Using uTorrent Bittorrent

[SuRichardson]

Can anyone explain to me how using these programs works in simple terms? I have installed uTorrent as a way of downloading episodes of the 3rd Season of Lost. The files seem to take an age to download and the estimated time of downloading changes by the second - sometimes seeming to be weeks long. Am I missing something?

[vehelpfulguy]

They work by downloading a file a piece at a time from OTHER people who have downloaded it until YOU have the whole file.

So lets say 10 other people have downloaded an episode of lost, if you want it YOU start downloading it from THEIR PCs.

But the uTorrent program downloads a bit from one PC, a bit from another PC, and so on until you have the whole episode.

The limitations are as follows:

It depends on YOUR broadband download speed. It can only download as fast as your broadband speed allows.

It depends on THEIR broadband speed. And remember if they are uploading files for other people as well as you then you only get a part of their broadband speed.

You can only download from THEIR PC when it is on. If they turn off their PC it stops downloading.

So maybe 10 people have downloaded an episode of lost, but 5 of them have their PCs off, so you are only gettng it from 5 PCs.

[SuRichardson]

Thanks vehelpfulguy. I understand it much better now.

[vehelpfulguy]

When looking for any file to download it is important to look for the number of seeders and leechers.

When a file is first put on a torrent it has one seeder, the person who put it there.

People then start downloading it to their PC from this one seeder and they are leechers.

Even while you are a leecher, and you only have part of the file, you then start seeding it to other people.

Once a person has 100% of the file they change from leechers to seeders.

So the more seeders at 100% the better as you have more chance of finding people who are logged on AND with a fast broadband connection.

If there are lots of leechers then that is also good, because you can download the file from them as well (the parts they have anyway).

Avoid files where there are no seeders at 100% but lots of leechers who have not got all the file. This indictaes that either it is VERY slow getting it from the original seeder, or that the original seeder turn their PC off now and again so you can only get it when their PC is on.

I use Azareus as my client not uTorrent.

http://azureus.sourceforge.net/

With Azareus you can easily find out how many seeders and leechers there are, also how many people are at 100%, also the speed of each of the connections.

[SuRichardson]

That has really assisted my understanding of the whole process - I didn't know whether seeders and leechers were good or bad. I have a much better concept of the whole process now and a better grasp of what I need to look for.

[vehelpfulguy]

There is also a good time and a bad time to start downloading a file.

As a said, when a file is first added there is one seeder and so you get lots of leechers.

So for the first day it is NOT a good time to download it as nobody (apart from original seeder) has 100% of the file and you are competing with all the other leechers.

After a number if hours (or days if it is a big file) then the number of seeders (people with 100%) builds up and then it is a GOOD time to start downloading it.

But after say a week or so, after everyone who wants it has got it, then people stop leeching, and the number of seeders will drop as they start to put it on CD or DVD and delete it from their PC.

So dont try to download a file that has been there months as you are unlikely to find many seeders with it still on their PC.

And dont jump in too early, wait a few hours, or maybe a day, to allow the number of seeders and leechers build up.

I have spent hours in the past, even days, trying to download a file but never got good download speeds and you get to about 40% after a week and you give up.

It is a bit of trial and error at first until you get the hang of it.

[vehelpfulguy]

Not sure where you are going but these sites are good

http://thepiratebay.org/

http://www.torrentspy.com/

Do you know of any other good ones ?

[OBonio]

http://www.mininova.org

and

http://www.torrentreactor.com/ (this has nudity in the adverts, just to warn you!).

[Oneeyedvic]

http://www.demenoid.com and www.tvtorrents.com are my favourites