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EVH5150
09.14.04, 06:15 PM
Ok guys. Since so many people are so confused about all this, I'm going to try to give you the crash course. How-To's are generally not my thing, so any additional comments are most definately welcome. Also, since I am not a "How-To guy," I'm gonna keep this real simple. In many cases the what I am instructing you to do may not be the only way to accomplish the task - it's just what I have found to be the easiest. This is gonna seem like a lot to absorb, but just remember... this is basically 4 sets of instructions on how to do 4 different things. And it's really not hard at all once you do it a time or two :thumb:

Phase 1: How to get a torrent?

1) Download Bit Tornado from Here (http://bittornado.com/)
2) Install the program.
3) From this point forth, any torrent that you click on will result in a "Save File" dialog box. Pick a location that is easily accessible - We'll need it when the download is done. (I like the desktop for new stuff that I'm into often)
4) The program will then create a folder in the location you chose and fill it with all the files from the torrent.
5) SEEDS KEEP TORRENTS ALIVE: When you are done downloading, leave Bit Tornado open for a while, and don't move the files anywhere. You will act as a seed to everyone else and lighten the burden on all the current seeds. Not to mention increase download speeds across the boards.
6) If you close Bit Tornado down and want to seed the torrent later on to help out - Go to the thread where you originally downloaded the torrent. Click on it to download it again. Save to the SAME LOCATION (Desktop, if you went with my earlier recommendation). BT will then verify all of the existing data, your tray icon will turn bright white, and you will re-seed the torrent.

Phase 2: What do I do with a torrent once I've downloaded it?

1) If the torrent merely contains text files, mp3s, zips, etc. then you'll already know what to do with the stuff once you get it.
2) If the torrent contains lossless audio files (common ones are FLAC and SHN files), then they can be burnt directly onto a disc using NERO 6.0 (many other progs can do it as well, although you may need to visit the developer's site to get the proper codecs), or they can be converted to MP3s very easily by using DBPowerAmp Music Converter (a free program that I HIGHLY recommend keeping around anyway)
3) Get the program Here (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/)
4) Download the plugins for FLAC and SHN files Here (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/codec-central.htm)
5) Install the program, then install the plugins and...
6) The converter is simple to use, so I won't bother going any further.

Phase 3: How do I create my own torrent? (This is the one that has MANY successful solutions, but here's the easiest way to do it.

1) Download MakeTorrent 2 from Here (http://krypt.dyndns.org:81/torrent/maketorrent/#dl) and Install it.
2) Create a "root" folder for the torrent. Ex. For the US Festival 3CD boot I posted, I titled the root folder "3CD US Festival."
3) Copy EVERYTHING you want the torrent to include into that folder
4) Remember (or cut) the name - we're going to insert it into 2 spots within MakeTorrent
5) Open Make Torrent and Click on the "Classic" Button in the upper left.
6) Click "Browse" next to the filename field (sometimes the button is cut off, but you can still click it...it's to the right), and select the root folder that you created.
7) Click on the "View/Edit Torrent" tab and paste that folder name into the "Torrent" field AND the "Name" Field
8) Now Highlight, R-Click, and Copy this address: http://tracker.jamtothis.com:2710/announce - We will paste it into 4 spots in MakeTorrent
9) In the "Create Torrent" tab, paste it into the "Tracker" field
10) In the "View/Edit Torrent" tab, paste it into the "Announce URL" field
11) In the "Settings" tab, paste it into the "Name" Field, then click Add.
12) Also paste it into the "Announce URL" field
13) In the "Website URL" field, type http://www.jamtothis.com
14) Go back to the "Create Torrent" tab and click the "Create Torrent" button in the lower right
15) Title the torrent file the same as the root folder and save it someplace convenient (but NOT IN the root folder)

Now you have created a torrent.

Phase 4: How do I post a torrent and then seed it for everyone else to download?


