Hi, and welcome to Usenet binary downloading. This guide is available on the Web at TimDoc.net.

Returning users can skip to the Overview or Contents sections.

When a major revision occurs, an announcement message will be posted in a variety of newsgroups, and on the guide’s homepage, detailing the changes in the update.

The guide is intended to help you be successful, and also to help the posters by cutting down on repost requests (especially for full-file reposts). Full-file requests should be extremely rare; many posters refuse to honor them, and may “kill-file” those who request them often. I even hear ominous rumors of a “newbie paddle,” for those that keep requesting full-file reposts. ;-)

If you need to make frequent repost requests, either you’re doing something wrong, or your server sucks. Both problems can be solved. With a little knowledge and effort on your part, you should be able to eliminate the need for most repost requests, except occasional file segments. This guide should help with the knowledge; the effort is up to you.

If you’ve no idea what I’m talking about, or have never downloaded multi-part files from Usenet, this guide is definitely for you. :-)

I hear folks out there saying, “Ack! Too many words!” Please understand that the process is easier to do than to describe. Trust me, it’s really not as tough as it may look at first and, if you approach it like a giant jigsaw puzzle, it’s pretty fun.

I understand that many find the full guide a bit intimidating, and some users don't require a fully detailed downloading “cookbook.” Start with the abbreviated “Overview” version at the beginning. Many of you may find this short section provides all the info you need, at least to get started. If not, much more detail is available in the rest of the guide. Consult the “Contents” list immediately following the introductory guide.

You can navigate within this document by clicking on the key words. Most browsers display these links underlined, and in color. Internal links take you to another section of this guide; click your browser’s “back” button to return to where you were in the guide. Others are external links that connect you to a Web page (for more information, or to download software). Web links will open in a separate browser window. You may find it easier to read the guide in “full screen” mode; in Microsoft Internet Explorer, press your keyboard’s F11 key.

That said, here goes....

A Brief Introduction to Usenet Downloading:

Usenet allows transmission only of text messages in newsgroups, not of binary data. Posting binaries (video, music, pictures, software, etc.) requires a translation into text. Text newsreaders (like Outlook Express) display this text translation directly, resulting in the “gibberish” many see when they view binary posts. Either UUencode or the newer yEnc formats are generally used for this translation.

Since Usenet also imposes message size limits, posters split large files into several messages. Very large files (like multimedia encodes) are split into smaller components first (called “parts” - usually RAR files in multimedia groups). These parts are further split into individual messages before posting (each message is referred to as a “segment”).

Downloading Basics --

To obtain a useable file, you must download all its associated individual messages, then translate and combine them back into data file(s). For large multipart posts, you must do this for each RAR file in the post. Once you have a complete set of RAR files, you extract the actual video encode file from them.

Main advice: ditch Outlook Express. Its not bad for reading text messages, but downloading multipart binaries is greatly simplified by using a binary newsreader. There are several good ones, some of which are free. Xnews and Agent are probably the most commonly used, but see the newsreader section for more options.

The other sections in this guide cover the steps involved in much greater detail, but here are the basics:

Using a newsreader designed for binary downloading, download all the messages for a post, then combine these segments and decode them into the binary RAR file set. Once you’ve selected the file(s) from your header list, a good newsreader performs these downloading/combining/decoding steps automatically - assuming all the segments (individual messages) for the file are available.

Validating Your Downloaded Files --

Posters often include .SFV files with their posts (sometimes .SV, in audiobook groups). These small files can verify that your downloaded files are valid, alerting you if any files are corrupted. QuickSFV works well, for SFV files. PAR files provide an alternative to SFV verification; see the next section of this intro for PAR info. QuickSFV also works with PAR index files (.par), but for validation only (it can’t repair damaged files).

PAR Files --

Posts including PAR files (i.e., .PAR, .P01, .P02...; .PAR2) allow you to both verify and fix problems in your downloaded files.

Many posts include PAR files, as fills for corrupt or missing RAR files. The small .PAR file is an index file, used to verify the integrity of your downloaded files; the large, numbered Pxx files are parity archive volumes, which allow you to repair missing or corrupt data files from a post. If you already have a Pxx file, you don’t need the small .PAR (each Pxx contains the same index data).

Using FSRaid, the PAR files also allow automatic repair of incorrect filenames; you need only the small .PAR file for this function, or you can use a Pxx if you have one.

Some people prefer SmartPAR, though it doesn't have some features available in FSRaid. The homepage for SmartPAR is no longer available, but you should be able to get it here, here or here.

If you have a complete, valid RAR file set, you don’t need any Pxx files. With the PAR1 format, you need one Pxx file for each missing/corrupt RAR.

Briefly:
If you have missing/corrupt RAR files, download one Pxx file for each problem data file (you *can't* just grab one and copy it!), put all RARs and PARs in the same folder, and launch your PAR program. FSRaid will tell you how many more files (RAR &/or Pxx) you need. Once you have enough, start the repair. New RAR files will be created, and the newly intact set will be validated.

I include much more detail - and links for software and additional info - in the full PAR section later in the guide. The PAR resources section provides links for other software, and additional info.

PAR2 Basics:

You’ll increasingly encounter PARs in the new PAR2 format, too. These end with a “.PAR2” file extension. The only graphical Windows PAR2 tool I'm aware of is QuickPAR

The site provides links for release notes, a good page for basic operating instructions, an explanation of the differences between PAR1 and PAR2, and a link for downloading the QuickPAR program itself.

PAR2 offers some advantages over PAR1 - especially for Mp3 and image posts, but also for downloading from Usenet servers with poor completion. PAR2 dispenses with the “one-Pxx-for-one-data-file” requirement of PAR1. PAR2 parity volumes split each file in a data set into “blocks, ” allowing the PAR2 program to repair files that are partially corrupt, or missing only some of their data. A single PAR2 volume might be used to repair parts of a number of damaged data files.

The PAR2 parity files in most sets vary in size. When you validate files with QuickPAR, it tells you how many “blocks” you still need. Each PAR2’s filename tells you how many blocks that particular parity file provides: the filename ends something like “.volnn+xx.PAR2,” where “xx” is the number of blocks included in that file. Download sufficient PAR2 files to supply the blocks you require, and then perform a repair.

Unfortunately - for now, anyway - PAR2 is much slower than PAR1, particularly on some systems. It’s very important that you download whatever partial RARs are available when using PAR2 files, thus minimizing the amount of missing data. This takes advantage of PAR2’s ability to repair parts of files, and speeds the repair process considerably.

Some newsreader programs make downloading partial files very simple, while others make the process more difficult. If you don’t know how to download partial RAR files with your newsreader, post a message asking for help. Agent, for instance, requires special steps when downloading incomplete files. Since it’s such a popular newsreader, I’ll include some information about using Agent with incomplete files here. If you don’t need this information, skip to the next section (on extracting from RAR sets).

PAR2 Notes for Agent Users - Downloading Incomplete Files For PAR2 Repair:

PAR2 requires heavy-duty calculations, making it much slower than PAR1. The less repair required, the smaller problem this speed issue poses. Normal practice with a PAR2-supported post requires downloading all the complete and incomplete files present on your server, then running the PAR2 index file to find out how many blocks are missing. You then download enough PAR2 volumes to supply the required number of blocks - the final number in the filename of a PAR2 file indicates the number of blocks each contains - and perform the repair.

Unfortunately, Agent isn’t a very PAR2-friendly newsreader. Without resorting to some manipulation, it only downloads complete multipart files. Agent includes a feature for manually joining the segments of a post, but this method poses a problem: Agent will join the segments of an incomplete file only up to the first missing segment. If, for example, you have segments 1-7, 9-50, and 52-66, the manually joined file will contain only the data for segments 1-7. If the first segment of a file is missing, the joined file is empty.

You can get around this limitation in Agent manually, for yEnc posts, by using the yDec yEnc decoder. For Windows, use the yEnc32 yDec GUI. Additional info is available at the yEnc32 site (including some Agent-specific info), and at the yEnc homepage.

