Since there isn't one and 99% of the sites in the sticky are torrent sites, here it is.
This guide will show you how to get started with bittorrent.
There are many different clients for bittorrent, this guide will deal with Azureus and Bittornado
-Azureus
Installing
1. Download and install from http://azureus.sourceforge.net/.
2. If you dont have Java installed already, download from http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.
3. When Azureus is installed and you start it up for the first time, a short "configuration wizard" will start. If not, you can start the wizard manually from "Tools".
The wizard will help you set the correct kind of connection and let you decide where you want the files downloaded.
Downloading
1. Download a torrent from a torrent site.
2.
Either double click the downloaded torrent, and Azureus will automatically start it, or click the icon pointed out in picture 1.
If you want to download to a directory other than the one you previously set as default, click on the icon pointed out at picture 2.
3.
Now it should look something like picture 3. The info speaks for itself, but some of it will change after a while as you get connected to more seeds and peers.
The icon on your far left will be green when you are connected to seeds and there's no problems with firewalls or stuff like that. If it's yellow you might need to configure your firewall, but the download should work just fine anyway. If the icon is red, it means that you are not connected to anyone having 100% of the file. The torrent might be dead or the uploader might be away. Patience is your friend.
4. If you double click the torrent info shown on picture 3 you will see details as on picture 4.
4.
A lot of the info speaks for itself. To the right you can set your desired upload and download speed; default is recommended.
Up to the right you see how much you have downloaded (100 % in this case), and below you see how many complete copies of the file there is available (1.997 in this case) from all seeds and peers that you are connected to.
Tracker status is shown down to the left. Sometimes it says "Connection Error", but just be patient and wait. After a short while it usually changes to "OK". If it says error after a few hours and you are not connected to any seeds, the torrent might be dead or you could try to restart the client.
Other info
Always try to upload at least as much as you download. Thats the way to keep the bittorrent network alive. On picture 4 you see "Share ratio". Having a share ratio above 1.0 means you have uploaded more than you have downloaded, which is good.
When you have 100 % and dont have a ratio above 1.0, just wait and more peers might connect. If there hasn't been any new peers for a few days, you may disconnect even though your ratio is bad.
If you need to shut down your computer, Azureus will resume your downloads when you start up again. You will not have to start the download from the beginning.
-BitTornado
Installing
1. Download the latest version from http://www.bittornado.com/.
2. Install it.
Downloading
1. Download a torrent from a torrent site.
2. Double click it if BitTornado hasn't already opened it.
3. Choose a folder to download the files to (picture 1).
4. Now it should look something like picture 2. The info speaks for itself, but some of it will change after a while as you get connected to more seeds and peers.
The icon on your far left will be green when you are connected to seeds and there's no problems with firewalls or stuff like that. If it's yellow you might need to configure your firewall, but the download should work just fine anyway. If the icon is red, it means that you are not connected to anyone having 100 % of the file. The torrent might be dead or the uploader might be away. Patience is your friend.
5. You can set the upload limits as on picture 2. The better upload, the better download.
You can see how many percents you have downloaded in the titlebar (in this case 5.0 %). If you get an tracker error, wait a while or just try again later.
Other info
Always try to upload at least as much as you download. Thats the way to keep the bittorrent network alive. On picture 2 you see the "Share rating": having a share rating above 1.0 means you have uploaded more than you have downloaded, which is good. In this case 0.000, which is bad. But when you have 100 %, just wait and more peers might connect. If there hasn't been any new peers for a few days, you may disconnect even though your rating is bad.
If you need to shut down your computer, you have to open the torrent again and save to the exact same place for resuming.
-Keywords for torrents
Client - A client is a bittorrent program. For example Azureus and Bittornado.
Seeds - Users that have 100 % of the file(s).
Peers - Users that have not completed the file(s). 0–99 %
Leechers - Same as peers.
Tracker - A server that handles and stores the torrent files.
This guide will show you how to get started with bittorrent.
There are many different clients for bittorrent, this guide will deal with Azureus and Bittornado
-Azureus
Installing
1. Download and install from http://azureus.sourceforge.net/.
2. If you dont have Java installed already, download from http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.
3. When Azureus is installed and you start it up for the first time, a short "configuration wizard" will start. If not, you can start the wizard manually from "Tools".
The wizard will help you set the correct kind of connection and let you decide where you want the files downloaded.
Downloading
1. Download a torrent from a torrent site.
2.
Either double click the downloaded torrent, and Azureus will automatically start it, or click the icon pointed out in picture 1.
If you want to download to a directory other than the one you previously set as default, click on the icon pointed out at picture 2.
3.
Now it should look something like picture 3. The info speaks for itself, but some of it will change after a while as you get connected to more seeds and peers.
The icon on your far left will be green when you are connected to seeds and there's no problems with firewalls or stuff like that. If it's yellow you might need to configure your firewall, but the download should work just fine anyway. If the icon is red, it means that you are not connected to anyone having 100% of the file. The torrent might be dead or the uploader might be away. Patience is your friend.
4. If you double click the torrent info shown on picture 3 you will see details as on picture 4.
4.
A lot of the info speaks for itself. To the right you can set your desired upload and download speed; default is recommended.
Up to the right you see how much you have downloaded (100 % in this case), and below you see how many complete copies of the file there is available (1.997 in this case) from all seeds and peers that you are connected to.
Tracker status is shown down to the left. Sometimes it says "Connection Error", but just be patient and wait. After a short while it usually changes to "OK". If it says error after a few hours and you are not connected to any seeds, the torrent might be dead or you could try to restart the client.
Other info
Always try to upload at least as much as you download. Thats the way to keep the bittorrent network alive. On picture 4 you see "Share ratio". Having a share ratio above 1.0 means you have uploaded more than you have downloaded, which is good.
When you have 100 % and dont have a ratio above 1.0, just wait and more peers might connect. If there hasn't been any new peers for a few days, you may disconnect even though your ratio is bad.
If you need to shut down your computer, Azureus will resume your downloads when you start up again. You will not have to start the download from the beginning.
-BitTornado
Installing
1. Download the latest version from http://www.bittornado.com/.
2. Install it.
Downloading
1. Download a torrent from a torrent site.
2. Double click it if BitTornado hasn't already opened it.
3. Choose a folder to download the files to (picture 1).
4. Now it should look something like picture 2. The info speaks for itself, but some of it will change after a while as you get connected to more seeds and peers.
The icon on your far left will be green when you are connected to seeds and there's no problems with firewalls or stuff like that. If it's yellow you might need to configure your firewall, but the download should work just fine anyway. If the icon is red, it means that you are not connected to anyone having 100 % of the file. The torrent might be dead or the uploader might be away. Patience is your friend.
5. You can set the upload limits as on picture 2. The better upload, the better download.
You can see how many percents you have downloaded in the titlebar (in this case 5.0 %). If you get an tracker error, wait a while or just try again later.
Other info
Always try to upload at least as much as you download. Thats the way to keep the bittorrent network alive. On picture 2 you see the "Share rating": having a share rating above 1.0 means you have uploaded more than you have downloaded, which is good. In this case 0.000, which is bad. But when you have 100 %, just wait and more peers might connect. If there hasn't been any new peers for a few days, you may disconnect even though your rating is bad.
If you need to shut down your computer, you have to open the torrent again and save to the exact same place for resuming.
-Keywords for torrents
Client - A client is a bittorrent program. For example Azureus and Bittornado.
Seeds - Users that have 100 % of the file(s).
Peers - Users that have not completed the file(s). 0–99 %
Leechers - Same as peers.
Tracker - A server that handles and stores the torrent files.
