freestyler105
Golden Master
- Messages
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Um...this is on the edge of the rules. Don't know if I should post in here, but here's a complete guide to using Bittorrent. It has legal uses though, so I guess the VCR lawsuit applies 
http://dessent.net/btfaq/
I'm a pretty hardcore torrent-er, and I use the utorrent client (basically the download program). Some good torrent sites are:
www.mininova.org
www.isohunt.com
www.thepiratebay.org
There's more, but those are my favorites. Mininova is very high quality, you probably won't get a virus from them like you could with pirate bay. IsoHunt searches many different torrent sites. If you are trying to get a hard to find file, this is your best bet.
Just use common sense and you won't get a virus. Here's some simple things to check:
- File Size. This is a biggie. If it says it's a movie, but it's only 2 Megabytes, there's something wrong
- Comments. Most Torrent sites use a comment system. A lot of them are polluted with spam, but if it's a good torrent, there should be some good comments about it. Note that this is not always the case, especially with less popular files.
- Number of seeders. If a file has a lot of seeders still, even though it's been out for a while, it's usually good quality. This is not always the case again though. Sometimes there will be BS files.
I don't really need to explain how to use it since I posted that excellent FAQ, but here's a quickly condensed version for those who want to get to the point:
1) Download a client. My favorite is utorrent:
http://www.utorrent.com/
2) Download what's called a .torrent file. This tiny file basically tells the client what to do. Be selective in the torrents you choose though. The more seeders, (uploaders whose download is finished) the faster it will go. Leechers are downloaders, but they also upload at the same time. The thing is, the faster you upload, the faster download you'll get. That's what's great about Bittorrent, you need to give to get, so it thrives. Anyway, download them from the sites I already listed above or others:
www.mininova.org
www.isohunt.com
www.thepiratebay.org
3) Open the .torrent file. If Windows says it can't open the file, run your client (utorrent, etc.) first. It needs to associate the .torrent file with itself. You'll probably get some more questions like where do you want to save downloads to by default, and your internet connection speed so the client can optimize itself for your internet connection.
4) Your download should start. It may ask you where you want to save it. At first, it'll probably be really slow. Check your upload speed. If you're not uploading, then you won't be getting a very good download speed (back to the whole give to receive concept of Bittorrent).
5) If you're download still isn't going very fast after a little bit (under 20 kilobytes per second), check the port forwarding for your router. Ask me if you need help with this, and post your specific router model. If it still isn't going fast, or you don't have a router, make sure you're connected to some seeds and there are enough of them.
Whew. Okay, onto what to do with the files you get. There are multiple formats you get on occasion, but this is the most popular:
Rar format. (Sometimes the files won't be compressed, skip this if they aren't) The files will be like .R01, .R02, .R03, and so on. Basically what the person did was compress the files and split it up into smaller files so there's less to download. To open this, use WinRar or a similar uncompression software. Link to download WinRar:
http://www.download.com/WinRAR/3000-2250-10007677.html
So after you unzipped it, you can get a variety of things depending on what you downloaded:
If it was a video/movie, you'll probably just get the video file and be done with it, if you didn't already just get that already. If the video file doesn't play, PM me and give me a link to the download so I can help. It's a relatively simple fix, but I need some info about the download first.
If it was a game or something, you probably got a .iso or similar disk image file. .iso is the most popular, but there's others, including .bin/.cue and .nrg. Anyway, you're going to need to either burn this to a CD/DVD or make the computer think it's a CD/DVD.
To burn it to a CD/DVD, your burning software will probably support burning most types of image files. Find the disk image or similar option and choose the file.
The other thing you can do (my favorite option since you don't need to use a CD or DVD) is make the computer think you have a CD in it, but you really don't. This is called virtual drive. The best way to do this is Daemon Tools:
http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php?mode=ViewCategory&catid=5
Basically, when it's open, a red thunderbolt icon will appear in your system tray. Right-click it, and hover over Virtual CD/DVD-ROM. Hover over Device 0 (if this isn't there, go to set number of devices and choose 1) and click Mount Image. Browse to the file you want, and it'll appear like it's a CD/DVD drive in My Computer with the CD in it. Autorun will work and everything. If the game works, but you get an error saying the wrong disc is inserted or emulation software is detected, PM me and I'll help you. There's simple ways around it.
If there's any other format, and you can't figure it out, PM me and I'll help you. Alternatively, check this site for info on the file:
http://filext.com/
Very good site.