Note: Only recent versions of Agent work with yDec. If your version doesn't offer the unformatted file type mentioned in step 7, you must upgrade your Agent.

To save an incomplete multipart file in Agent:

1. Select the file
2. Select “Message” >> “Split Sections”
3. Highlight all the available segment messages of the file (the “sections,” in Agent parlance)
4. Select all the messages (segments) for a given RAR
5. Select “Get Selected Messages”
6. Highlight all the downloaded segments
7. Select “File” >> “Save Message”. Enter a filename and destination folder for the file. Use “.txt” for your extension (though an extension isn’t strictly necessary). Verify that the files will be saved as raw, unformatted messages before clicking “Save”. The other settings shouldn’t matter, but you must upgrade your Agent if it doesn’t offer the raw format
8. Repeat for any other incomplete files in the post. Remember to use different filenames for each incomplete RAR
9. Launch yDec decoder, and click “Decode”
10. Navigate to the folder selected in step 7, select a file (or drag the incomplete file onto yDec), and click “Open”
11. Enter a new destination folder, if desired, then click “Okay”
12. Repeat for the other incomplete files saved by Agent. You can probably do this in a batch operation, but I suggest doing it one file at a time, in case problems crop up
13. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder you selected for the decoded files
14. Move the partial file(s) to the folder containing the rest of the files from the post
15. Perform your PAR2 validation, and download the required number of PAR2 blocks
16. Perform the repair

Forte will supposedly fix this issue - maybe even allowing automatic assembly of incompletes - but no one knows when this might occur, so don't hold your breath. Many other newsreaders easily download and join all the available parts of incomplete files, so they work better with PAR2 than Agent. If you find yourself constantly downloading incomplete files, consider switching to one of the newsreaders that do this easily (e.g., Xnews, NewsRover, Newsbin Pro, etc).

As mentioned at the end of the PAR1 section, I include much more detail - and links for software and additional info - in the full PAR section later in the guide. I haven’t inserted PAR2 info there yet, though, so if you still have questions about PAR2, post a message.

Extracting Multimedia Files from a RAR Set --

When you've downloaded all the RAR files for the post, extract the video encode from the RAR file set. Download and install WinRAR (WinRAR has versions for non-Windows systems, too). Other RAR extractors exist, but I highly recommend WinRAR, especially for Windows users.

For RAR sets using the format “.rar, .r00, .r01...,” start the extraction using the “.rar” file. For the newer naming format (“part001.rar, part002.rar, part003.rar...”), it’s not supposed to matter which RAR you start with, but I recommend using the lowest numbered RAR (“part001.rar” or “part01.rar”). These new RAR sets require WinRAR v2.9 or higher. See the guide's full extraction section for more information.

Viewing Video Files --

Once you’ve extracted the video, you can watch it on your PC using a media player. Some video formats (SVCD, XviD, OGG, etc.) require special components. See the playback/viewing section for more information. An upcoming new edition will cover XviD (similar to DivX) and OGG.

SVCD and VCD encodes are designed for burning to CD, so you can play them on your TV in a standalone DVD player. See the sections about burning the extracted video files to disk, whether they are bin/cue format or Mpeg files. Burn avi/DivX/Xvid encodes as data files. I usually use Nero.

In the event you need more information than was in this abbreviated guide, on to the full version...

Contents:

• Basic Binary Downloading Steps
• What You’ll Need

• Newsreaders
• News Providers
• Selecting Encode Formats
• yEnc Posts
• Miscellaneous Basic Tips

• Setup
• Burning a Bin/Cue file
• Burning an Mpeg file
• Adding Chapters to a VCD or SVCD
• Using a pre-existing XML file

• File Set Repair
• PAR Set Creation
• Supplementing PAR Sets
• PAR Explanation
• PAR Resources
• PAR for Mac and other Platforms

• FAQ Files for Selected Newsgroups
• Newsgroups for novices

Introduction:

This guide is a work in progress, developed to answer many newbie questions. It assumes you haven’t downloaded from a multimedia binary newsgroup before, so I’ll start with the basics.

Peppered throughout the guide, and in the table of contents, are hyperlink keywords. Click on one to jump to the relevant passage in this document, or to a site on the Web. Use your browser’s “Back” button to return. You can also right-click on a link, then open the link in a separate new browser window.

Many of these topics are covered in great detail. For those who don’t need such an in-depth discussion, I include a “Basic Steps” quick-guide section on some topics.

This info is Windows-biased, but the procedure is essentially the same on a Mac or other platform. The programs (and their names) are different, however; I’ve included a section near the end with software suggestions for the Mac. Users of Linux and other O/S should consider this a guide to the types of tools and techniques required. While some non-Windows-software sources are mentioned here, you’ll have to track down most of the programs you’ll need yourself. See the Resources for Other Platforms section for some suggestions.

Many encodes posted to Usenet are very high quality, and the resulting files are very large: SVCDs are around 800MB. Even the smallest encodes of one-hour shows (targeted at downloaders limited to a 56K modem) are usually over 100MB.

Because of message posting-size limits, posters split these huge files into smaller pieces in a two-stage process. First into RAR files, splitting the encode into a few dozen parts about 5MB-20MB each (.rar, .r00, .r01, r02, etc.). Each of these is then split into several dozen individual messages for posting. So a given encode must be reassembled from hundreds of individually downloaded messages. When the season starts, each episode might be posted in a variety of formats (VCD, SVCD, DivX, VBR, smaller .avi, etc.). Choose the type(s) best suited to you. This brings us to the steps for successfully downloading the shows you want.

Simply put, to get a viewable encode:

1. Download all the messages from a post. Use a newsreader program specifically designed for binary downloading.
2. Combine them into files (usually RAR files). A proper newsreader will do this automatically, once all the file’s messages are downloaded.
3. Extract the full encode from these files (usually with WinRAR for RAR files)
4. View the show. Some video files require special codecs. VCDs and SVCDs are intended for burning to disk, then viewing on your TVs set. They can also be played on your computer.

That’s it, really. Simple, but not always EASY. :-)

Note that there are free (or free trial) versions of everything you’ll need.

What You’ll Need To Download and View Video Encodes:

Patience :-)

Organization (but it isn’t really all THAT difficult - there’s just a bit of a learning curve).

Newsreader program to download messages and combine them into files. See the newsreader section (especially if you currently use Outlook or Outlook Express).

Access to a decent news server(s). Some level of Usenet access is usually included with your ISP, but is frequently VERY limited. Commercial services greatly increase the ease of obtaining encodes, especially if you’re limited to modem access.

QuickSFV

For validating the files in a post, using the SFV files often associated with a download.
Alerts you to missing or corrupt files, hopefully before they disappear from your news server - invaluable, especially if PAR files are not provided. See the PAR section for info about validating a downloaded post using PAR files.

Program to view NFO files:

• NfoDiz
• TextPad
• Or just use Notepad, or other text editor.

Program to extract files from RARs:

• WinRAR
  Free trial; about US$29.
  They have Windows, Linux, Mac, and DOS versions.
  Supports extraction from RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, ARC, ACE, and several other formats.
  This is the most commonly used RAR program. I highly recommend it.
• WinACE Free trial; about US$29.
  Supports extraction from RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, ARC, ACE, and several other formats.
  They have Windows, Linux, and DOS versions.
• PowerArchiver
  Free trial; $20.
  Supports ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, ARC, ACE, and several other formats.
• StuffIt Expander
  Free, but doesn’t provide as much info-reporting as WinRAR when problems occur, and can’t repair or recover from problems.
• 7-Zip
  Free. Just heard about it recently; haven’t tried it.
  Get v2.30 or above.
  Supports ZIP, CAB, RAR, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, and 7z compression formats.

Program to utilize PAR recovery files:

• FSRaid
• SmartPAR

See the PAR instruction section for more info. See the FSRaid tips, for additional features available when using FSRaid.

Program to extract zipped files:

• All of the RAR extractors listed above also extract zip files.
• WinZip
  $29; free trial available.

