BitTorrent Guide
April 12, 2008
Note: You can use other torrent client software by looking for them through a search engine of your choice.
Disclaimer: uTorrent is not endorsed by or affiliated with this blog.
How to install uTorrent?
1. Go to uTorrent site.
2. Click the link: Get uTorrent 1.7.7 Stable
3. Save the utorrent.exe
4. Go to the folder where you saved the .exe file and double click it.
5. Follow the procedures for installation.
How to find and download torrent files?
Disclaimer: The following search engines/sites are not endorsed by or affiliated with this blog.
To search for the file you are looking for you can use a search engine (e.g. Google, Yahoo, etc.) or directly visit torrent search engines sites such as the following:
- isohunt.com
- mininova.org
1. Visit the search engine site.
2. Input the keywords for your search in the text field. If you’re using a search engine not specific for torrents don’t forget to include – torrent – as a keyword. Example: my file torrent
3. Click search or hit Enter.
4. The search results will be displayed. When you use a general search engine click the link for the result which you consider the best through ranking and description.
Afterwards, the result for the search on those torrent search engines will be displayed along with other information which will not only help you choose the correct file but also the best file to download such as category, size, seeds and leechers.
Category will give you an idea on what type of file or group of files are you downloading like an installer, book, music, video, etc.
Size will give you an idea on how large the file is.
Seeds will let you know how many people have and share the complete file. This is helpful to know if there are people sharing the file or not including how many. If there are zero seeds you can’t download the file since no one is sharing the complete file. If there are only a few seeds then you’ll most likely wait a long while probably several days or a number of weeks before completely downloading the file. Meanwhile, more seeds means there are more sources to download from and the faster the download will go.
Leechers will give you the number of people downloading the file. They share what they have and they will download what you have.
5. Choose one of the search results link.
6. A page giving more information on the specific torrent you’ve selected is shown.
7. Click Download this torrent.
8. Save the .torrent file. I recommend saving this file in a separate folder where you’ll store all your torrent files.
How to use a torrent file in order to download the file you really want to get using uTorrent?
1. Open uTorrent by clicking the shortcut link or Start > All Programs > uTorrent > uTorrent
2. Usually, it is automatically hidden. On the right of your task bar near the clock, the logo for uTorrent should appear. Otherwise, it may be hidden and click the arrow (<<…) to show the logo.
3. Double click the logo to view the application.
4. Click File > Add Torrent.
5. Select the torrent file you want to download.
6. Click OK.
7. Wait until the download is finished. You can minimize the application to hide it and the application will continue to download in the background. You can even close the application if you need to and the segments of the file you’ve downloaded will still be there. Don’t forget to open the application again to continue the download.
When the file/group of files is complete then voila you’ve downloaded a file or group of files!
8. Keep your downloads though until you’ve completely seeded it to help distribute what you’ve downloaded.
Additional configuration and information on uTorrent
To know/change where the completed downloads are located in your computer:
1. Click Options > Preferences > Downloads
2. Look at Move completed downloads to:
3. Change it by clicking the … button.
4. Browse the folder where you want to store the finished downloads. Don’t forget to click OK.
5. Click OK once again in the Downloads section.
Beware of viruses and illegal downloading of copyrighted materials!
For more information on BitTorrent:
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/peersharing/a/torrenthandbook.htm
