Official 4.0 EN version available now

**ckamin** · 08-18-2005, 09:40 AM

I'm sorry that I failed to mention the small additional files in the Torrent. I usually download them anyway, even by FTP when they are available. One more note about the target directory. If you are using most Windows versions of BitTorrent, you can select the "View/Settings/Saving" Menu and check the box that says something like "Ask where to save each download". You can edit the default download directory as well, if desired. When making any changes to the settings, it usually requires that you exit and restart the program before they will take effect. Once the program is set to ask where to download the files to, It is quite easy to point it to the directory where the files are currently located. Harry Kuhman is quite correct that the additional files will be downloaded if they are not already in the target directory, and it will take only a few seconds for that to complete in this case. It is the file verification that makes BitTorrent a great choice for accurate downloads. It sure makes a difference when you have previously encountered a "Bad" download of such a large file and then have to do it again. BitTorrent can actually repair the corrupted file as it goes through the process. It is a great time saver for fixing corrupted downloads.

**atrick-pay** · 08-18-2005, 11:49 PM

Well I think I'm going to give up on downloading this for now.
I tried 2 times under Knoppix to download it to a FAT-32 drive both times
it downloaded as a 2Gb file, I just tried downloading it to a NTFS under WinXP and
got a negitive download speed. it got to the end and started going backwards!

**UnderScore** · 08-19-2005, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by atrick-pay

Well I think I'm going to give up on downloading this for now.
I tried 2 times under Knoppix to download it to a FAT-32 drive both times
it downloaded as a 2Gb file, I just tried downloading it to a NTFS under WinXP and
got a negitive download speed. it got to the end and started going backwards!

*EDIT* I'm wrong.
Just as you discovered, FAT32 has a 2GB file size limit. It will download on NTFS.

**Harry Kuhman** · 08-19-2005, 12:11 AM

Originally Posted by atrick-pay

Well I think I'm going to give up on downloading this for now.
I tried 2 times under Knoppix to download it to a FAT-32 drive both times
it downloaded as a 2Gb file, I just tried downloading it to a NTFS under WinXP and
got a negitive download speed. it got to the end and started going backwards!

Sorry to hear of your bad results. What tool are you using? I'm using BitTorrent Version 4.0.3. I do beleive there are known issues with some previous versions not supporting files this large. The upgrade is fast and simple. I downloaded by BitTorrent to a FAT32 partition in Win98se and it worked fine. OK, I did take a power hit and 10 minute blackout at 44% complete and BitTorrent couldn't recover from there and continue, I had to start over again and my second download went a lot slower. But I have the ISO and the DVD is working great (I also have put a UPS on the old backup system that I dedicated to downloading and will be using for seeding for the next month or so).

I did see one slightly nasty problem after I had the ISO, Microsoft networking wouldn't let me move the 3 gig ISO from the download system to the system with the DVD burner. Apparently it thought the file was too big to comprehend. But I sliced it up into several chunks and move then across the network, put them back together, confirmed the md5 sum and have Knoppix up on my notebook at this very moment.

I have seen some slow speeds when you first start BitTorrent, but I find that if you just wait it out a little it picks up speed nicely. And the stats are sure looking good, over 1500 people have the English version by BitTorrent already, over 4 gig was transfered by BitTorrent in the first two days (8 gig if you include the German version). With 308 current seeders, including myself, (somewhat more than the 6 when I started downloading), things are looking pretty good.

**Harry Kuhman** · 08-19-2005, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by UnderScore

Just as you discovered, FAT32 has a 2GB file size limit. It will download on NTFS.

Sorry, James, but you are wrong, I have the 3.09 gig iso on my FAT32 partition just fine. The FAT32 file size limit is 4 gig minus a byte or two. I suspect the problem atrick-pay has is an old version of BitTorrent or one of the knock off programs that isn't supporting files over 2 gig, but it's not a FAT32 problem.

**UnderScore** · 08-19-2005, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

Sorry, James, but you are wrong, I have the 3.09 gig iso on my FAT32 partition just fine. The FAT32 file size limit is 4 gig minus a byte or two. I suspect the problem atrick-pay has is an old version of BitTorrent or one of the knock off programs that isn't supporting files over 2 gig, but it's not a FAT32 problem.

ZAP!
I'm wrong.

Got my filesystems all messed up.

**Harry Kuhman** · 08-19-2005, 12:40 AM

Sadly, atrick-pay isn't the only one dragging his feet on upgrading BitTorrent versions. I see a lot of people on my peer list who are trying to download this with 3.4.2 and other versions that I believe will have problems at the 2 gig point. I don't know what we can do for them except try to get the word out here.

**ckamin** · 08-19-2005, 02:19 AM

Hi Gents,

You are exactly correct about needing an updated version of BT. I have had great results using 4.0.3 of the Official Bit Torrent program. I tried the 4.1.12 Beta with good results previously, but I had issues with the later bata versions, especially 4.1.14. It had encountered stack errors and would not connect or continue on the two systems I tried it on. I tried all of the work-arounds they recommended including the registry edits and it still did not work. I went back to 4.0.3 and all is fine now. I have downloaded many large files without any errors whatsoever. Older versions don't seem to work well at all for a DVD size file. The 3.09 Gig iso file will fit well on a Fat32 partition under Win98 or ME. BT Version 4.0.3 is pretty stable and proven to work with various Windows versions, in my humble experience and opinion. I have also looked at the peer lists and am amazed to see such older versions still being used. I wish them all the best of luck. I have also had a few bad experiences with the "Alternative" Torrent programs. I am now back to square one using the original.

I downloaded the files in around three to four hours. It started very slow, but just like watching the pot and the water never boiling, I left it alone for an hour or so and it had over 20% downloaded and it was going at a pretty good pace. The FTP downloads take almost the same time.

I burned the downloaded files intact onto a UDF format DVD (UDF allows single files over 2 Gig) and transferred them to another system at a different location. I set up BitTorrent as I had previously discussed earlier in this thread, ran it through a check/download process for a few minutes and then it started to seed from that system also.

Be sure to throw Bram Cohen a bone for developing and distributing BT. He is not bashful about asking and it wouldn't hurt to send him something if you actually use the program. You can download the latest version at: http://www.bittorrent.com/ and I'm sure that there are multiple opportunities to donate while checking out the site and downloading the latest version.

**atrick-pay** · 08-19-2005, 05:55 AM

I'm using FireFox, trying to DL off one of the FTPs! Not BT!

Anyway, Think I'll try again over the weekend or just wait for the CD version.

(I couldn't figure out how to start BT, I'll play with that over the weekend as well)

For those with it already is it really worth the trouble of DL and burning?

**Harry Kuhman** · 08-19-2005, 06:34 AM

Originally Posted by atrick-pay

(I couldn't figure out how to start BT, I'll play with that over the weekend as well)

BitTorrent is very easy. Download 3.0.4 from the BitTorrent site. Rin it to install. You may want to find the exe when you installed it and start it manually once just to go into the preferences and set things like the directory BT will download too, but you do not need to do this.

The install should have created a relation between torrent files and BitTorrent, so the normal way to start it will just be to double click on a torrent file that you downloaded and it will start BitTorrent and pass the information about the download to it. If for some reason it doesn't start BitTorrent when you double click on a torrent file, you should be able to do an "open with ..." (shift right click the torrent file) and then tell it to open this type of files with BitTorrent and check the box to remember and use BitTorrent for these types of files in the future.

BitTorrent is the most widely used proocol on the Internet (in terms of % of traffic), you're going to learn to use it sooner or later, might as well be now.