Player/Viewer (with the proper codec) for completed encode:

• Windows Media Player can be used for most of the files here.
  Included with most Windows installations.
  Downloads (or upgrades) direct from Microsoft
• Large DivX encodes (.avi) are high-resolution, but smooth playback requires a fairly powerful computer (and avoiding other tasks while you’re viewing the video). See the codec section for more info.
• SVCD encodes require a DVD player. If burned to disk, they can be played in a stand-alone DVD player. If played in your PC, they require a software-emulation DVD player, such as:
  • WinDVD:
    US$50-70 but included on many PCs with DVD drives.
  • PowerDVD:
    Free trial, then $50.
  • Free Mpeg-2 player from Moonlight which is also available here:
    Easy to install. Note that you might have audio sync problems if you skip ahead in this player (this is a bug in the player) It puts a small logo in the corner, and the playback performance isn’t quite as good as WinDVD, but it’s free (and is cheap to register, if you want to lose the logo).
  • ZoomPlayer:
    Free. Some report aspect ratio problems with the display, and it may not install a working codec on all systems. But like the above player from Moonlight, the price is right.
  • BSPlayer:
    Free, and plays both SVCDs and DivX. It also displays selectable subtitles. I haven’t tried it yet, but Dr. Mercury says, “of the freeware bunch, it’s the pick of the litter.”
  • You can also search the Tucows site

Codec requirements are frequently provided in the post’s .NFO or .TXT file, or 00/xx message (especially for avi DivX encodes). See the “avi” and “codec” glossary entries more info. If you have codec problems, post a question ATTN: Group; someone will try to help.

A small program, CodecViewer, can be used to identify what codec is required for a particular encode. It also lists the codecs currently installed on your system. Get v1.5 or higher, to recognize DivX5 files.

Sources for codecs include:

• The DivX site
• DivX Digest
• DivX Resource page
• Indeo codecs
• Alt.Binaries.Movies FAQ
• And many other sites

Recommendations for starting out on a budget (all are free):

• Xnews or FreeAgent newsreader (especially Xnews, if you can access multiple servers, and for downloading yEnc posts)
• FSRaid
• QuickSFV
• NFODiz
• WinRAR (free trial)

• CD-RW burner and burning software.
  To create VCD or SVCD disks useable in a DVD player, you’ll need a VCD/SVCD burning program, such as:
• VCDEasy (also available from Doom9)
  Now shareware, but still highly recommended. A limited-feature version is still available. Very flexible/powerful/compliant, and more compatible with some systems than Nero. Provides a GUI for VCDImager (which creates bin/cue image files from Mpegs) and CDRDAO (which burns these image files).
  Can extract Mpeg files from bin/cue files.
  Allows chapter point insertion.
  Creates Mpeg still images from Jpeg files, or from its own video captures
  See below for more info and instructions.
• CDRWin (commercial program)
  Burns bin/cue format encodes. Free trial, then US$39 (student discount available).
• Nero (commercial program)
• FireBurner (commercial program)
• BlindWrite (commercial program; they have a 15-day free trial)
• Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum (commercial program)

There are several others. The software included free with most drives won’t burn VCDs or SVCDs. Burning software ranges from free to US$99.

You’ll need a DVD player (that can read VCD/SVCD/CD-R/CD-RW disks) to view them on TV. Alternatively, these VCD/SVCD-Mpegs can be viewed on your computer. This may require WinDVD, PowerDVD, or equivalent DVD software player for viewing SVCD files. See the section about VCDs and SVCDs for more information.

Video files fill up hard drives pretty quickly; burning encodes to CD makes space available on your hard drive. Some collectors also burn the original RAR files to CD, for archival/backup purposes, or to repost in the future.

SVCD-Mpeg2 encodes are so large they must be burned as an SVCD; the 700+MB Mpeg usually won’t fit as a data file. The VCDHelp pages have much info about this format.

• CDCheck
  File verification program to check burned CDs.



• LOTS of CD-R disks :-)

Some Tips To Make Life Easier:

1. DON’T USE OUTLOOK OR OUTLOOK EXPRESS (or Internet Explorer/Netscape). These programs are completely unsuited to downloading multi-part binary files, and posters know it. They are less likely to help someone who has hamstrung himself or herself with a lousy newsreader - they may consider you beyond help. To download with any degree of convenience and success, you MUST use a newsreader program designed for multi-part binary downloading. Good newsreaders will identify the various messages of a file, and combine them, so you don’t have to flag each individual message related to a single RAR file. For starters, consider Xnews. FreeAgent is also very popular, but doesn’t easily access multiple servers, and doesn’t support yEnc posts natively. Both are free.

   As in most things, though, beauty’s in the eye of the beholder. Some people love Agent, others don’t. Xnews is very popular, but some find it difficult to use. Similar statements apply to all the programs listed below. I’ve used several readers, and each has its pros and cons. That’s why I provide links to several in the guide; people can take a look at alternatives and decide for themselves. And as you get more experienced, you may decide to try more than one.

   Note: Some binary newsreaders are NOT good for following text message threads in newsgroups. GrabIt, and some other programs, offer no text message support at all. People using some other programs that offer limited text message capability, like NewsBin Pro, sometimes even miss replies to their own posted messages. Since ignoring their replies is an excellent way to annoy the people you seek help from, this is not a good thing. If you chose such a “pure binary downloader,” use Outlook Express, Agent, or some other program, for monitoring discussion threads.

   Whatever program you choose, change the username identification to some unique nickname. Don’t use the default username or reply address. These default names frequently end up in people’s kill-filters, because of earlier abusive or stupid activity by users of that program. Don’t use your actual email address in the “reply to” field, however - unless you like spam, of course. Either modify your actual email address(e.g., “johnqpublic@deletethishotmail.com” rather than “johnqpublic@hotmail.com”), or use a completely made up email addy.

   Prices range from free to around US$40. There are several available, such as:

   • Xnews
     Free. Frequently updated. Supports multiple servers. It’s very popular. Many consider it superior and easier to use than Agent; others disagree (surprise!). A very good choice if you have multiple servers available, or have broadband access. Includes excellent support for the new yEnc encoding format. An excellent tutorial for combining files from multiple servers is available at Automan’s a.b.vcd FAQ >> Click on “Tutorials” >> Select “Tutorial #3”. Slyck offers another Xnews tutorial (click on the "Install/Setup" &/or "How to Use" tabs).
   
   
   
   • Agent and Free Agent
     Free Agent is free, but somewhat limited. Agent is their commercial version, with more features (including yEnc support). Starting with Agent v1.92, Free Agent is part of the same download package as Agent. At the end of the 30-day trial period, you must either register, or the program reverts to the more limited Free Agent version. Free Agent does not support yEnc posts. Probably the most commonly used newsreaders, so there is broad support available. Both are limited by not easily recombining file parts obtained from multiple servers (though they can be configured to access multiple servers). Forte offers installation instructions and a FAQ at their support page. An excellent beginner’s tutorial for Agent setup is available at Automan’s a.b.vcd FAQ >> Click on “Tutorials” >> Select “Tutorial #4”. There is also a tutorial on downloading yEnc-encoded posts with older versions of Agent, or with Free Agent; select “Tutorial #5”. The VCDHelp.Us Web site also includes a tutorial about Agent. Also check Jim's Unofficial [Free] Agent Stuff, which includes info on filters.
   
   
   
   • Binary News Reader (BNR)
     Free. Relatively new, but rapidly gaining converts. Fairly intuitive interface, so fairly easy for beginners. Linux version also available. For downloading binaries only. Not for following message threads, or posting messages or files - you’ll need a second newsreader for that. Automatically combines file parts. Multiple-server support, and flexible adjustment of priorities and preferences for both servers and posts. Potential problem: has difficulty combining parts posted from Macs; some of our core contributors/fillers use Macs. BNR2 v0.6.2beta (and up) supports yEnc.
   
   
   
   • MicroPlanet Gravity 2.50
     Several here use it. Free, but MicroPlanet is out of business. They have allowed further development, however. Info: Tom’s Gravity Pages The unofficial successor is SuperGravity; now in v2.6; SG v2.6 includes yEnc support.
   
