Torrents ... what are they and what do you do with them? - Page 4

Mr. Laz · 10:39 AM

several people have ask so i thought i would post something.

this is just me rattling off some general info so don't think i'm a teacher or anything.

General:

Torrent - just another name for any file that is shared via a peer-to-peer application.

peer-to-peer application - an application that allows 2 computers to transfer files back and forth.

Bittorent - the general name of the programs that the computers used to share the files.

uttorrent - just a specific Brand of Bittorent program (other names are: Azureus,ABC,TurboBT,BitComet, The Original BitTorrent)

Peer network - more than 2 computers can connect at once. In fact, the more computers there are the faster the download times. A peer network is when a bunch of computers are connected.

Peer - one computer in the network

Seed - a computer(Peer) in the network that has already downloaded the Torrent file completely. Once you download 100% ... you computer starts "seeding" with all the others. A "seeder" is just uploading the file ..... not downloading that particular file.

Upload - information is going out from you computer. like when you attach a file to an email.

Download - information is coming into you computer. like when you get an attachment from an email you received.

How to:

first things first ..... to download/upload a Torrent, you need a bittorrent program that i listed above.

links to programs:

uttorrent (my favorite ... simple,quick and easy)

azureus

TurboBT

google and you can find others

so download your bittorrent program to your desktop and install it by double clicking on the .exe file. You might need to unzip it using a program like winzip you can get here (Winzip 10 )

it's pretty basic and does most of the install by itself. just follow the instructions and click yes etc where necessary)

you should also go to the website that made the program. They will usually have FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) to help you use the program.

now you need to find the file you want to download/upload. you can do a google search for websites that list Torrent files to download ... but here's a few to start with:

http://www.mininova.org/
http://www.thepiratebay.org/
http://www.demonoid.com/
http://www.torrentspy.com/

general search engine sites that allow you to search multiple torrent websites at the same time (like a google for torrents)

http://www.torrents.to/
http://torrentscan.com/

now onto the files themselves:

all sorts of files are shared ... pictures,games,music,movies,utility files etc.

when you search the internet for a torrent be careful of a few things.

1. is what your downloading legal?

i'm not judging .... but the music and movie industry is pretty touchy about people sharing their stuff and can take you to court with a lawsuit of sorts.

2. viruses .... never download anything from the internet without a anti virus program running. you also should have a firewall.

3. read the description on the website to makes sure it's really what you want. you will also see feedback from fellow file downloads to see if the file is good or broken etc.

so you found the file you wanted ... read the details etc. You will see a button/link that says something like "download this torrent now" or "download via Bittorrent" etc.

click it

now one of two things will happen

1. the bittorrent program you installed will open and ask you whether you want to download that program or not. It will also show each individual file. You can check or uncheck each one to download the complete torrent or download just part of it. This is particularly good for a music torrent. The file may include the whole album or multiple albums. Often you can pick and choose to download just the songs you want ..... saving yourself valuable download time.

or

2. you get a popup, you computer doesn't know what to do what that type of file. It's asking where you want to "open" or "Save to disk"

this is the most common mistake made

you want to "open with" ...

you MUST let the bittorrent client download and save it. You cannot just save it to disk.

It's asking you what program you want to use to open/download it. It might have options listed right there and you can just pick the bittorrent program you have or you might have to find it yourself.

2a. to find program click "open with" and then click the tab next to it ... should be called "browse" or something. Now a windows folder explorer will open and you need to find the program you installed. It should be in something like C:\Program Files\utorrent by default depending on which program you installed. Point in to the main bittorrent program and click ok. You can also check "do this by default from now on" AFTER you make sure it opens correctly.

your bittorrent client will open up and you will see the file you just chose listed.

it will look something like this:

you'll notice the number of peers and seeds listed... this is important because the more seeds/peers the faster your download.

beware a file with no Seeds ..... because you might download 50% of it and then be stuck with an incomplete (worthless) file.

you should explore your bittorrent program by click on the tabs to see what options you have. You can usually change which folder you want the files download to etc.

The bittorrent host website will also have "speed tweaks" for that particular program to make the downloads go faster.

Troubleshooting:

there is really only a few real problems usually.

1. when the computer asked what you want to do with the file you click download instead of "open with"

2. you try and download a torrent without a bittorrent program to control the download.

3. your bittorrent program gets blocked by a firewall or router.

4. your downloads rate suck because windows xp has a cap on the number of connections you can have at once. That cap can be changed with this is program( http://www.lvllord.de/?lang=en&url=downloads#4226patch )

Associated program:

remember what i said about companies being ticked about you sharing their products? Well this program can help block their snooping little eyes by blocking known websites that try and catch you.

just open it and run it anytime you have your bittorrent program running. Don't forget to run the update on it regularly. It updates like a anti virus program ... just hit the update button.