Well, that was longer than I wanted it to be. Oh well. If there's the request, I'll post pics to go along with it if you guys want. PM me with any questions you have. If you're looking for a particular file, but are having trouble with it or can't find a quality download, PM me as well.
http://dessent.net/btfaq/
I'm a pretty hardcore torrent-er, and I use the utorrent client (basically the download program). Some good torrent sites are:
www.mininova.org
www.isohunt.com
www.thepiratebay.org
There's more, but those are my favorites. Mininova is very high quality, you probably won't get a virus from them like you could with pirate bay. IsoHunt searches many different torrent sites. If you are trying to get a hard to find file, this is your best bet.
Just use common sense and you won't get a virus. Here's some simple things to check:
- File Size. This is a biggie. If it says it's a movie, but it's only 2 Megabytes, there's something wrong
- Comments. Most Torrent sites use a comment system. A lot of them are polluted with spam, but if it's a good torrent, there should be some good comments about it. Note that this is not always the case, especially with less popular files.
- Number of seeders. If a file has a lot of seeders still, even though it's been out for a while, it's usually good quality. This is not always the case again though. Sometimes there will be BS files.
I don't really need to explain how to use it since I posted that excellent FAQ, but here's a quickly condensed version for those who want to get to the point:
1) Download a client. My favorite is utorrent:
http://www.utorrent.com/
2) Download what's called a .torrent file. This tiny file basically tells the client what to do. Be selective in the torrents you choose though. The more seeders, (uploaders whose download is finished) the faster it will go. Leechers are downloaders, but they also upload at the same time. The thing is, the faster you upload, the faster download you'll get. That's what's great about Bittorrent, you need to give to get, so it thrives. Anyway, download them from the sites I already listed above or others:
www.mininova.org
www.isohunt.com
www.thepiratebay.org
3) Open the .torrent file. If Windows says it can't open the file, run your client (utorrent, etc.) first. It needs to associate the .torrent file with itself. You'll probably get some more questions like where do you want to save downloads to by default, and your internet connection speed so the client can optimize itself for your internet connection.
4) Your download should start. It may ask you where you want to save it. At first, it'll probably be really slow. Check your upload speed. If you're not uploading, then you won't be getting a very good download speed (back to the whole give to receive concept of Bittorrent).
5) If you're download still isn't going very fast after a little bit (under 20 kilobytes per second), check the port forwarding for your router. Ask me if you need help with this, and post your specific router model. If it still isn't going fast, or you don't have a router, make sure you're connected to some seeds and there are enough of them.
Whew. Okay, onto what to do with the files you get. There are multiple formats you get on occasion, but this is the most popular:
Rar format. (Sometimes the files won't be compressed, skip this if they aren't) The files will be like .R01, .R02, .R03, and so on. Basically what the person did was compress the files and split it up into smaller files so there's less to download. To open this, use WinRar or a similar uncompression software. Link to download WinRar:
http://www.download.com/WinRAR/3000-2250-10007677.html
So after you unzipped it, you can get a variety of things depending on what you downloaded:
If it was a video/movie, you'll probably just get the video file and be done with it, if you didn't already just get that already. If the video file doesn't play, PM me and give me a link to the download so I can help. It's a relatively simple fix, but I need some info about the download first.
If it was a game or something, you probably got a .iso or similar disk image file. .iso is the most popular, but there's others, including .bin/.cue and .nrg. Anyway, you're going to need to either burn this to a CD/DVD or make the computer think it's a CD/DVD.
To burn it to a CD/DVD, your burning software will probably support burning most types of image files. Find the disk image or similar option and choose the file.
The other thing you can do (my favorite option since you don't need to use a CD or DVD) is make the computer think you have a CD in it, but you really don't. This is called virtual drive. The best way to do this is Daemon Tools:
http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php?mode=ViewCategory&catid=5
Basically, when it's open, a red thunderbolt icon will appear in your system tray. Right-click it, and hover over Virtual CD/DVD-ROM. Hover over Device 0 (if this isn't there, go to set number of devices and choose 1) and click Mount Image. Browse to the file you want, and it'll appear like it's a CD/DVD drive in My Computer with the CD in it. Autorun will work and everything. If the game works, but you get an error saying the wrong disc is inserted or emulation software is detected, PM me and I'll help you. There's simple ways around it.
If there's any other format, and you can't figure it out, PM me and I'll help you. Alternatively, check this site for info on the file:
http://filext.com/
Very good site.
Well, that was longer than I wanted it to be. Oh well. If there's the request, I'll post pics to go along with it if you guys want. PM me with any questions you have. If you're looking for a particular file, but are having trouble with it or can't find a quality download, PM me as well.