1) Make a thread, attach the torrent file you created, and submit the post.
2) Double click on the new torrent file that you created.
3) Bit tornado should open up and ask you where to save the torrent's information to.
4) Select the same root folder you created earlier, and Bit Tornado will verify 100% of the data, then your tray icon will turn bright white, and the program will just sit there.
5) change the speed setting box to SUPERSEED, then just minimize BT and ignore it.
6) Your thread should now say 1 seed. Now just wait for leachers.
7) The bar in BT will turn green as your leachers get further and further along. The end of the green bar is the leacher who has the most. Once they have received the torrent's information, they will become seeds too.

There you have it. Sometimes BT can be glitchy when you're doing step 4... if it won't ask you where to save to, you'll have to create the torrent again, using a different filename. This sucks, but it doesn't happen very often. I will now restate a paragraph from above because it is of PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE!!!

SEEDS KEEP TORRENTS ALIVE: When you are done downloading, leave Bit Tornado open for a while, and don't move the files anywhere. You will act as a seed to everyone else and lighten the burden on all the current seeds. Not to mention increase download speeds across the boards. If you close Bit Tornado down and want to seed the torrent later on to help out - Go to the thread where you originally downloaded the torrent. Click on it to download it again. Save to the SAME LOCATION (Desktop, if you went with my earlier recommendation). BT will then verify all of the existing data, your tray icon will turn bright white, and you will re-seed the torrent.

Ok guys... that's my first shot at an instructional... if you have problems, just drop me a message in this thread, I should see it fairly quickly... Any suggestions or amendments are very welcome! Hopefully this at least cleared up some of the mystery.

Oh, forgot to mention... the current number of seeds (uploaders) and leachers (downloaders) for any torrent is listed right at the bottom of the message. You'll know if your torrent is done properly if your BT is bright white and your message says that there is 1 seed.

Happy Sharing!!! :thumb:

mikemellow
09.14.04, 06:34 PM
And to think this morning I had no idea what a bit torrent was. :dunno: :lol: Great tutorial EVH5150 :thumb: :D thanx alot

EVH5150
09.14.04, 06:37 PM
And to think this morning I had no idea what a bit torrent was. :dunno: :lol: Great tutorial EVH5150 :thumb: :D thanx alot

Probably still have no clue LOL. But if anyone wants to replace this how-to with a better one, they are more than welcome. I'm just tryin' to get people rollin' along as quickly as possible. Don't need to know how a car works to drive one... I figure we'll get the stuff working first... worry about how the stuff works later :thumb:

mikemellow
09.14.04, 06:41 PM
I thought it was very well done, laymans terms even a dumb postal worker like me could understand... :thumb: :D (how come theres no :LOL: )?

EVH5150
09.14.04, 06:45 PM
I thought it was very well done, laymans terms even a dumb postal worker like me could understand... :thumb: :D (how come theres no :LOL: )?

I tried to make it overly basic. I had to get a tiny bit technical at times, but I tried to avoid that... I figured longer but simpler was better.

Oh, and I think Eric is still working on changing out some of the emoticons... we didn't have thumbs, grin, or scratch earlier today :D

ericgtr
09.14.04, 09:15 PM
Excellent EVH, I am going to make this into an announcement. Thanks for your work on this and everyone else for helping out.

EVH5150
09.14.04, 09:24 PM
No problemo man. I'm kinda learning as I go, but that's the fun part :thumb:

EVH5150
09.15.04, 09:36 AM
Oh, another thing I forgot to mention is this:

Torrents are meant to be done over time. Slow speeds in the beginning ARE EXPECTED!!! Have patience, and be persistant... just let your client do its thing. The download speeds of the torrents DIRECTLY reflect the number of people connected to that torrent... the more people, the faster the speeds...obviously.

