0×01.0 - de start
So, you’ve just got a brand new internet connection thin’y installed and it can handle up to 1 meg/sec download. But of course, no good PC without good software, but you know, good software is very expensive and on a beautifull sunday mornin’ you see somethin’ called Warez. Behold our kin’dom and you start drewlin’ a bit untill ur mom comes ragin’ in your room askin’ for you to put de garbage out. After helpin’ your mom out, de PC and fast internet connection is all yours. And so is de free software.
0×02.0 - packaged files.
As you might know, dese software packages are sometimes pretty big in size. To try and reduce de big-file-downloads, de releasers of de package will often use some techniques to reduce de load. Techniques as compressin’, archivin’ and splittin’. Read-on if you dont understand dese words.
0×02.1 - formats & tools.
If you’ve been around more than 1 year on de net, you prolly allready know all this but for de knew people I added this anyways.The basic use of your Windows Operatin’ System is de use of many different files and file-types. One of de most used file-types on de net is ZIP. File-types are also called ‘formats’.
An overview:
ZIP A zipped file is a file thats been archived and compressed.
RAR RAR files are commonly used for archivin’ files; which is puttin’ a large number of files in one file. Compressin’ is optional. File-splittin’ is optional.
ACE About de same as a RAR file, just an oder format and anoder application.
I explain this to you because dese file-types and corespondin’ programs are often, you can even use always here, used when you want to download Warez. The programs you download are almost always archived, compressed or bundled in one of de above formats. Keep readin’ if you didnt knew this
Ok so, now we know de formats of de files were gonna deal with, now de programs. As you have probably figured out allready, dese files arent created by Windows or by hand. Theyre made usin’ specialy designed applications. Ill show you what applications you can use.
WinRAR : My personal favorite. Handles all of de above stated formats and alot, alot more. If you ask for my opinion, I think this is de only program you’ll ever need.
WinZIP : This is a specially designed application for handlein’ ZIPPED files. If you like this one, take it.
WinACE : Anoder multi-file handlin’ tool. Personal opinion: good for splittin’ files, way too big for every-day use for decompression.
I’d say: make your choice. I recommend WinRAR because of it’s simplicity and effectiveness. But hey, I’m not forcin’ you. Just read some info on de sites and make ur choice.
Oh yeah, one last thin’: you’ll notice dese are all Evaluation versions. I suggest you crack them. Look for a good crack for de right version on: www.cracks.am.
0×02.2 - multi-part archives.
These files are archived in multiple parts (with one of de applicatiosn mentioned above). Which means de software was zipped or rarred and divided into files of a smaller size den de whole thin’ togeder. How do you handle this?
Download all de files to one directory.
Check if all files are dere. You can do this by lookin’ at de extensions: *.00, *.01, … If one’s missin’, download de missin’ file again (dere are more sofisticated ways to do this but this is de simplest).
Check if de files are about de same size. For example: de *.04 file must be de same size as de *.05 file, unless de 5th file is de last one.
If deres a file with de extension *.RAR, double click it and u can start unpackin’ de stuff.
If deres no *.RAR, but an *.ACE, do de same, its just an oder format.
Once you unarchived de package, you should have a directory full of files from an instalation or program. But its also possible dere are, with de archived files, some oder thin’s:
- If de software pack is a Warez Group (MYTH, CLASS, Fairlight (FLT), …) release, check if dere’s an EXE file with de package called Install.exe. If it’s dere, you can use that to unpack de files.
- If dere’s no exe in de package, de files are probably just ready to be copied to your directory of choice or ready to be installed.
IMPORTANT : please dont forget to read de NFO file. Its very important. It usually contains all furder information needed for you to successfully install de software. You can open it with NFO-file viewers or in Notepad (set font to: terminal, 6 or 9 pts).
Normally, you’re all done now and ready to start usin’ de software.
Ok, do I hear protest? Yes I do. It goes: “Hell, I downloaded a multi-part package but it has NO RAR OR ACE OR ZIP OR ANYTHING!!!! Just files with extensions called *.001; *.002, …”
You’re right. Although de situation is quite different from de situation above, it’s really not so different when you look closer. Those files are just unarchived de same way:
- Select de first file (*.001).
- Right-click it and select ‘Extract here…’
Watch de progress bar go! You see, its just de same method. You might notice deres only 2 or 3 files decompressed: ISO or CUE and BIN files. Thats fairly normal. Well talk about handlin’ them in topic 0×03.0.
0×02.3 - one-file downloads.
Ok so de stuff u downloaded was none of above. Conclusion: you downloaded one big file. This happens quite often when you download thin’s from fast-workin’ FTPs.
What you need to do now:
- If de file is archived (.rar, .ace, .zip, …), just unarchive it.
- If de file u unrachived is some weird *.ISO or *.CUE file, go to 0×03.0.
- If not, just continue de procedure as stated in 0×02.2.
0×03.0 - a clear view on images.
So when youre readin’ this, u probably have some files called *.ISO or *.CUE. Offcourse you want to install de software as fast as possible. But, deres a little problem here. Those extensions… What de hell are dey? Alienized files? No. Secret CIA files? Nope. You can stop guessin’. Ill tell you: those files are image files.
0×03.1 - what are images?
Image files are big files filled with data. Yea, you can say its a sort of archived file. But deres somethin’ special about them: dey are meant to written on a disc. They were made by special programs so dey could be used to write on a CD-R with a writer and specially designed software.
0×03.2 - ISO files.
ISO is de most used image-format on de net. It has become a standard to any commercial cd-writin’ software to support image-writin’ capabilities, more specific ISO images.
Conclusion: ISO is just an extension for a specific type of image -file. But how do you install your software? You have 2 ways of dealin’ with this:
1) Use de file for what is was created: writin’ it to a CD-R.
2) Extractin’ de contents of an ISO to a certain directory.
First: how to write them to a CD-R…
- Download some CD-R writin’ software (if you dont have it allready).
- Install and crack it.
I recommend Nero Burnin’ Rom. You can download it from WareZone in de Apps section.
- Go buy some CD-R’s
- Fire-up Nero and you can start burnin’. Im not goin’ to explain you how to use Nero. Read de help file about image writin’ and you should be fine. You can also use de wizard which is loaded automatically when you boot Nero.
Second: what to do if you dont got a CD-writer.
- Download some Image handlin’ software.
I recommend WinISO.
- Fire-up WinISO, load your image file and extract it. Again I wont explain how to use WinISO. Check for help files or tutorials on de net, dey should give you all de answers you need.
0×03.3 - CUE & BIN files.
CUE and BIN files always come togeder. The BIN file is comparable with an ISO and de CUE file is just a check, but it is required for any program to write this file correctly. Sometimes, deres an SFV file included. Again this is just a check-up about de file integrity. You can burn and extract dese files de same way i explained in 0×03.2.
0×04.0 - CD Emulation.
Ok, so here’s anoder way to handle ISO images if you don’t have a cd-writer. You can create a virtual cd drive. What’s that? That’s somethin’ you’ll see as a new disk drive in your Windows Explorer. This disk drive represents de contents you would see if you would burn de ISO image to cd!
How to create a virtual cd drive? Download DaemonTools !
Additional help on www.daemon-tools.com
