Modelling Quality "n/a" (already have read the FAQ)

[triatlas]

Hello,

I am running Tickstory in Windows + Parallels for Mac and MT4 (portable) from an external SSD.
But shouldn't matter, it is like a "normal" and closed windows environment nevertheless.

1) Regenerated the export.
2) Checked for the files (.hst and .fxt) being marked as read-only -> OK
3) Configured Test for [DAX30] and Timeframe M30.
4) After clicking on "Start Testing" gives a message "Collecting M1" (after that nothing more)

Having a look at the timestamps, I see that [DAX30]1.hst and [DAX30]30.hst have been modified when running the test, despite the fact they are marked as readonly and that I have launched MT4 via Tickstory.

The .fxt files have been modified:

My MT4 displays this title meanwhile:

Regards

[tickstory]

Hi - thanks for the further information.
Can you please clarify you are checking for the "read-only" flag in File Explorer? i.e. In Windows File Explorer, right-click an FXT data file and select 'Properties' and note the 'read-only' property. If it's not checked, then please regenerate your files again and set the read-only manually on all the FXT files. The idea is to prevent MT4 from overwriting the FXT files as this appears to be the problem.

Thanks.

[triatlas]

Yes, I confirm that I marked all the files as read-only via file explorer, to be sure that they are marked.
I also think the overwriting is the problem. But marking the files as read-only doesn't prevent MT4 from doing that.
What can we do?

[tickstory]

That's very odd if MT4 is managing to overwrite the read-only files. Haven't seen this before. Are you able to test your portable installation on a local drive to see if this makes any difference? Also make sure that you are not running MT4 with administrator permissions. If you have a "pure" Windows machine, this would also help rule out anything with the Parallels installation, although I do agree with you that this in theory shouldn't make a difference. I assume you're on Windows 10 with MT4 Build 950?

[triatlas]

Unfortunately I do not have a pure Windows PC.
Yes, I am using MT4 Build 950.
The problem is that I am running out of space on my mac when I download the tickdata, so I would like to use the MT4 portable on the external drive.
But this should be possible, shouldn't it?

Anyway, Using the Non-Portable-Version on my internal SSD does not overwrite the files and I get the "good" modeling qulity.

Can you check if there is a possible solution for running MT4 portable on an external drive? I think there are many other traders who do that.

Regards

[tickstory]

Hi Triatlas,

Glad we've pinned the problem down. The situation seems a little tricky if the read-only flag is being ignored on the files. We have tested with external drives, but obviously there can be some variables when other O/Ses are involved. How is the drive formatted? In NTFS or a Mac Filesystem? Perhaps there's some extra O/S settings that will enforce the read-only permission.

Thanks.

[triatlas]

It is Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

[tickstory]

Perhaps you have a Windows formatted external drive or USB key you can try? Googling the issue seems to yield lots of mentions of read-only issues under Mac formatted drives:

https://www.google.com/#q=external+hard ... ot+working

The only recommendation we have at the moment is try to base-line to a Windows configuration where possible and see if that resolves the issue.

[triatlas]

I assigned some more resources to my virtual HD for the first, so that I can start backtesting my EAs.
Perhaps I will try a windows formatted external drive later (and let you know the results of course).

Thank you for the quick support, have a good day.

PS: Just one last thing: The .hst files need to be read-only, too? Tickstory just sets read-only to the .fxt files.

[tickstory]

Hi Triatlas,

Appreciate keeping us up-to-date with the issue. We'll investigate if there's some way to avert the issue on the Tickstory side, if possible.
Regarding HST files, Tickstory does not make them read-only. MT4 will potentially overwrite (or append) to this information if your terminal is online (as it attempts to backfill historical data). You can make the files read-only if you are having any issues with this.

Have a great day as well and good to hear you're up-and-running.