How do I get Torrent Downloads to play on my computer?

EvanErgo wrote:Isn't WMP picky about what it plays?

Look at what type of file the video is and then download a player that can use that type of file.

Hardline Pro wrote:

EvanErgo wrote:Isn't WMP picky about what it plays?

Look at what type of file the video is and then download a player that can use that type of file.

Apparently its a RAR File, anyone got any good players that play that?! Lol.

Hardline Pro wrote:

EvanErgo wrote:Isn't WMP picky about what it plays?

Look at what type of file the video is and then download a player that can use that type of file.

Apparently its a RAR File, anyone got any good players that play that?! Lol.

Welcome to Wheen's Guided to Torrents. We'll be covering all the basics, from programs, to sites, to security.

What are torrents?

Torrents are a form of "Peer to Peer" (P2P) downloading, which means that there are no servers, but users essentially are sharing information with eachother. Users are either "Seeders" or "Leachers". Seeders are users who have the full file already on their computer, and are only uploading to the leachers. Leachers are users who have yet to have finished downloading. Leachers download from both seeders and other leachers, as well as uploading some to other leachers as well.

Torrents have come under fire lately as a means of illegally sharing software, but torrents are made for the sharing of free software, like Linux, Firefox, or patches. And that is what we all use it for, right? That being said, this is purely a guide on how to download entirely legal and free software, and if you use what you have learned here in a way that your parents would frown upon, I cannot be held liable.

Now on to the good stuff:

Programs:

You must have a program that can recognize and open torrent files before you actually download them. There are many programs you can use to download them, my personal favorite is UTorrent, which can be downloaded by clicking that link. Another good program is Bittorrent, which many people use, and it has even become synonymous with the term "torrent".

Websites:

There are many popular torrent hosting sites on the web, the most popular and most controversial is The Pirate Bay. They've recently gone under fire, and their founders have received a 10 month jail penalty, and a fine of over 6 million dollars. They may or may not appeal this, but the site should remain running in the mean time. Now back to the Guide. Another popular site is IsoHunt. I've heard many rumors that they are virus-ridden and horrible, but I've downloaded from their site 3 times (Each time, I couldn't find it on TPB), and each time it has been clean. Another good torrent site is Torrents. I personally have not used them much, but I have heard good things.

Security:

Keeping your computer safe and virus-free should always be your top priority, if you are even the slightest bit skeptical that the file you will be downloading is a virus, it probably is, so back off. That being said, I'm obliged to link to the "How to keep your Computer Clean - The FREE way" thread, instead of re-writing pretty much the same thing.

That being said, and this being peer-to-peer, there's always the possibilities of strangers doing bad things to your computer. For this, I use Peer Block. Peerblock is a simple program, and it blocks any connections that it deems as unsafe. Have it running in the background AT ALL TIMES when downloading.

How To Download:

• First off, download and install UTorrent or BitTorrent.
  
• Secondly, search the desired site for the file you want, for this example, we'll be using this completely legal torrent of Firefox 4.0 (Beta 2)
  
• To download, click the "Download this torrent" button. NOT THE HUGE GREEN DOWNLOAD BUTTON!. The green download button is a means of advertising.
  
• Wait until the file is down downloading
  
• The file will most likely be a ".rar", open this with a program like Winrar (Which we will cover later)
  
• Unpack the file to somewhere
  
• From here, you can either take the files out that you want, or run the executable to install the program.
  

Other Possible Obstacles

.RARs in a sequence:

RARs are compressed files formats. To unpack or "UnRar", you must first download a program that can do so. Personally, I use Winrar. If you encounter a file that is a .rar in a sequence, unpack the first in the sequence (for example, one is number 001, the next 002, and so on), and the rest should follow with it.

ISOs:

ISO are basically disks, but on your computer. To use them, you will need to have a program like Nero or Daemon Tools. You can find a free trial of Daemon Tools Lite here: http://www.daemon-tools.cc/eng/products/dtLite

What you have to do for ISOs, is first mount the image via one of the above programs, and then you will install it as if a disk were placed into your CD Drive.

Cracks:

Some programs, after being installed, require that the executable (.exe) be Cracked. In the original folder that was downloaded, there should be another folder entitled "Crack". This can also be inside of the ISO. In that case, right click the virtual drive and select, "Open" and find the Crack. To Crack the executable, simply open the "Crack" folder, and copy the contents of it into the correct place. The correct spot is usually in the same folder as the original executable, but you should always read the Readme for exact details were to put everything.

Always read the Readmes and Seed as often as you can.

This has been a solid 45 minutes of typing, and I've gotten progressively more tired. If I have missed anything or if you have any questions, ask them below or PM me.

Just a reminder, it is against the rules to post links to illegal torrents on this site.

L4MB wrote:My peer guardian interfered with my download of Steam. But I got around that, now didn't I? Currently downloaded CS:S and Garry's Mod which cost me all of $15. yey Valve!

Demonicpopcorn wrote: 1. Mount image or burn it <--wtf does that mean

Demonicpopcorn wrote:ive never done that just extracted and installed

Wheen Your Strange wrote:

Demonicpopcorn wrote:ive never done that just extracted and installed

The New Vegas thing I gave you required that you mount it... Its what you do with the ISO.