How does Torrents work?
 

Hi,

I want to download the Slackware 13.1 ISO to my Windows system and create a DVD or CDs to install on a separate Linux system (that system currently has Slackware 12.1.0). I went to the http://www.slackware.com/getslack/torrents.php page and clicked on the link, but all I got was a file that's only 26.3 KB. Seems like an ISO image should be a lot bigger than that. Is there something else I need to download first? Will this even work? How should I download the ISOs?

Am I missing something? I am a complete and total newbie, so it wouldn't surprise me.

If it helps, I am using FireFox 5.0 as my browser in Windows.

Thanks,
Elena

That is the torrent file you load up in a BitTorrent client.

Explaining BitTorrent in detail is outside of the scope of this forum, but the basic idea is that you download parts of the file from other users simultaneously, rather than downloading the entire file from a single server. This breaks the reliance on a single server for downloads, making it an ideal choice for both large files and community-driven projects (who may not have a server with enough bandwidth to handle direct downloads).

You can read more about BitTorrent here.

Torrents are a system for deploying files via peer-to-peer, the file you downloaded is just the file with the information needed which server has the information about the actual systems that are deploying.
You need a torrent client to use that file, like uTorrent.
Or you just download the iso with the normal HTTP/FTP-option, just choose a country near you on the GetSlack-page, then choose one of the mirrors and the iso you want to download.

Hello Elena,

You'll need a torrent client to download the contents as described in the torrent file. A very tiny one for Windows is this one. Download and install, then double click the torrent file. It should start downloading the Slackware ISO. Once the download finishes you can then burn the image as normal to DVD and install from there. If you want to know more about torrents, this is a good basic explanation.

Kind regards,

Eric

Hmm windows torrent clients I just noticed ;)

Kind regards

Opera has a built in torrent client so clicking on that link would have worked. ;)

You may well have some trouble finding a mirror that actually houses the iso images rather than the torrents. The Norwegian site here normally has the iso images (you want files ending in .iso) but a nearer one to your location would be better.

Thanks to everyone that replied. I was able to get uTorrent and successfully start the download.

Best regards,
Elena

Hello Elena,

Glad you got a solution. If you consider your problem/question solved then please mark it as such using the Thread Tools.

Kind regards,

Eric