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a couple bittorrenting questions....
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tafkas
Junior Member
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9. September 2008 @ 19:09 |
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I'm new to bittorrenting, haven't set it up yet but have done a ton of reading on the 'net including many guides/posts up here (THANKS!) but have a few specific questions that I'm hoping I can get answered b4 I start messing with it.
First off, I am using WinXP SP3, a firewall, plus I am behind a router that does NAT, and I've decided that I want to use Utorrent for my bittorent client (because it seems to be very widely used and has a small CPU/memory footprint - right?).
I've already setup a static addy for my PC and I know that I will have to setup permissions for ports on my firewall in addition to dealing with port forwarding on the router.
(1) I downloaded both Utorrent 1.7.7 and newer version 1.8 build11742. Can anyone explain to me the advantages/disadvantages of one over the other? Some friends have told me to use the older 1.7.7 but they can't tell me WHY to use it instead of the newer one.
(2) In many of the guides on the 'net that I've read I see a range of ports from 6881 to 6890 that need to be "opened" for incoming connections on my PC (which requires me to setup exceptions for them in my firewall plus properly "port forward" them on my router) yet in some Utorrent documention (like the guide at this forum) it seems to only mention ONE port that you select in Utorrent then just open that one. Do I need to "open" just the one port I select in Utorrent or also open up 6881-6890 too????
(3) I've run tests off various servers and determined my upload speed in kbs (not kBs), which as I understand it is what I am supposed to enter in Utorrent's "Global Max Upload" setting but also to reduce the # somewhat. The Utorrent guide up here says to "take 10%" of that number and enter that. But does that mean to take 10% OFF the number or use the # as straight 10%? For example, I am getting about 4500kbs upload speed. Do I enter "450" (which is 10%) or "4000" (which is about 10% DEDUCTED from my upload speed)???
(4) And in regards to the speed numbers - what utorrent parameters should I look at and understand so I can correctly set for the times that I want to be able to do other things at the same time on the 'net as bittorrenting? I figure some of the time I will just give it all it wants overnight but other times I might want to be using the PC for other things too - or should I only run utorrent when I am not trying to access the 'net too????
I have other questions too but if I can get those answered above I think I can start playing with things and might either get my other questions answered myself or come up with better one so I'll stop there. THANKS for any hints.
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AfterDawn Addict
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9. September 2008 @ 20:33 |
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Take this speedtest and enter your U/L speed at options>speed guide>connection type: http://www.speedtest.net/ Picking the number closest to yours will automatically set your kb to kB for you. I don't know if 1.8 is still beta but that's one reason not to use it, beta's can be buggy. Bittorrent uses those ports but many ISP's block them, use one over 10,000 that isn't the default, they block it too. utorrent is extremely light, it shouldn't interfer with surfing at all. On the other hand, PeerGuardian probably will at times but should be used when utorrent is open unless you're on Vista. utorrent has an ip blocker that works in it. PeerGuardian does have a RC2 beta (I know but it's been in testing for ages) that works well with Vista.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. September 2008 @ 20:36
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tafkas
Junior Member
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9. September 2008 @ 21:23 |
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Thanks mistycat. I'm ok with the speed testing, I've got that all done & know my upload speed (I think!). I am confused about what to enter for the value in utorrent though. The guide up here says to use "10%" of that number and that is what I was going to do but then reading other info elsewhere I think you are supposed to take that number and REDUCE IT by 10-20%, NOT use it as 10% straight like the guide here suggests. But I want clarification on that since I don't really know any of this for sure.
As far as the new utorrent goes supposedly "1.8 build11742" is "stable" and is not beta (like 1.8 build 12083). But still some folks prefer 1.7 over 1.8build11742. I don't know why but would like to understand that.
Peerguardian is something I never even heard of until today and from reading about it I *think* it is important only if you might be hitting bittorrent sites with possibly copyrighted material right? That it (supposedly) keeps you "safe" from the prying eyes of certain agencies and that is its only function. Is that correct? Since at this point I was just looking to do non-copyrighted live music like from Dimeadozen (at least a bit more grey of an area than downloading a movie) that hopefully no "authority" should care about what I am doing and I figured I wouldn't need peerguardian - or is that wrong? THANKS!
