Quote: Gavin @ October 22 2009, 1:49 PM BST[/size]
But you're a master of the size tags at least!
Things that piss you off Page 529
Quote: Moonstone @ October 22 2009, 1:54 PM BST
But you're a master of the size tags at least!
Big is beautiful baby!
Moonstone,
Read up on the following terms:
NZB
PAR files
RAR files
NFO files
Then download SABnzbd and find an NZB site that you're happy with. Newzbin costs a few pennies per week and is invite-only, but I think I have invitations with my account.
Quote: DaButt @ October 22 2009, 2:18 PM BSTMoonstone,
Read up on the following terms:
NZB
PAR files
RAR files
NFO filesThen download SABnzbd and find an NZB site that you're happy with. Newzbin costs a few pennies per week and is invite-only, but I think I have invitations with my account.
Thanks Dabutt. I have altbinz at the mo, and have just been using the search features on that to find stuff. It doen't take me to any particular site though, just gives me a big list of files, with all the dodgy crap mixed in. I wanted to download a series of Kids In The Hall and my search came up with a shit load of child porn and that was the last straw for me with usenet. Everything about it seems way dodgy, I hope these other sites have a few less viruses and sick videos, but as you can probably imagine I'm WAY weary of it at the minute.
Quote: Gavin @ October 22 2009, 1:55 PM BSTBig is beautiful baby!
Don't wanna be big headed, but I agree 
Quote: Moonstone @ October 22 2009, 3:07 PM BSTDon't wanna be big headed, but I agree
I made peace with it a long time ago. I got an out of control ego but so what
Fuggit, if you've got it you got it!
Quote: Moonstone @ October 22 2009, 1:26 PM BSTI remember them being exe or avi etc, but if I went back and looked now, I could be wrong. What the hell's a par file?
A par file checks the validity of a download. Sometimes they come as .sfv, but normally .par2. The latter also offers the ability to fix corrupted files.
E.g.:
Some.file.avi.001
Some.file.avi.002
Some.file.avi.003
Some.file.avi.004
Some.file.avi.par2
Some.file.avi.vol000-001.par2
Some.file.avi.vol002-004.par2
Some.file.avi.vol005-008.par2
Install QuickPar (http://www.quickpar.org.uk/), run Some.file.avi.par2, and it'll check the individual ....avi.00# files, and join them up into a single Some.file.avi. If there are any problems, it'll try to use the vol#.par2 files to fix them.
(Of course, if you've downloaded a split .rar or .zip file, then it won't join them, but it will still be able to validate that they've downloaded correctly.)
Quote: Moonstone @ October 22 2009, 3:07 PM BSTThanks Dabutt. I have altbinz at the mo, and have just been using the search features on that to find stuff. It doen't take me to any particular site though, just gives me a big list of files, with all the dodgy crap mixed in. I wanted to download a series of Kids In The Hall and my search came up with a shit load of child porn and that was the last straw for me with usenet. Everything about it seems way dodgy, I hope these other sites have a few less viruses and sick videos, but as you can probably imagine I'm WAY weary of it at the minute.
If you use the sites I mentioned yesterday, you shouldn't see anything of the kind. All very reliable.
The beauty of SABnzbd is that it does all the work for you. It extracts the file(s), uses PARs to repair it if necessary and then deletes everything except for the desired file. Easy, quick, painless and FREE.
Ohhh, I know it now! Yeah, come to think there's some stuff on altbinz to deal with them. I wasn't thinking. So they put these files up individually then? I'm assuming they're more or less equivalent to zip files.
Quote: Aaron @ October 22 2009, 5:09 PM BSTIf you use the sites I mentioned yesterday, you shouldn't see anything of the kind. All very reliable.
That's a big relief to hear. Maybe it's just the free ones that are a bit rogue then?
Quote: Moonstone @ October 22 2009, 5:41 PM BSTOhhh, I know it now! Yeah, come to think there's some stuff on altbinz to deal with them. I wasn't thinking. So they put these files up individually then? I'm assuming they're more or less equivalent to zip files.
.rar is more or less the same as .zip. A .avi.00# file is just a video file split into equal chunks - normally 15 mb each. They're all individual files though, yes.
Quote: DaButt @ October 22 2009, 5:36 PM BSTThe beauty of SABnzbd is that it does all the work for you. It extracts the file(s), uses PARs to repair it if necessary and then deletes everything except for the desired file. Easy, quick, painless and FREE.
Oh ok, thanks for the tip.
Thanks generally for your help, guys.
Quote: Moonstone @ October 22 2009, 5:43 PM BSTOhhh, I know it now! Yeah, come to think there's some stuff on altbinz to deal with them. I wasn't thinking. So they put these files up individually then? I'm assuming they're more or less equivalent to zip files.
That's a big relief to hear. Maybe it's just the free ones that are a bit rogue then?
The free ones just tend to scrape and automatically list everything. The subscription ones have guys sitting filtering through stuff that's posted, organising and naming them clearly and consistently. With that kind of moderation you avoid stuff like child porn, and you're minimising risk of finding something with viruses but it's not guaranteed.
Quote: Aaron @ October 22 2009, 5:44 PM BST.rar is more or less the same as .zip. A .avi.00# file is just a video file split into equal chunks - normally 15 mb each. They're all individual files though, yes.
Well, I meant pars. Shit I'm getting confused now, are they rars or pars?
Do you ever get uploads with files missing?
Quote: Aaron @ October 22 2009, 5:47 PM BSTThe free ones just tend to scrape and automatically list everything. The subscription ones have guys sitting filtering through stuff that's posted, organising and naming them clearly and consistently. With that kind of moderation you avoid stuff like child porn, and you're minimising risk of finding something with viruses but it's not guaranteed.
I suppose that's always gonna be the case with with whatever method you use. My anti-virus is up-to-date and will catch the vast majority of them, but it's more about the inconvenience of downloading all that data then having to bin it. C'est la vie though, worse things happen.
Bit long-winded to explain how .par2 files work - they're not zips, but all you need to know is that it checks the validity of what you've downloaded (i.e. that none of the constituent files are corrupt), and if you've got the vol files too, then it will try to fix any broken files.
Most of the time, any missing files will be re-posted separately once the uploader realises.
Quote: Moonstone @ October 22 2009, 5:52 PM BSTI suppose that's always gonna be the case with with whatever method you use. My anti-virus is up-to-date and will catch the vast majority of them, but it's more about the inconvenience of downloading all that data then having to bin it. C'est la vie though, worse things happen.
Well again, if you use a subscription site - particularly those I mentioned yesterday - there'll be user comments, so you can see if other people have found it to be dodgy before downloading yourself.
It does sound good, a safer alternative to torrents anyway. I wish they were free though 
That's the trouble with us computer agers, we expect everything for free these days!