Also, make sure you select the internet connection from the pull down box while you're d/ling. Pick the one that most closely matches your connection - this will make sure that you are d/l & u/ling within proper proportions and act as a peer seed. You should probably Leave the d/l u/l settings in your client alone. The Download speed and Upload speed are proportional to one another. If you're not positive how you can modify the settings, then just stick with the presets from the pull-down menu (ie. cable fast, dial up, T1, SuperSeed, etc). If everyone just lets their client do its thing, over time you'll see a "snowball effect" as the torrent gains bandwidth and momentum.

Ok guys, sorry... I just felt that point was worth mentioning because it's a bit disheartening when you click on a 1gig torrent and start at 2kbps... The first leachers are the ones who must truely be patient. Once we get a few seeds, they'll take off. :thumb:

Thanx everyone.

rasputin
09.15.04, 10:01 AM
thanks for the insight,, I've got to play now,,,very interesting too and I'm always eager to learn something new ,so I can be a wise old man someday....

EVH5150
09.15.04, 12:27 PM
Let me know how you're doing, and any problems that you run into. If you have an issue, someone else may have the same problem. Let's try to get them all addressed as quickly as possible :thumb:

POD GOD
09.15.04, 12:52 PM
If you close Bit Tornado down and want to seed the torrent later on to help out - Go to the thread where you originally downloaded the torrent. Click on it to download it again. Save to the SAME LOCATION (Desktop, if you went with my earlier recommendation). BT will then verify all of the existing data, your tray icon will turn bright white, and you will re-seed the torrent.


Just a note...I'm using Azureus and I'm not sure if this applies to Bit Tornado or not :dunno: , but I just click open and select the torrent file from where it was saved. The tracker info and everything is already there so it begins seeding right away :scratch:

Awesome tutorial :thumb:

EVH5150
09.15.04, 04:12 PM
I wish it were that easy with BT... there are a couple of ways you can do it... either double click the torrent you created, or click the weblink to it, and that will open Bit Tornado... there is no stand-alone frontend. Then you save to the same location... in either case, it has to re-verify the data it has already (pain in the ass... it takes like 10 minutes for each gig to be verified).

It's the only real shortcoming to BT, but I wasn't familiar enough with any of the other programs to include them in my instructions... it was kind of a spur of the moment thing, and I didn't have time to play with other clients.

Perhaps the how-to needs to be amended to include an azureus section as well?

EVH5150
09.16.04, 04:14 AM
Here's another interesting situation that had never occured to me to mention.

Right now, in Van Halen DVDs, SteveS235 is graciously trying to seed the Worcester show from June 19th. He is in a situation where he can't just leave Bit Torrents running 100% of the time. In his last post, he says he's gotta shut it down for 10 or 12 hours, then will continue to seed for a while.

Just because the only seed has left, doesn't mean that the torrent dies. Three are still two leachers there. Since Steve has dropped off, the most advanced downloader will seed the ones below him, and so on down the line. In other words, you can continue to download until you reach the point of progress of the best leecher.

If a seed drops off, and you can continue to stay connected to the torrent, go ahead. You'll seed those behind you with what you have, and by the time the seed jumps back on, everyone should be better off than when he left. This also means, DON'T BE AFRAID to jump on an active torrent with no seeds. If you know the seed is coming back, don't worry about it - the other downloaders will catch you up to where they are. :thumb:

Thanks

ZACK5150
09.16.04, 07:21 AM
Im trying to upload some shows. I downloaded MakeTorrent2 (step 1) but I don't know what you mean by create a root folder. Can you help me.

ericgtr
09.16.04, 07:25 AM
Im trying to upload some shows. I downloaded MakeTorrent2 (step 1) but I don't know what you mean by create a root folder. Can you help me.
I believe that means to just create a folder anywhere you want (on your C: drive) and name it whatever you want to call the download.