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AfterDawn Addict
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9. September 2008 @ 22:01 |
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Just take your result from the speedtest and in the drop down box at options>speed guide>connection type, select the figure closest to your upload speed and utorrent will automatically convert that to kB taking into account the percentage for you. If you want to check it, the speedtest is in kb; to convert to kB divide by 8 and multiply that by 80%, 1 kB (kilobyte) = 8 kb (kilobit). Another reason to stay with a previous version of a program is that it's been well tested and people don't jump on new versions right away of anything. There is no need for PeerGuardian if the material isn't copyrighted.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. September 2008 @ 22:04
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tafkas
Junior Member
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9. September 2008 @ 23:05 |
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THX mistycat but I can see now that I didn't word my question (3) quite right and that has confused things.
I have my speedtest numbers in BOTH kb/s and KB/s. I can use either. When I said the words "I've run tests off various servers and determined my upload speed in kbs (not kBs)" I was just trying to explain that I was going to use the kbs NOT the kBs because reading the documentation the Utorrent website I thought it said something about needing it in kbs. Rereading that again now though I see that may not even be right (sheesh). They mention specifically that you need the number in kilobits but then further down the page they allude to entering it in kilobytes instead. I don't want to get too hung up on that part though, I'll see that for meself once I install & configure it.
My question with that in point (3) though was about what do I enter for the Utorrent configuration since the guide up here says to take "10%" of that number yet in most of my other reading it suggests to take more like 80% of that number. I have been reading more and more over the last couple hours and I am now 99% positive that the guide up here just is wrong, has a typo and omitted the word "off" after 10% (meaning to take 10% OFF the number not use a straight 10% OF the number). So at this point I am going to assume I have #3 answered.
If I understand it right the point of this parameter ("Global max upload speed") is to make note of your actual upload speed and then set that parameter in Utorrent for something slightly less than that, say like 80-90% of that value, so that you don't use up all your upload bandwidth.
And thanks for clarifying what I thought Peerguardian is for! I am slowly learning but my brain I think is getting overloaded...
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AfterDawn Addict
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10. September 2008 @ 01:49 |
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A bit more info for you if you haven't seen this: http://www.dessent.net/btfaq/#what Pretty old but some good info in it. All that kb and kB is pretty confusing, most speedtest's show in kb and client's show kB. You can manually add the upload you wish to use at options>preferences>connection, I think, you'll see the change at speed guide. 450 kB is what you enter, that's some U/L. That will use kB while connection type shows kb. Take your speedtest at various times and days to get a good average to use, specially if you're on Cable because it's going to fluctuate. The main reasons I like the above speedtest is because their sites are nearby and it's accurate.
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tafkas
Junior Member
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11. September 2008 @ 19:36 |
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THx. Been doing a lot of reading. And I think I found the ultimate guide to setting up Utorrent. This guide not only makes recommendations but it also EXPLAINS every option in great detail so I can make educated decisions as to what should work best for me. It answers a lot on my mind but raises a few other questions too.
Think I will take my questions over to that site now for more details (like do I need to apply the "Event ID 4226 patch" to my TCIP.SYS file in winXP SP3? They mention SP2 but guide does not seem updated for SP3?? I never heard of any of that b4 btw)....
Here's the guide:
http://filesharefreak.com/tutorials/utor...d-optimization/
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. September 2008 @ 22:10 |
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The main things I've found are disabling UpnP, enabling Protocol Encryption (here's another guide for that): http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/395674 granting utorrent access through any firewall including Windows and port forwarding a router and, maybe, modem. Also, maybe a port over 10,000 that isn't the default. And possibly, a static ip if you use a router which you have already set. I see it's in the guide but make sure to disable randomize port at options>preferences>connection. I'd try it without any patch to see how it goes at first. Never needed one on XP myself.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11. September 2008 @ 22:11
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tafkas
Junior Member
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12. September 2008 @ 02:58 |
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Originally posted by mistycat:
The main things I've found are disabling UpnP, enabling Protocol Encryption (here's another guide for that): http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/395674 granting utorrent access through any firewall including Windows and port forwarding a router and, maybe, modem. Also, maybe a port over 10,000 that isn't the default. And possibly, a static ip if you use a router which you have already set. I see it's in the guide but make sure to disable randomize port at options>preferences>connection. I'd try it without any patch to see how it goes at first. Never needed one on XP myself.
Right! I'm hearing that about that patch now over on the utorrent forum. That I probably don't need it, not unless I start having some kind of problem anyways. I couldn't figure out how to ask anything over on filesharefreak so I went over to utorrent's site. Anyways I'm getting closer to getting set up....thanks for your help...
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