Gyn_Paul Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Does anyone have a simple utility they could recommend to help open downloaded but incomplete files ? I have a couple of TV programmes downloaded via Morpheus and LimeWire which are not quite complete (98 or 99%) and my Media Player Classic - usually the most tolerant of players - reports "failed to render file" which I suspect is a mismatch between the reported size of the file in the header detail and the actual size. I've googled for a solution but can only file utilities useful for stitching multiple files into one.Anyone else have this problem?paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 I think that the basic information about the file type and size, checksums etc is the last part to be downloaded - but whatever I don't think you will ever open a program that is less than 100% present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 Dick, for next year's canicule I'm organising a parade. May I book you to come and rain on it ?I was rather hoping for a programme which would provide a 'shell' into which the unfinished data could be transfered. too simple, I suppose.p (it was certainly thunder here in 23) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 I seem to remember something called 'smart download' (Norton???????) which would restart, at the correct point, an un completed download after ( say ) a disconnect during downloading. I dont have it so cant comment further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Rain, moi? Surely some mistake.Are they being downloaded from somebody else's computer? Apparently the problem can occur because the donor goes off-line at the crucial moment. If they aren't taking too long, just try another download - or are you on dialup and it takes hours to download anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 [quote user="powerdesal"]I seem to remember something called 'smart download' (Norton???????) which would restart, at the correct point, an un completed download after ( say ) a disconnect during downloading. I dont have it so cant comment further.[/quote]Yes I've seen that. No this is more in the line of something which will play disconnected bits.p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 If you are trying to download movies or tv you would be best served by a proper torrent client. Utorrent is the best (in my opinion); you can even choose which episodes you would like if the file is huge and you want to see the first couple of episodes the same day!There are no problems with resuming files and you can choose to prioritise the first and last parts of the file if you like.Best media player out there is vlc: media player classic need only be used for realmedia files (rmvb format) as it comes bundled with the realalternative package. Vlc will play almost anything and not grumble (effectively bypasses windows), if a file is slightly broken it will try and fix it, and it even has the facility to change the audio sync if there are problems. It's brilliant and free. Register at 'demonoid' (should be open at weekends) which is the best torrent site. And I think digitaldistractions has a lot of british tv stuff on.If you're using adsl then set your upload to 80% of it's actual maximum and go to portforwarding.com for info on how to allow the torrent client through your livebox or whatever - ignore the bit about static ip address though; in makes no difference in my experience and only causes problems in the long run.Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bones Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Forgot to say -- before I used the above set up I used pvastrumento for fixing files and there's another thing called gspot. File rendering and all that.As I say though, I have no use of them since I adopted the utorrent/vlc set up.Remember - forward your ports; don't cap your download rate but do cap your upload rate to 80% or your adsl will be choked: you can experiment with the levels of upload in real time with the click of a mouse if you can't be bothered researching your 'real world' maximum. (I have about 4mega connection and my upload is set to around 50KBS - I can download at up to 400KBS but it varies massively, usually 50 - 200 KBS). KBS is different from Kbs but I still don't know the difference - just in case you get confused when people offer advice on what rates you should be getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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