Peer block - http://www.peerblock.com/releases

Swanman · 12-02-2008, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuckinKaeding

Whats a good Upload/Download Ratio?

Is 1/1 Considered good enough?

1/1 is definitely good enough. That means you are giving back as much as you took. Many torrent sites will mandate a certain minimum seed ratio you must keep or you get banned, it's usually in the range of 50% to 75%.

Mr. Laz · 12-02-2008, 02:38 PM

extremely difficult to get a 1:1 ratio

your download/upload speed is generally closer to 10:1

my connection:

so no way do i get 1:1 unless don't download and just let my computer host non-stop.

just let your upload rate sit on unlimited and let it go

'Hamas' Jenkins · 12-02-2008, 02:40 PM

I keep my upload at 30 because I have vonage and if I just let it go unimpeded it ****s with my phone calls.

**Buck** · 12-02-2008, 02:41 PM

Sorry, let me clarify that...

I didn't mean Download to Upload Speed Ratio, but Download to Seed Ratio.

KCCHIEFS27 · 12-02-2008, 02:51 PM

instead of going to those individual torrent sites, I just use torrentz.com

It is a database containing every other torrent site out there..

**DaFace** · 12-02-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuckinKaeding

Sorry, let me clarify that...

I didn't mean Download to Upload Speed Ratio, but Download to Seed Ratio.

Are you talking about torrents you're downloading (as in, get the fastest download possible), or how much you should seed after you're done downloading (as in, how to not be a leeching asshole)?

If it's the former, than you basically want as high of a ratio as possible. However, I don't know that there's a magic number out there. Generally, if there are more seeds than leechers, you'll get pretty good speeds, but you can get good speeds with one seed and a bazillion leechers as well.

If it's the latter, then 1:1 is kind of a minimum IMO.

**Buck** · 12-02-2008, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFace

Are you talking about torrents you're downloading (as in, get the fastest download possible), or how much you should seed after you're done downloading (as in, how to not be a leeching asshole)?

If it's the former, than you basically want as high of a ratio as possible. However, I don't know that there's a magic number out there. Generally, if there are more seeds than leechers, you'll get pretty good speeds, but you can get good speeds with one seed and a bazillion leechers as well.

If it's the latter, then 1:1 is kind of a minimum IMO.

Okay I was talking about the latter......

I still dont get what you are talking about in the former.

**007** · 12-30-2008, 02:23 PM

I am having a bitch of a time with uTorrent right now. doesn't matter what port I tell it to use I never get to green anymore. Don't know if my ISP changed something or what. I am connected to 23 seeds and 12 peers and can only achieve a speed of about 12kb down max while uploading at my max of 30kb.

I have tried several ports and set my router as it is supposed to be and each port still shows closed when I run the tracker test on utorrent. I didn't change any of my settings from when this worked perfectly fine 2 months abo but now it is a damn snail.

Ideas?

L.A. Chieffan · 01-21-2009, 09:41 PM

ok im a moron and i smoke crack heavily but maybe somebody can help.

i followed lazs instructions and downloaded utorrent, then i went to piratebay and downloaded a movie using the utorrent program. the download apparently was successful.

however when i actually try to watch the movie on windows media player i get no picture, just the squiggly lines and shit.

should i try and watch it on something else or is there a patch or something to make it work on media player?

L.A. Chieffan · 01-21-2009, 09:45 PM

i also tried opening it with quicktime and i got no audio or visual

Fish · 01-22-2009, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

I am having a bitch of a time with uTorrent right now. doesn't matter what port I tell it to use I never get to green anymore. Don't know if my ISP changed something or what. I am connected to 23 seeds and 12 peers and can only achieve a speed of about 12kb down max while uploading at my max of 30kb.

I have tried several ports and set my router as it is supposed to be and each port still shows closed when I run the tracker test on utorrent. I didn't change any of my settings from when this worked perfectly fine 2 months abo but now it is a damn snail.

Ideas?

Is Windows Firewall blocking it? You might download a port scanner and check it.

Check your router to make sure that the port forwarding isn't tied to a different IP too. With my router, the port forwarding is IP specific, so if my IP changes for some reason, I have to change the port forwarding info to the new IP.

Fish · 01-22-2009, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

ok im a moron and i smoke crack heavily but maybe somebody can help.

i followed lazs instructions and downloaded utorrent, then i went to piratebay and downloaded a movie using the utorrent program. the download apparently was successful.

however when i actually try to watch the movie on windows media player i get no picture, just the squiggly lines and shit.

should i try and watch it on something else or is there a patch or something to make it work on media player?

