steepit wrote:

> ...The [downloading comet data] problem disappeared just as mysteriously
> as it appeared. I can now download the files on either computer. I am
> wondering if there was a problem with the source file which was later corrected.

Could be. I've _assumed_ some other problem, but perhaps I shouldn't
have leapt to that assumption.

If anyone happens to see this problem again, could I ask that you
please send the files 'comets.dat' and 'soft02cm.txt' from your Guide
folder? The former is Guide's accumulated comet data. The latter is
the file downloaded from MPC. If 'soft02cm.txt' contained some really
weird data, it could conceivably cause crashes to occur.

(The issue here is that MPC doesn't provide a "complete" comet
dataset, only a "currently observable" comet dataset. Which means that
a lot of comets that may have been quite bright a year ago, but which
are no longer visible, simply don't appear in the MPC list. Guide
attempts to "fix" this by treating the MPC comet data as an update to
'comets.dat'. But it's possible that the merger is not going correctly.
Seeing both files might let me re-create the issue. Or possibly not...
but it would be good to check.)

-- Bill