Download and Play Torrents
Torrents are one of the most popular way to share files online. You can find virtually anything being shared over torrents, and it's a great way to share files between friends and family too. Torrent files don't actually contain any of the content that you're downloading. Instead, they point you towards other computers that are sharing that file, allowing you to download it directly from other users.
- Are you having trouble opening the file that you've downloaded?
- Are you having trouble finding the file you want?
- Are you having trouble downloading files quickly?
Contents
Steps
Downloading Torrents
- Use torrent files to download files shared by other users. Torrent files are small files that tell your computer how to connect to other computers sharing the file you want to download. You then download small chunks of the file from each computer you connect to. Your torrent program then pieces these chunks together and gives you the completed file. Because you are connecting to multiple computers simultaneously, torrents are one of the fastest ways to download large files, and they don't require a central server like a website or FTP would.
- The torrent files themselves, which have the .torrent extension, do not contain the files you are downloading. They simply act as pointers towards the files on other users' computers.
- Download and install a torrent client. In order to download torrent files, you'll need what is called a torrent "client". This is the program that handles the connections to other torrent users and manages the file download process. There are a variety of torrent clients out there, but a few of the most popular options are listed below:
- qBittorent (Windows, Mac, Linux) - qbittorrent.org
- Deluge (Windows, Mac, Linux) - deluge-torrent.org
- Transmission (Mac, Linux) - transmissionbt.com
- Flud (Android)
- Configure your torrent client. Before you start downloading torrent files, you may want to check a few settings in your torrent client. The process varies depending on the client you are using, but generally the options are very similar. You can find the Options or Preferences menu in the menu bar.
- Check the "Connection" section and ensure that the "UPnP" box is checked. This will allow you to connect to the most possible torrent users.
- Check the "Bandwidth" or "Speed" section and set an Upload rate limit. generally, you'll want to set this to about 80% of your actual maximum upload. This will prevent the torrent client from clogging up the connection while uploading files.
- Open the "Downloads" section and select a location to save finished files.
- Find a torrent file to download. The most common place to find torrent files is on a torrent tracker site. These are essentially torrent listings that will display information about the file being shared through that torrent, as well as how many users are sharing it. You can find torrent trackers by performing a web search for the file you want plus "torrent". Torrent trackers often have comments and ratings which can help you find the best version of the file.
- Check the number of Seeders (S) versus the number of Leechers (L). Seeders are users who have completed the file transfer and are now sharing the file with others. Leechers are users who are still downloading the file and are not yet sharing the whole thing. If there are a lot of Leechers and very few Seeders, it may take a while to download the file. Conversely, if there are a lot of Seeders and not as many Leechers, the file should download at your connection's maximum speed.
- Check the comments section for the torrent file before downloading it. This can help you determine if the file is good quality (important for video), and whether or not it is infected with viruses (important for programs).
- Many legitimate files are shared through torrents, as it allows anyone to share a file without having to set up a server. It is illegal in most areas to download files that you do not have permission to.
- Download the torrent file. Most clients are configured to automatically open .torrent files once they've been downloaded. If not, you can open the file in your torrent client or just drag and drop it into the client's window. If your queue is clear, you will automatically begin attempting to connect to other users. The download will begin, and you can monitor the progress in the main window of the torrent client.
- Wait for the download to finish. The speed at which your file downloads is dependent on a lot of different factors, including your connection speed, client settings, and torrent health. You can't start using the downloaded files until they've completely finished.
- Seed a finished file. Torrents only survive when users seed the file for others. Most private torrent communities expect you to maintain a minimum upload-to-download ratio. This usually doesn't apply to public torrent trackers, but it's still considered good torrent etiquette to upload at least as much as you download.
Playing Torrents
- Find your downloaded file. You'll be able to find your finished downloads in the folder you set earlier. If you didn't change the destination folder, you'll usually find the finished files in your Downloads folder.
- You can right-click a finished file in your torrent list and select "Open containing folder" to open a window directly to the file.