   
   
   • GrabIt
     Free. Supports multiple servers & multi-file simultaneous downloading. Recent beta versions include yEnc support.
   
   
   
   • NewsGrabber
     Commercial program. Multiple server support. Version 4 is now called ZeoNews. A test version is available.
   
   
   
   • NewsBin Pro
     Commercial program, with trial period available. Haven’t tried NewsBin, but many use it. NewsBin Pro now supports yEnc posts. Note: use NewsBin Pro, consider using a separate program, like Outlook ExpreNewsBin Pro is not good for following text threads in newsgroups. Some NewsBin users even miss replies to their own posted messages. Ignoring their replies is an excellent way to annoy the people you seek help from. If you use NewBin Pro, consider using Outlook Express or Agent for monitoring discussion threads.
   
   
   
   • NewsReactor
     $15 shareware. Supports yEnc.
   
   
   
   • NewsPro
     Commercial program; $35. 30-day trial. Freeware version available (with fewer features). Supports multiple server access. Supports yEnc. Use trial version first (freeware version disables shareware version). Developer reportedly open to feature suggestions.
   
   
   
   • NewsShark
     Commercial program. I experienced memory-usage problems with an early version; these may have been fixed in later releases. Free trial version (with features limited). The latest release version supports yEnc.
   
   
   
   • NewsRover
     Commercial program, with trial period available. Supports yEnc posts. I mostly use NewsRover and have been fairly happy with it; I downloaded about 175 encodes from abmbvs alone in my first 3 months. I couldn’t have done it without an automated newsreader, particularly since I’m away from home frequently. Automatic, unattended downloading is possible from multiple news servers. Messages are automatically obtained across servers and groups, and combined into RARs. NewsRover’s latest version seems to be a resource hog, though, and I’ve experienced some instability. If you choose an auto-downloading newsreader, be selective when setting it up - auto-downloading 24/7 from several groups can fill even the largest hard drive very quickly. And beware corrupted files - check your downloads as soon as possible, to re-download problem files before they scroll off your server (or to get PAR files). A basic tutorial for NewsRover is available.
   
   
   
   • Other programs are available (e.g., NewsXpress and LeechGuy) but I know little about them. A new player, NovusNews, is emerging. It promises some interesting features, but is still in early beta testing.

   There is a wealth of information available at Newsreaders.com. Your fellow Usenet users can also provide substantial assistance. For questions/problems with a specific program, post a message “ATTN: Group”, either in your favorite newsgroup, or in the group “news.software.readers”. Someone will probably help.

   Features that will help:
   
   
   • Automatically selects associated messages of a RAR file, and combines them after downloading.
   
   
   
   • Stores available parts of an incomplete file to combine when all are available.
   
   
   
   • Lists message parts missing from a server. Most posters usually WILL NOT repost entire files. You should request ONLY the message segments you are missing. It helps if you know what those parts are. :-)
   
   
   
   • Ability to simultaneously connect with multiple servers, and multiple Usenet groups, and to combine parts from them to assemble a file.
   
   
   
   • Filtering, so you can specify the particular encode type you want and ignore the rest. Also for ignoring messages from specific posters, or shows you’re not interested in (especially in the big groups like abm or abvcd).
   
   
   
   • Maintains list of previously downloaded files, to ignore duplicates during reposts.


2. Use a commercial Usenet provider.

   ISPs offer Usenet newsgroups, but they are almost always an afterthought. Retention of messages, and completeness, usually will be limited. My former @home news server had retention of only about 12 hours for a while. When you’re trying to reassemble over 2000+ messages into 60+ RAR files, this gets real important really fast.

   Some commercial servers have around 14-day retention, or more. Also, multi-server access can speed up your downloads, gives you an alternative source if you get a CRC error message from QuickSFV, and greatly limits your repost requests. These CRC errors are almost never the fault of the poster; they crop up during propagation.

   Usenet service providers (USPs) include:
   
   
   • Easynews - which some of the main posters use (so it has great completion). EN offers both an NNTP server for downloads, and a Web interface where the multipart files are already combined (and that has longer retention than the server). They also have a global search feature, for finding posts in any group. Retention runs as high as 35 days (up to 45 days on the web interface!). During heavy traffic periods it’s about 3-1/2 weeks. They have a refund policy if you aren't satisfied: you must cancel your account to avoid charges (the limit is 1GB, and your account must be less than a week old). Click here for some Easynews tips.
   
   
   
   • Giganews offers a similar trial/refund period. As with Easynews, you must contact them to avoid charges.
   
   
   
   • Newscene
   
   
   
   • 1usenet.com
   
   
   
   • Usenetserver
   
   
   
   • Usenet-Access
   
   
   
   • Supernews is another option, but they filter messages (including the former text-file version of this guide); you’ll never know what you might miss.
   
   
   
   • BuzzardNews provides free access to non-binary groups. Full account: $6.95/month; $69.95/year.
   
   
   
   • AthenaNews is cheap ($5.95/month), with a 1GB/day limit.
   
   
   
   • ValueNews, another budget alternative, offers several plans starting at $5.95/month with a 2GB/day limit (spread over 4 separate servers).
   
   
   
   • Teranews offers a free account (limited to 50MB per day, and one connection). Due to the popularity of this offer, they now require a one-time $3.95 setup fee. Speed has been variable, recently - probably due to the traffic generated by their free offer. There are occasional connection problems, too. Completion and retention are usually quite good. Posts to Easynews appear on Teranews almost immediately - much faster than on Newsfeeds, for instance. They also offer full accounts, of course.
   
   
   
   • XS4all has been recommended for users in Holland or Belgium.
   
   
   
   • Claranews, for folks in the U. K., is quite inexpensive. It has good completion, but retention is only about 3-4 days.
   
   
   
   • Blueyonder users: note that BY offers a second, non-supported, unpublicized NNTP server, news-lhr.cableinet.net, that sometimes has better completion than their regular server)
   
   
   

   I can’t vouch for all of these services. As is the case for newsreaders, opinions vary about which service is best - I’ve seen pro and con comments for almost all of them. Check them out for yourself, ask in the groups for current recommendations, or consult the sites mentioned below. Performance changes over time, too, due to equipment upgrades and problems, software glitches, or just general screw-ups.

   The alt.binaries.news-server-comparison newsgroup offers discussion about the relative merits of the various USPs.

   For information about free news servers, such as “biggulp.readfreenews.net”, check NewzBot! Public USENET Resources for the Masses, The Open Directory Project (which includes info and free resources about both Usenet and the World Wide Web), and in this list. Most free servers provide only 56KB access, but they can help complete small gaps in your downloads.

   Prices for most commercial news providers range from about US$4 to US$20 (or more) per month, depending on retention, download speed, download limits, and number of servers included. Price comparisons and additional info on these and other Usenet providers can be found at Newsreaders.com. Pricing and general USP info is also available here, here, here, and here.

If you plan to post as well as download, some services strip out your IP address and (supposedly) don’t log uploads; both are desirable to protect you from problems.

3. Allow up to 24 hours or more for messages to propagate from the poster’s server to yours; don’t ask for fills too soon. Be aware that files may arrive out of order. Don’t get worried immediately if .r14 arrives before .r13. Also, posters sometimes spread uploads over multiple days, and probably have a time limit on requests.

   Always refresh your headers before making a fill request or asking for a repost. The messages you need may be available on your server, but not displayed by your newsreader.

   Most posts have an associated .TXT file, .NFO file, or 0 (zero) message - READ IT. The poster will spell out their repost policy, the posting schedule (if multi-day), or list the encode’s technical details. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of reading these information files. Posters go through enormous trouble to provide you with a free encode. The least you can do is read, and follow, their policy statement. These information files frequently provide good information about the character of a group, too. Read them - even for posts you’re not particularly interested in - while you’re getting to know a new group. See the tips about effective lurking below, as well.