You're missing the codec needed to play it. If you like Windows Media Player, Go here and download this codec pack: http://www.download.com/Windows-Esse...-10662709.html

Or(preferred option) download VLC Media Player. It plays anything regardless of DRM or encryption. Takes up very little resources. Best media player ever. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

L.A. Chieffan · 01-22-2009, 10:01 AM

thanks kc fish i owe u a cold one

KevB · 03-02-2009, 11:44 PM

So here's a question. I just got an old P4 with 256mg Ram. I was planning on playing around with Linux (Kubuntu maybe?; complete noob). I was wondering if I should/could also use that machine as my torrent machine, leaving my main desktop free of any harm that may come from torrents. Does this make any sense at all? I've yet to try Torrents, but was going to jump in soon.

**Buck** · 03-02-2009, 11:58 PM

That depends on if someone had made a bit-torrent program for whatever Linux distro you go with.

If you cant find one, and want to use it on a PC, just use your virus scanner to scan each file after you download it and you should be good.

10-27-2006, 04:26 PM
Mr. Laz Don't Tease Me Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: KS Casino cash: $11047037	Torrents ... what are they and what do you do with them? several people have ask so i thought i would post something. this is just me rattling off some general info so don't think i'm a teacher or anything. General: Torrent - just another name for any file that is shared via a peer-to-peer application. peer-to-peer application - an application that allows 2 computers to transfer files back and forth. Bittorent - the general name of the programs that the computers used to share the files. uttorrent - just a specific Brand of Bittorent program (other names are: Azureus,ABC,TurboBT,BitComet, The Original BitTorrent) Peer network - more than 2 computers can connect at once. In fact, the more computers there are the faster the download times. A peer network is when a bunch of computers are connected. Peer - one computer in the network Seed - a computer(Peer) in the network that has already downloaded the Torrent file completely. Once you download 100% ... you computer starts "seeding" with all the others. A "seeder" is just uploading the file ..... not downloading that particular file. Upload - information is going out from you computer. like when you attach a file to an email. Download - information is coming into you computer. like when you get an attachment from an email you received. How to: first things first ..... to download/upload a Torrent, you need a bittorrent program that i listed above. links to programs: uttorrent (my favorite ... simple,quick and easy) azureus TurboBT google and you can find others so download your bittorrent program to your desktop and install it by double clicking on the .exe file. You might need to unzip it using a program like winzip you can get here (Winzip 10 ) it's pretty basic and does most of the install by itself. just follow the instructions and click yes etc where necessary) you should also go to the website that made the program. They will usually have FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) to help you use the program. now you need to find the file you want to download/upload. you can do a google search for websites that list Torrent files to download ... but here's a few to start with: http://www.mininova.org/ http://www.thepiratebay.org/ http://www.demonoid.com/ http://www.torrentspy.com/ general search engine sites that allow you to search multiple torrent websites at the same time (like a google for torrents) http://www.torrents.to/ http://torrentscan.com/ now onto the files themselves: all sorts of files are shared ... pictures,games,music,movies,utility files etc. when you search the internet for a torrent be careful of a few things. 1. is what your downloading legal? i'm not judging .... but the music and movie industry is pretty touchy about people sharing their stuff and can take you to court with a lawsuit of sorts. 2. viruses .... never download anything from the internet without a anti virus program running. you also should have a firewall. 3. read the description on the website to makes sure it's really what you want. you will also see feedback from fellow file downloads to see if the file is good or broken etc. so you found the file you wanted ... read the details etc. You will see a button/link that says something like "download this torrent now" or "download via Bittorrent" etc. click it now one of two things will happen 1. the bittorrent program you installed will open and ask you whether you want to download that program or not. It will also show each individual file. You can check or uncheck each one to download the complete torrent or download just part of it. This is particularly good for a music torrent. The file may include the whole album or multiple albums. Often you can pick and choose to download just the songs you want ..... saving yourself valuable download time. or 2. you get a popup, you computer doesn't know what to do what that type of file. It's asking where you want to "open" or "Save to disk" this is the most common mistake made you want to "open with" ... you MUST let the bittorrent client download and save it. You cannot just save it to disk. It's asking you what program you want to use to open/download it. It might have options listed right there and you can just pick the bittorrent program you have or you might have to find it yourself. 2a. to find program click "open with" and then click the tab next to it ... should be called "browse" or something. Now a windows folder explorer will open and you need to find the program you installed. It should be in something like C:\Program Files\utorrent by default depending on which program you installed. Point in to the main bittorrent program and click ok. You can also check "do this by default from now on" AFTER you make sure it opens correctly. your bittorrent client will open up and you will see the file you just chose listed. it will look something like this: you'll notice the number of peers and seeds listed... this is important because the more seeds/peers the faster your download. beware a file with no Seeds ..... because you might download 50% of it and then be stuck with an incomplete (worthless) file. you should explore your bittorrent program by click on the tabs to see what options you have. You can usually change which folder you want the files download to etc. The bittorrent host website will also have "speed tweaks" for that particular program to make the downloads go faster. Troubleshooting: there is really only a few real problems usually. 1. when the computer asked what you want to do with the file you click download instead of "open with" 2. you try and download a torrent without a bittorrent program to control the download. 3. your bittorrent program gets blocked by a firewall or router. 4. your downloads rate suck because windows xp has a cap on the number of connections you can have at once. That cap can be changed with this is program( http://www.lvllord.de/?lang=en&url=downloads#4226patch ) Associated program: remember what i said about companies being ticked about you sharing their products? Well this program can help block their snooping little eyes by blocking known websites that try and catch you. just open it and run it anytime you have your bittorrent program running. Don't forget to run the update on it regularly. It updates like a anti virus program ... just hit the update button. Peer block - http://www.peerblock.com/releases Last edited by Mr. Laz; 10-26-2010 at 10:39 AM..
Posts: 95,626