- Use an archive extractor to open compressed files (ZIP, RAR, 7z). File compression is common with torrents, as it allows the creator to include a large number of files in a single file. Compression is also used to shrink files to make transferring large files easier. The most common compression formats are ZIP, RAR, 7Z, and TAR.
- ZIP files can be opened natively in any operating system by simply double-clicking the file. Once you've opened the ZIP file, drag all of the contents into another folder on your computer to extract them.
- To open RAR, 7z, or TAR files, you'll need a third-party archive extractor. 7-Zip is one of the most popular free extractors, and can open nearly any type of compressed file. You can download and install 7-Zip from 7-zip.org. Once you've installed 7-Zip, right-click on the file, find the "7-Zip" menu, and select "Extract files."
- Some torrents will be split into multiple archives, such as r1, r2, r3, etc. Start the extraction process by extracting the first in the sequence. The file should be combined automatically.
- Install a new video player for easy video playback. The most common format for videos through torrent is MKV, which cannot be played in Windows Media Player or iTunes. You'll have the best experience playing the majority of your downloaded videos if you use a third-party video player such as VLC or MPC-HC. Both of these video players are free and open-source, and can play virtually any video format.
- You can download VLC from videolan.org. It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and comes preinstalled on some Linux distributions.
- You can download MPC-HC from mpc-hc.org. It is only available for Windows.
- After installing the new video player, right-click any video file and select "Open with". Choose your new video player from the list of available options.
- Mount ISO files or burn them to a blank disc. ISO files are disc image files, which means they are the exact copy of the original disc. These files can be mounted on your computer as a virtual disc, or they can be burned to a blank disc and then inserted in any computer. ISO files are common for copies of DVD movies or software installation discs.
- In Windows 8 and newer, you can right-click an ISO file and select "Mount" to insert the ISO file into a virtual drive. It will act as if you inserted a physical copy of the disc into a new drive on your computer. OS X supports mounting ISO files natively as well. In Windows 7 and older, you'll need to install a virtual drive program in order to mount the file. Click here for more details.
- In Windows 7 and newer, you can burn the ISO file to a blank DVD by right-clicking the ISO file and selecting "Burn to disc". You can use the Disk Utility program in OS X to burn ISO files to DVD. In Windows Vista and older, you'll need to install a burning program that supports ISO files. Click here for more details.
- There are several other disc image formats as well, including BIN, CDR, NRG, and more. You'll need a dedicated image burning utility to burn these to a disc, regardless of your operating system.
- Scan EXE files for viruses before running them. Running EXE files that have been downloaded through torrents is very risky, and generally not recommended unless you absolutely trust the source. Even then, you should scan the EXE file with your antivirus program just to be sure. If you want to be extra safe, run the EXE file in a virtual machine first so that it can't affect the rest of your system.
Troubleshooting
- Search online for information about specific file extensions. If you downloaded a file from a torrent and you can't figure out how to open it, perform a search for the extension using your favorite online search engine. You should be able to find out how to open the file, and if it will even work on your computer. For example, EXE files won't work on a Mac, and DMG files won't work in Windows.
- Find a torrent with more seeders if your download is slow. If you aren't downloading the torrent file very quickly, try finding a different file with more seeders. Keep in mind that you'll never be able to download faster than your internet connection's maximum speed.
- Restart your network hardware if you're having connection problems. Occasionally, torrents can clog up your network and suddenly stop working. The quickest way to fix this problem is to unplug the power to your modem and router, and then plug them back in after about a minute. This will restart your home network and hopefully fix the connection issue.
- Make sure that the UPnP option is checked in the router's Options or Preferences menu.
- If Windows prompts you to allow firewall access for your torrent client, make sure to accept.
- Avoid installing programs and games that you haven't legally purchased. Oftentimes when you install these programs, you'll need to use a key generator program to bypass the program's copyright protection. These key generators can be very dangerous and install malicious software on your machine. The programs themselves may be modified in a negative way as well.
Warnings
- Downloading copyrighted material may be illegal.