   Also, different encodes might be going up simultaneously, sometimes from the same poster. You’ll definitely need to follow their syntax in any repost request, or no one will know which encode’s RAR segment you need. Be polite, and make it easy for them - they’ll be more likely to resend what you need. :-)

   Barring specific instructions in an NFO/TXT/0, the usual procedure is to request segment fills in the main group (abmbvs or abm, for instance), ATTN: original-poster-name, and full RAR reposts ATTN: Group. Full RARs are generally posted to the repost groups, for dedicated newsgroups like abmbvs; the large generic groups (e.g., abm) are sometimes more of a free-for-all. Segment fills usually go up in the main group (though they may go in repost, instead).

   NEVER post the RARs you already have when requesting a repost. Such HIWIH (“here is what I have”) posting is a sure way to put off major contributors. It is unlikely to result in a response from them; it is much more likely to result in you being kill-filed, instead.

   Don’t USE ALL CAPS - IT IS CONSIDERED “SHOUTING” AND IS VERY ANNOYING (see - it is, isn’t it? ;-). And don’t “billboard” - post multiple messages requesting the same thing.

   Just post a single message specifying the encode (by filename, encoder, and format - VCD, SVCD, VBR, etc.), and the segments or RARs you need.

   Examples:
   210-whatsmyline2-vcd-muffle.rar - parts 07, 14, and 21
   210-whatsmyline2-vcd-muffle.r13 - parts 19 and 33
   
   Also see the section “CRC Error Recovery”, for additional fill request information.

4. Practice effective lurking:

   
   
   • Get to know who the main contributors are, and follow their text posts regarding upcoming posts, problems, and updates. Many of your repost requests, questions, and episode requests have probably already come up; avoid asking questions they’ve recently answered (it’s impolite, annoying, and wastes their time). Particularly while you’re getting to know a group, read the NFO/TXT/0 messages included with a variety of posts, too (regardless of whether you want to download that post).
   
   
   
   • If you use an auto-downloader like NewsRover, such monitoring will also help you adjust your filters and settings, so you’re less likely to miss something.
   
   
   
   • Also, check the repost group before requesting a repost. The file you’re seeking may already have been thrown up in the repost groups.
   
   
   
   • Many binary groups are very active. You must monitor them frequently (daily, or at least every other day) or files will slip by you, especially if you’re using your ISP’s news server.


5. When posting to someone’s attention, copy-and-paste the poster’s name to your subject line with clipboard to ensure they don’t miss it. Copy it from one of their posts, or from their NFO/TXT/0 file (some include a complete sample subject line to use for requests). Many posters use precise search/find filters to locate messages posted to them. They’ll never see a message that doesn’t exactly match their nickname. Help yourself by helping them find your request; if they don’t see it, you don’t get it.



6. Use an up-to-date virus scanner for checking ANY non-multimedia files downloaded ANYWHERE on Usenet, especially executables (.exe, .com, etc.) and VB Scripts (.vbs, etc.). It’s a good idea to have the program scanning your system continuously; you WILL eventually be exposed to a virus, if you use Usenet long.



7. Get a broadband connection. A 56K modem is so slow, the messages may start dropping off your server before you get them all. The posters here are very helpful filling repost requests, but they have limits in how much they can upload &/or how long they can store files. If you’re stuck with dial-up, a good commercial news provider will help a lot by keeping messages longer.



8. Extracting the encode from the RAR files you’ve downloaded (assuming WinRAR & QuickSFV - or equivalents - are installed):
   
   
   1. All the downloaded files must be in one directory.
   
   
   
   2. Double-click the SFV file to verify all files are present and error-free. Alternatively, for posts including a .PAR file, you can use FSRaid, QuickPAR, etc., to verify the file set.
   
   
   
   3. Make sure you have sufficient available disk space for the extracted file. It will require additional space on your hard drive: the RAR set is not deleted during the extraction. The space required will be roughly the same size as the total combined size of all the RAR files, or somewhat bigger.
   
   
   
   4. Select (highlight) the first RAR file: either the “.rar” in a “rar, r00, r01” post, or the lowest numbered RAR in a “part01.rar, part02.rar” type post.
   
   
   
   5. Right-click on this .rar file to call up WinRAR’s context menu. Or, double-click the .rar file to launch the extraction program (this offers more options and control, but can create complications, because of all the options available).
   
   
   
   6. Select one of the extraction options offered on the context menu - usually the “Extract to [filename]” option for systems with a single hard drive. If you’re using more than one hard drive for your extractions, select the “Extract files...” option, then edit the destination name that pops up to specify the desired drive/folder/filename.
   
   
   
   7. Wait. :-) It’s processor- and disk-intensive, so avoid other activity for a bit. A large SVCD or avi extraction takes about 2-1/2 to 4 minutes on a 1GHz PC.
   
   
   
   8. Enter the target folder - it should contain your encode. It may also contain a copy of the NFO/TXT file, and possibly some delightful bonuses (which may be zipped; double-click to extract them - assuming you have an unzip program installed).
   
   
   
   9. Launch the encode. If it’s an SVCD, you may need to view it with a software DVD player, even when it’s launched from your hard drive.

   IMPORTANT RAR Notes:
   
   

   • The .rxx extension is standard for RAR posts. But you may encounter other extensions that are still RAR files. Aside from .rxx, three common extensions: .sxx, .cxx, and .0xx, may also be seen (though rarely in the main groups TV & movie groups).
   
   
   
   • When there are more than 100 files in a post, the standard “.rar, .r00, .r01...” extension switches to .sxx (.s01, .s02, .s03, etc.) for the later files. For huge file sets, WinRAR uses later letters in the alphabet (.t01, .u01, etc.). Download all the RARs and “SARs” into one directory, and start your extraction from the .rar file, as normal. WinRAR will automatically extract the encode from the files.
   
   
   
   • The commonly used .rxx extension (the default in WinRAR, up to v3) can be changed when the RAR set is created; any sequential extension can be used.

     I see occasional posts using “.001, .002, .003...” instead of “.rar, .r00, .r01....” Unfortunately, since this is not standard usage, it confuses some downloaders. The extraction procedure is the same as for any RAR set - just make sure you start the extraction from the lowest-numbered file.

     Since WinRAR’s file association won’t recognize the non-standard format, the extraction must be manually initiated. WinRAR can’t start the process via the context menu, or by double-clicking.

     Put all the files in one directory, launch WinRAR, navigate to the files’ folder with the “File” >> “Open Archive” dialog, then click the “Extract To [filename]” button. Extract to the default folder, or wherever you like. Not quite as direct as right-click-on-.rar >> “Extract files...” :-( But it does work. :-)

     Be aware, however, that while oddly-named files may be non-standard RAR sets, this naming format is also used by some non-RAR file splitting software (e.g., HJSplit or JAS). See this tip for more information about this file-set type. If you encounter such posts, always try a RAR extraction before using any “file joining” software.

   • The newest versions of WinRAR, starting with v2.90, use a new compression algorithm that cannot be decoded by earlier versions. If you get a message that the file is an unknown format (or something similar), the post may have been RARed with a new version, and must be un-RARed with WinRAR version 2.90 or higher.

     The newest WinRAR versions may generate RAR sets with a new filename format, in which all the files end in “.rar”: “filename.part001.rar, filename.part002.rar, filename.part003.rar ... filename.partxxx.rar.” These files must be decoded with WinRAR v2.90, or above.

   • The .cxx extension (.c01, .c02, .c03...) might be used for RAR sets, or for ACE sets. WinRAR should be able to extract from either.
   
   
   
   • If you get messages about “Invalid or corrupt authenticity information” or “authentication info” errors, don’t panic. The RAR files were created with an earlier WinRAR version than you’re using, but the extraction should proceed okay.

9. Selecting an encode format to download (assuming you don’t just download everything):

   If you have download speed/retention problems, and don’t mind sacrificing quality, the smaller non-VCD/non-SVCD encodes may suit you.

   VCDs are typically @450MB for a one-hour show minus commercials, high-resolution DivX files are @600+MB (though the new DivX5 encodes from Muffle are roughly half this size), and SVCDs are 750-800+MB.