12-02-2008, 02:38 PM	#47
Mr. Laz Don't Tease Me Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: KS Casino cash: $11047037	extremely difficult to get a 1:1 ratio your download/upload speed is generally closer to 10:1 my connection: so no way do i get 1:1 unless don't download and just let my computer host non-stop. just let your upload rate sit on unlimited and let it go __________________
Posts: 95,626

12-02-2008, 02:40 PM	#48
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $7919572	I keep my upload at 30 because I have vonage and if I just let it go unimpeded it ****s with my phone calls. __________________ "When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
Posts: 74,860

12-02-2008, 02:41 PM	#49
Buck Take a Chill Pill Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Carolina Casino cash: $8199900	Sorry, let me clarify that... I didn't mean Download to Upload Speed Ratio, but Download to Seed Ratio.
Posts: 44,564

12-02-2008, 02:51 PM	#50
KCCHIEFS27 Veteran Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: KS Casino cash: $10019064	instead of going to those individual torrent sites, I just use torrentz.com It is a database containing every other torrent site out there..
Posts: 3,088

12-30-2008, 02:23 PM	#53
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $13810126 VARSITY	I am having a bitch of a time with uTorrent right now. doesn't matter what port I tell it to use I never get to green anymore. Don't know if my ISP changed something or what. I am connected to 23 seeds and 12 peers and can only achieve a speed of about 12kb down max while uploading at my max of 30kb. I have tried several ports and set my router as it is supposed to be and each port still shows closed when I run the tracker test on utorrent. I didn't change any of my settings from when this worked perfectly fine 2 months abo but now it is a damn snail. Ideas? __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
Posts: 65,560

01-21-2009, 09:41 PM	#54
L.A. Chieffan PLAY GOOD FOOTBALL Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: American Gardens Building Casino cash: $3918654	ok im a moron and i smoke crack heavily but maybe somebody can help. i followed lazs instructions and downloaded utorrent, then i went to piratebay and downloaded a movie using the utorrent program. the download apparently was successful. however when i actually try to watch the movie on windows media player i get no picture, just the squiggly lines and shit. should i try and watch it on something else or is there a patch or something to make it work on media player?
Posts: 17,368

01-21-2009, 09:45 PM	#55
L.A. Chieffan PLAY GOOD FOOTBALL Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: American Gardens Building Casino cash: $3918654	i also tried opening it with quicktime and i got no audio or visual
Posts: 17,368

01-22-2009, 10:01 AM	#58
L.A. Chieffan PLAY GOOD FOOTBALL Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: American Gardens Building Casino cash: $3918654	thanks kc fish i owe u a cold one
Posts: 17,368

03-02-2009, 11:44 PM	#59
KevB Agree to Disagree Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: The State of Euphoria Casino cash: $10026612	So here's a question. I just got an old P4 with 256mg Ram. I was planning on playing around with Linux (Kubuntu maybe?; complete noob). I was wondering if I should/could also use that machine as my torrent machine, leaving my main desktop free of any harm that may come from torrents. Does this make any sense at all? I've yet to try Torrents, but was going to jump in soon.
Posts: 14,446

03-02-2009, 11:58 PM	#60
Buck Take a Chill Pill Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Carolina Casino cash: $8199900	That depends on if someone had made a bit-torrent program for whatever Linux distro you go with. If you cant find one, and want to use it on a PC, just use your virus scanner to scan each file after you download it and you should be good.
Posts: 44,564