ZACK5150
09.16.04, 07:35 AM
Bear with me here but when I tried to install Make Torrent2 I click on install it gets completed and it just sits there. I can't install it all the way.

ericgtr
09.16.04, 07:40 AM
When I did it, it just sat there until I clicked on finish (or done?). It also doesn't put a link in your regular menu so you have to go to C:\Program Files\MakeTorret2 and you will find it :)

EVH5150
09.16.04, 07:41 AM
That's all the install program does dude... it's pretty vague. Just go to your start menu and your programs, it probably created an Icon there. If not, then just do what Eric said and check in your program files folder and grab the file manually...just make a shortcut on your desktop or something.

and yes, what I meant by a "root" folder is just any folder you want. Create a new folder and title it whatever you want your torrent to be called. Then copy any files/folders that you want to share into that folder.

Let's say you titled your folder "XYZ" and it's on your desktop. "XYZ" will be your "root folder" and the desktop will be your save location to seed the torrent later.

Hope that helps. Sometimes I'm not very good at explaining stuff like this, so just bear with me... we'll get it bro :thumb:

Thanks for the time and effort you're putting into posting and learning this stuff. I know it can be a pain in the butt at first, but there's a lot of potential here! :thumb:

Thanks for sharing with us! :cool:

ZACK5150
09.16.04, 08:03 AM
Hopefully I did it right. Check out The audio Thread. Hartford 04 is up.

atomic_punk
09.18.04, 01:46 AM
I gotta try this too.. So far I've only downloaded torrents.. Let's see how it works out.. :thumb:

atomic_punk
09.18.04, 01:54 AM
I didn't get the 1 seed thing in my torrent.. What am I doing wrong? Everything else is perfect I think...

atomic_punk
09.18.04, 06:10 AM
oops, I got it already.. hopefully it will work..

Buttsmoke
11.25.04, 04:55 PM
Thanks A TON EVH for the music converter insight, I am still kind of new at this, and the Converter was EASY to use, and what a relief! I'll do my best to keep the torrents open (when my nice machine permits without freezing), and hope to upload some torrents soon.

schooie
12.23.04, 04:36 AM
I have a question I hope you can answer. I have a dial up connection so my max speed is about 3.5kbs. I have been here almost two weeks and completed 1 d/l in that time. I have started 3 others. One of which I have dropped. I d/l at night beginning about 9.30pm est and going until around 8am est. I can sometimes stay on all day. I have two open at the moment on was about 10% complete and the other almost 40%. Last night when I restarted both d/l's went back to zero and started over. I am currently at 7% on one and 9.5% on the other. When I open the status screen the 7% shows I have d/led 76mb of 488mb which is about 15%. The other shows 152mb of 330mb which is about 50%. My question is my d/l at the higher or lower % ?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

Thx for the other info so far

EVH5150
12.23.04, 06:05 AM
I have had that happen before on resumed torrents. I'm not sure what the cause is... perhaps the latest packet of data (which was ALMOST done) was not finished and you lost a certain %.... I just don't know. One time I had 97.6% of a torrent done and had to shut down to burn a couple of discs... when I restarted and Azureus checked the data, I resumed at 89%... where that 8.6% went to, I can't tell you.

The best advice I can offer is to make sure you stop or pause the torrent and all data has stopped transferring before you shut your client down. Hopefully, allowing it to stop the torrent under its own power, rather than getting cut off, will alleviate the problem. But like I said, that's just a stab in the dark... standard shutdown precaution when you encounter a glitch like that.

Hope that helps... :)

schooie
12.28.04, 01:00 PM
I think I may have had a program freeze on me and then cause me to restart my computer and that could be where I went wrong.

I have located annother file containing the fragments of download. I then wondered if I could use that to help the new download. I haven't tried it yet but if I have it happen again I may try and move the file to the same place.

Those d/l's are now one completed and the other about 99% complete. So thats about two and a half weeks and three completed d/l's. I will get DSL soon. I am grateful for this site ,the quality is awesome. Van Halen didn't come to Australia until '98 and Diamond Dave came in '88 so I have some catching up to do.

bobs23
12.28.04, 06:34 PM
Also when you re connect be sure to redirect to the exsisting folder in your computer, it should pick back up from where it left off. I have had o problems since switching to azurious client.