   Keep an eye out, though: minds may change. Other formats, such as .rm, etc., may also be posted.

   If you decide to get the higher-quality (larger) VCD/SVCD encodes:
   
   

   • Check the compatibility of your DVD player (or one you’re thinking of buying).
   
   
   
   • The VCDHelp Web site provides a wealth of information about VCDs and SVCDs.
   
   
   
   • VCD compatibility is not an issue if you’re just viewing the files on your computer from the hard drive. The VCD-compatible Mpeg file you extract from the downloaded RARs should play directly in your standard player (e.g., Windows Media Player). Likewise, the DivX (.avi) version should play in WMP, assuming you have up-to-date codecs installed. See the post’s NFO/TXT/0 file, it may include codec info. The “avi” glossary entry has more info and links. If you burn the Mpeg encode file directly to a CD as a data file, you can play it from that disk with WMP as well.
   
   
   
   • SVCD is somewhat different. SVCD-compatible encodes usually don’t play in WMP. If you can’t get the SVCD-Mpeg2 file to play in your computer’s normal player, try a software-emulation DVD player, such as WinDVD or PowerDVD. In WinDVD 2000, drag the file from Explorer into the player’s display area. You may also find that many Mpeg2 files will play in WMP after installation of a software DVD player. Full-episode, 1-hour program SVCD-Mpeg2 encodes are too large to fit on a CD as a data file; they can only be burned to disk in SVCD format.
   
   
   
   • After burning the encode to disk, you can play the disk in a VCD/SVCD-compatible DVD player on your TV, or in your computer using a software-emulation DVD player. If you’re playing a VCD/SVCD disk on your computer, WinDVD or PowerDVD can play it from a regular CD drive, a CD-RW drive, or a DVD drive.
   
   
   

10. Some posts include PARchive files: .PAR, .P01, .P02.... These are recovery files, used with the programs “FSRaid” or “SmartPAR”.

    The large Pxx files are NOT needed to obtain an encode, unless there is a problem with the downloaded RARs. Just get the SFV, NFO/TXT/0 file, and RARs, as normal, then extract. If a small .PAR file (or .par) is available, I recommend downloading this file.

    It is especially recommended you download the .PAR if no SFV file is supplied with the post. The .PAR index file will allow you to verify the file set, in much the same way the SFV does. If you use FSRaid, several additional functions are available.

    You will only need to download Pxx files if you get a CRC error reported by PAR validation, SFV verification, or WinRAR - or if you are missing one or more RAR(s). If a post includes PAR files, however, USE THE PAR FILES BEFORE ASKING FOR FILLS. Many posters won’t fill repost requests if PAR files were provided in the post. See “Using PAR Files With FSRaid And SmartPar”, for more details on file recovery with PAR files.

11. FSRaid is the newest and most powerful Windows PAR client, and is the most frequently updated. This program is primarily used for repair of problem RAR file sets when using PARs. But it offers additional features, including fast file verification and renaming. To use FSRaid, a post must include a set of PAR files. If a .PAR (or .par) file is available, download it into the same directory that contains your RARs.

    Launch FSRaid by double-clicking the program in Explorer, or by double-clicking the .PAR file (assuming you’ve set FSRaid’s Prefs to “Associate with PAR files”).

    The main menu displays graphical maps of your file sets - one for the RAR files, and another for the PARs. A colored “maplet” represents each individual file. The maplet’s color matches the status of that file: green = valid, yellow = missing, red = corrupt, etc. Hover your cursor over a maplet for additional information, displayed in a status box. And right-click on a maplet to access functions specifically available for that file.

    The right-click context menu allows you to easily copy a file’s name to the Windows clipboard. This makes file searches easier - just paste the filename into the search dialog.

    FSRaid simplifies file renaming. For posts that include a PAR file, the original filenames (of otherwise valid files) can be restored automatically, regardless of the cause of the incorrect name. Filenames are occasionally jumbled in the posting process, but this renaming ability is particularly valuable if you use web-interface downloading sites, such as Easynews, which rename the posted files when they are zipped for downloading. See the tip on web file downloading for the procedure.

    Click the “Prefs” button to set several preference options, including associating PAR files with FSRaid (so you can launch FSRaid by double-clicking on a .PAR file).

    The “Create” menu provides easy parity volume creation. You probably won’t need this feature until you post multi-part file sets yourself. :-)

    Operation is very intuitive, but a Help File is available within the program.

12. There are some features available when using QuickSFV beyond just file verification (version 2.0a and up - I’m not sure earlier versions had them). They are available by right-clicking in a blank area of the SFV output display.

    You can clear the database update (returning the SFV file to its original state). You can mark bad files, then delete them, from within QuickSFV. You can also select any filename listed in the SFV output by left-clicking on it, and copy the filename to the clipboard. This can then be pasted when searching for replacements of problem files, or when renaming files.

    Version 2.1 adds the ability of file verification for files located in a different directory than the SFV database file. It can also automatically move files to a subdirectory as they are verified.

    Both file deletion and copy to clipboard are also available with .PAR files, when using FSRaid.

13. Some commercial news services (e.g., Easynews) provide web access to files, in addition to their NNTP news servers. The downloads from web gateways may be smaller, since the header “overhead” of the messages is removed; just the files themselves are downloaded. The files may also be zipped, making the downloads even smaller.

    These zipped RAR files may be renamed, replacing punctuation and spaces with underscores. If you combine these with files downloaded from a news server, the unzipped files must be renamed before using WinRAR or QuickSFV. You can do this manually (file-by-file) but two options are much easier, if there are several files to rename:

    • For posts that include PAR files, FSRaid can be used to automatically rename any files in the set. Just download the .PAR (or .par) file, along with the RAR files. You don’t need any large Pxx files to rename RARs, just the small .PAR index file.

      Put the .PAR and all the RARs in the same directory, and double-click the .PAR file to launch FSRaid. After the file set loads, misnamed files will be identified. Click the “Fix names” button, and the files will be renamed automatically. If a file is not renamed, it’s either not a valid file, or a duplicate of another file already in the set. See part 2 for more information on using FSRaid and PAR files to repair RARs.

    • For file sets without PARs, a renaming program may be easier than a file-by-file approach. I currently use 1-4a Renamer - it’s free (emailware). It allows extremely powerful and flexible bulk renaming/numbering/attribute change/insert-append/sorting.

      To simply rename a group of files, navigate to the correct directory to display the file list. Then check “Replace” and enter the current (incorrect) name where it says “this” and the correct filename where it says “by that” (both entries without the file’s extension). Click “Start” and you’re done. It’s easy to undo a rename, if it doesn’t work correctly. See the copy-and-paste tips using SFV files or FSRaid, to obtain the correct name.

14. You may encounter posts using a very new posting format, yEnc (or Yenc). Actually, you will encounter yEnc posts, if you haven’t already. This format will increase in prevalence, since it is more efficient (yielding smaller downloads).

    Some newsreaders don’t support yEnc directly, yet. Among those that do are Xnews, NewsBinPro, and NewsRover; see the yEnc site (link below) for a more complete list. BNR2’s beta release supports yEnc (be sure you have BNR2 v0.6.2 or above - it fixes a yEnc-related bug). Other newsreaders will undoubtedly add yEnc support, and there is a stand-alone program for decoding yEnc files (yDec.exe).

    The latest release from Forte of Agent, v1.91, includes yEnc-decoding. No release date for a yEnc-enabled FreeAgent has been announced. It is strongly advised that you upgrade.

    Here are some tips, however, for those who haven’t yet upgraded:

    • Agent’s default settings fail to combine yEnc headers, so a huge header list results. Fortunately, there is considerable information available about adapting Agent for yEnc posts. Rather than spell out the simple procedure here, I recommend Automan’s excellent slide show tutorial >> click on “Tutorials” >> select “Tutorial #5”. The nifty graphics make the steps clearer than any 1000 words I could write here. :-) While you’re there, check out his Agent tutorial, too, if you haven’t already (“Tutorial #4”).
    
