now giving Idrive 2GB a go and see what happens.

cheers felas

philwhite100

09-01-2010, 20:39

Is V Stuff compatible for use with Vista 64bit yet as this is the operating system i use.

chrispy2000

09-01-2010, 21:35

I don't think it compatible with anything.

caph

10-01-2010, 13:08

Is V Stuff compatible for use with Vista 64bit yet as this is the operating system i use.

I wouldn't bother with VStuff.

Have a look at Carbonite if you want cheap unlimited backup (about £2.80/month) or JungleDisk if you don't need to go for unlimited. They are both very good and more importantly, they work.

Sephiroth

10-01-2010, 13:47

caph

10-01-2010, 22:04

:gpoint:Why would anyone want to use online backup?

1. Someone else has got your data
2. Upload speeds are slow
3. You could have a cheap USB external hard drive or a LAN drive
4. You may not always be online when you need to recover your stuff

HTH

1. That's the whole point. Off-site backup for disaster recovery when your stuff gets nicked or damaged in a fire etc.

2. Only for the first hit then it's all incremental and some of them now offer de-duplication too. Unless you are working with video editing software a lot then it's not really an issue.

3. USB hard drives apply more to desktops than laptops. I've got a Western Digital Passport drive but I still have to fish it out of the cupboard, connect it up to my laptop and run the backup software and to be honest it's a hassle I can do without. Plus I forget anyway! Network drives however are a good alternative but not much use when the burglar nicks it along with your PC!

4. True, but I'd say I'm getting 99.x uptime at the moment so it's not that big a deal.

Don't forget there's also extra benefits like being able to access your data from any PC with internet access anywhere in the world at any time.

Plus some of them now allow you to synchronise data between multiple PCs silently in the background. Great for keeping your music collection synced to several laptops or even your home and work PCs.

Anyway, food for thought...