    
    
    • For other newsreaders, consult their web site. The steps outlined in Automan’s yEnc tutorial for Agent can be adapted to some other programs, too.
    
    
    
    • This new post encoding format presents one more thing to learn about. But the long-term advantages are worth it: post sizes will be reduced by 25% or more. Certainly anyone paying for a commercial news service will applaud this!

    For more information, check out the yEnc web site.

    For yEnc tutorials for Agent and Outlook Express users, a GUI interface for yDec.exe, and yenc-related Delphi components, click here.

15. If shows are currently in re-runs, try it all out NOW. When the new season starts the group gets very busy, with several simultaneous postings for each show. It can be hard to keep track. So find out what works for you when it’s quieter, if you can (i.e., when new shows aren’t airing). Simplify your life by downloading only one type of encode for each episode, at least to begin with. Be aware that the smaller encodes appear infrequently in the off-season; they are posted more often during the new season.

16. We see a lot of messages questioning why new encodes aren’t posted each week; non-U.S. downloaders are frequently confused by the irregular posts which occur for new programs. This results from the broadcast schedules of shows on American TV.

    There are 52 weeks in a year, but only 22 shows in a normal full TV season; sometimes there are fewer (BtVS season 1 was 12 shows, for instance). Very occasionally there are more than 22, but that’s rare (especially for one-hour dramas).

    These new shows normally (but not always) air from September through May, but that still leaves many more weeks than there are shows. Networks pick and choose when they’ll air new episodes; the same network may air new eps for some shows, but reruns of others, within the same week.

    New episodes are more common during “sweeps” months, when advertising rates are established based on ratings: November, February, and May. Assuming it’s a successful show, that is. Low-rated shows are often pulled during sweeps periods; their new airings are clumped outside these crucial (for the networks) months.

    I mention all this to give you an idea how variable a show’s schedule can be. If you haven’t seen a new episode for a while, the network’s probably not airing any. This is particularly true in a newsgroup dedicated to a specific show, where the cappers usually post almost like clockwork shortly after a new episode airs.

    You can access the network’s (or show’s) web site to find out the current schedule. Or just peruse the group - during hiatus periods, there are usually several messages wondering where the new encodes are. We probably don’t need any new ones. ;-) Which leads us...

17. Back to that patience thing. Especially in the dedicated newsgroups, most everything gets reposted sometime. In an organized group like abmbvs, if you end up missing some RARs and they aren’t filled, they’ll probably reappear eventually.

    If you discover a posting that’s already in progress and many files are already missing on your server, it’s probably better to wait for it to be posted again, rather than beg for a huge repost request that probably won’t be filled. If you have plenty of storage space (and don’t mind the taunting of a partial download on your hard drive) download what you can, then wait for the encode to be posted again.

    Even in large, less structured groups like abm, full reposts of a show’s entire season are not unusual.

Bin/Cue Files:

Most posters in abmbvs provide Mpeg files for their VCD or SVCD encodes, but you may also encounter bin/cue files. Bin/cues allow the encoder to assemble multiple files, and lay out the burned disk’s contents. They’re frequently used for music and software, which have multiple files on a single CD.

Basically, the bin file contains the content, and the cue provides the instructions for burning this content, properly laid out on the disk. So all the downloader does is burn - no setup is required. Of course, if you want to delete some contents before burning, you’re stuck (unless you know what you’re doing, and can modify the cue’s burn instructions).

Another reason you’ll see bin/cues is they let the poster incorporate a menu-driven interface for SVCD encodes, or chapter points for VCDs or SVCDs. C00Ki3 experimented with this, notably his excellent BtVS 6x07 OMWF encode. The songs and scenes could be accessed directly. He only rarely posts menu-driven encodes now, because building the menus takes too much time. Stonecutter Number One recently released a very elaborate Smallville 1x01 Pilot encode, with multiple menus accessing scenes, promos, music, and cast bios/pictures. But he spent three days just building the menus and contents!

Anyway, you never know when you’ll encounter a bin/cue, so it’s a good idea to be prepared. You can extract the Mpeg from the bin file. Since my system resists overburning, I’ve had to do this with some overly-long bin files - including C00Ki3’s OMWF, until I came up with an overburning workaround. Assuming the bin contains extra content (additional to the Mpeg), you break it out and burn it as a normal Mpeg (in VCDEasy, Nero, etc.), omitting the extras from your burn so it’ll fit on a disk. Some DVD players balk at menus - another occasion when Mpeg-extraction comes in handy, to extract just the video file and burn it sans frills.

Among the programs which can extract Mpegs from bin/cues are:

• ISOBuster (also available here).
• Daemon Tools
• VCDGear
  Free. Windows, Mac (including OS 9), Linux, and several other versions available.
  Multiple non-extraction functions, too.
• FireBurner CD-burning software incorporates BINChunker, and can extract Mpegs

VCDEasy can also be used to extract Mpeg files from bin files. See next section.

Or you can burn the bin, using the cue file’s instructions in several burning programs (CDRWin, Fireburner, Blindwrite, Nero, etc.). But VCDEasy is free, so it’s not a bad one to start with. And I’ve seen several problems when folks try to burn some bin/cues in Nero (though recent Nero versions work better).

ISOBuster - Basic Mpeg Extraction from Bin Files:

1. Launch ISOBuster.



2. Click “File” >> “Open Image File”.



3. Navigate to the bin file, and select it.



4. In the directory tree in the left panel, click on “MPEG2” (for SVCD bin files).



5. In the right panel, right-click on the “AVSEQ01.MPG” file. Select “Extract AVSEQ01.MPG” from the context menu. If there are more than one Mpeg files listed, select the one you want to extract. The largest file usually contains the video. There are other extraction options listed; some encodes work best if you choose one of the “Raw...” extraction options. Be aware of this, if you experience a problem playing the extracted Mpeg.



6. Specify a destination directory. If you have two hard drives, the process will be faster if the destination drive is different than the origination drive.

VCDEasy Instructions:

Get VCDEasy here or here. The VCDEasy site now provides a FAQ page, so you might try there if you have any questions. And there are tutorials available at the VCDHelp pages.

As you’ll see when you explore the program, VCDEasy offers a lot of flexibility. That’s why Muffle recommends it so highly - it’s very flexible and compliant, and also creates disks which are compatible with most players. If you experience problems playing an encode burned in another program, try burning with VCDEasy. I’ve had several reports of problem encodes that played fine after a VCDEasy burn.

In addition to set-up and bin/cue burns, these instructions cover burning from an Mpeg. VCDImager creates bin/cue-type “cache” files from the Mpeg, then CDRDAO burns to disk using these files. Be aware that the cache files are about the same size as the Mpeg, so you need plenty of available disk space. And you must delete these VCDImager-created files after burning, unless you’ve selected “Delete cd image files if burn successful” under Settings >> VCDEasy. After you’ve become comfortable with the program, enable this auto-delete function. But leave it unchecked to begin with, since the cache-creation step takes time. If you need to re-burn (or just want multiple copies), you won’t have to recreate the cache files.

If you get warnings about ASPI problems when installing or using VCDEasy, you may have old, bad, or incomplete ASPI drivers installed. ASPI drivers (or ASPI layers) are required by CDRDAO; VCDEasy checks that they are correctly installed. If they’re not, it disables the CDRDAO support.

Adaptec is your most reliable source for ASPI layer info and updates. I won’t provide URLs linking to their ASPI pages directly, because support sites tend to change frequently, but here’s how you can find their latest offerings:

• Go to Adaptec’s Web site >> “Support” >> “Downloads”. Enter “aspi” into the search box. Select the appropriate links for your operating system.



• As this is written, Adaptec recommends downloading “aspi32.exe” (currently v4.60), for Windows 95. USE ASPI32 ONLY FOR WIN95. Use the program “aspichk.exe”, to identify the current ASPI components on your system.



• For Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP, download the “Windows ASPI Package” (currently version 4.71: “aspi_v471.exe”); this package includes “aspichk.exe”. For additional information, grab “aspi470install.pdf”.

Improperly installed ASPI components can cause significant problems in your system. Since Adaptec ASPI software now supports all Windows flavors, I recommend using their ASPI solutions first. Some Win95 users find that Adaptec’s “aspi32.exe” v2.60 doesn’t work on their system, however. In this event, try ForceASPI, which is also available here. This second site also provides a thorough tutorial about ASPI issues.

As always for VCD/SVCD issues, check the VCDHelp pages, for more information. And some ASPI info is available here.

VCDEasy Setup:

1. Launch VCDEasy.



2. Click the “hammer” symbol, next to the “Simulate” checkbox.



3. Click the “General” setting selection, and verify that the “Use the internal burning engine” box is checked.



4. Once you get the hang of things, you’ll probably want to check the boxes that automatically delete your CD image files and the XML file - just for the sake of cleanup. While you’re starting out, though, you might want to leave those unchecked - in case you make a mistake and need to retry the burn. And leave them unchecked if you plan to burn more than one disk from an encode.



5. Select the “CD Images” setting selection, and click the “BIN/CUE” checkbox.



6. Select the “CD Writer/Reader” >> “CD Writer” setting selection. You’ll need to know the make and model of your CD-R/RW burner. Choose the appropriate CD-R burner from the pull-down list. Select a burning speed: for SVCD files, start at 4X-8X (problems accrue with fast burn speeds on SVCD disks). Click on “More Information” to identify the proper driver for your burner.



• If your drive is listed, the driver will be listed in the fourth column. Select that driver in VCDEasy's “Force Driver” drop-down box.
• If a sibling of your drive is listed, try that setting (e.g., you have a TDK veloCD 8432, which is a sibling of the listed TDK CDRW121032, so generic-mmc is indicated).
• If you can’t find anything that looks like your drive, or if VCDEasy experiences problems recognizing your drive, try “generic-mmc” or “generic-mmc-raw”.


7. If your drive supports overburning, and you want it enabled, check the “Allow Overburn” box. Most posts don’t require overburning, however, and overburning can create problems. Similarly, if you want the CD ejected when the burn completes, check that box.



8. Select the “Warnings” setting selection. Make sure “Show the 'Update scan data offsets' warning” is checked.



9. Click “Okay”.



10. Click the “Main” button. Verify that “Interactivity”, “Burn”, and “Perform some MPEG compliance checks” are checked.



11. Click the “Options” button. Check the “The SEGMENT folder” and “Update scan data offsets” options.

This concludes VCDEasy’s basic setup.

Burning a Bin/Cue file (assuming VCDEasy has been set up):

1. Click the “Tools” button (along the left).



2. Click the “CDRDAO” button.



3. Click on the “CUE/TOC File” button.



4. Navigate to the files’ directory, and select your cue file.



5. Click “Burn”, and that’s it.



6. If you get an error message when starting the burn, check the contents of the cue file: Open it in Notepad, or right-click on the file in Windows Explorer and select Edi“t”. Look at the filename in quotes at the top. If it includes a path statement, delete it - leaving only the filename itself (in quotes). Save the file, and try your burn again.

Extracting Mpeg files from bin files (or Nero-generated NRG files) with VCDEasy:

1. Click the “Tools” button (along the left).



2. Click the “(S)VCD Build/Rip” button.



3. Under “VCDxRIP”, click the “BIN/NRG file” button.



4. Navigate to the bin file, and select it.



5. Click the “XML file” button.



6. Navigate to the destination folder you want the files extracted to, and enter a name for the XML file that will result.



7. Click the “Rip” button.

Burning an Mpeg file (and including extra non-video files) with VCDEasy:

The following assumes that you’ve completed VCDEasy’s setup, that you have an Mpeg episode ready to burn, and that there are extras that you want to place on the CD along with the video. An example of these “extras” is the bonus files that come with many Muffle encodes. You may also want to burn the files for any CD labels you have for the episode, so they’re readily available later. Obviously, if you have no files additional to the Mpeg, ignore those steps. The Mpeg steps remain the same.

Note that VCD/SVCD file names are limited to the old 8.3 convention; this won’t affect your Mpeg files, as the video file will be renamed automatically. But it will affect any additional “bonus” files you add to the disk, so rename them in advance. A filename like “5x15-bonuses.zip” should become “bonuses.zip” or “515bonus.zip”. Similarly, rename the text/NFO file, if necessary, so it conforms to the 8.3 standard. If you want to keep the original long filenames, archive the files in a Zip file, and name the archive file in the 8.3 format.

VCDEasy doesn’t like certain characters in its filenames (or even path folder names) - the “&” tends to be a problem, so rename the file to get rid of those if they appear. VCDEasy warns you when you add files, if you forget.

You may get error messages if the path name is too long, regardless of the characters used in the path. If so, move the Mpeg file (and any other files you want to burn) to a folder installed in the root directory. I use C:\Burn or C:\Temp.

Note: If you use BNR for your newsreader, close it before launching VCDEasy - problem burns may result from BNR being open in the background. In fact, close anything you don’t absolutely need to have running, and pause the Task Scheduler so nothing starts up in the middle of the burn. Especially avoid accessing the CD burner with Windows Explorer during a burn operation - CDRDAO doesn't lock the burner.

1. Open the folder containing your files. Rename the files as detailed above (8.3 filename format), if you haven’t already.



2. Click the “(S)VCD” button (upper left). Click the “ISO Files” tab.



3. Drag the additional files (any extra non-video files you want to burn) from Windows Explorer into VCDEasy’s ISO directory window, in a standard Windows drag-and-drop operation. Or use the “Add Files” button to navigate to your files’ folder, and select the desired files.



4. Click the “Main” button. Select either the “Vcd 2.0” or “Svcd 1.0” format, depending on the encode’s format. Make sure your CD-R burner is shown in the drop-down box, and make sure “Burn” is checked. If you’re just testing to make sure you have the right driver, you may want to use “Simulate” instead of “Burn” the first time through. You won’t get a CD, but any obvious problems should be reported in the program’s log. Uncheck “Burn” if you want only a simulation.



5. Specify a volume label, using A-Z, 0-9, and the “_” character (no spaces). “BTVS5X15” or “ALIAS_3X06”, for example.



6. Using either drag-and-drop (into the area below “MPEG Video/Picture files”), or the “Add Files” option, add the Mpeg file(s).



7. Select a name and folder for the CD image “Bin Output file” (or use the default “videocd.bin” - but specify a directory). Burn errors may occur if the image is not on the same drive as VCDEasy’s program’s files - though I haven’t seen this in recent versions - so keep that in mind. Unless you specify a path, VCDEasy writes the images in its own directory; that should work fine.



8. Compare the “Approximate Cd Size” number near the bottom left (should be around 450MB for a VCD, or about 800MB for an SVCD, for a one-hour episode) to the “Available Disk Space” number beside it. Under NO circumstances should the first be larger than the second; if it is, clear some stuff off your hard drive to make enough room. Ignore the “Chapters” button, for now. If you’re interested, delve into this later. See the info below.



9. Everything should be set. Pop a blank CD into the drive - I suggest cleaning the CD with an anti-static brush first - even if you’re only doing a simulation. Click “Go”. If all goes well, VCDEasy displays a large dialog box at the end that has three major entries - one saying the XML was built correctly, a second saying the image was built, and a third saying the burn was successful. If something goes wrong, you'll get a series of dialogs that specify what went right and what failed. The log also contains indicators explaining what happened.

If you want to save the log for reference, before pressing “Go” to start the burn: click the “hammer” button, select the “Log” setting selection, and check “Save the log”, then “Okay”. You can also specify a name and directory for the log.

If your DVD player has trouble playing your burned CDs, try burning at a slower speed: 4X, or even slower. Or try checking “UseMPEGAV/ENTRYSVD instead of...” on the “(S)VCD Player” >> “Options” page. Also, make sure you use good quality, brand name blank disks. I’ve had consistent success with disks from Maxell, Fuji, TDK, and Digital Research. The cheap, off-brand, no-label disks cause playback problems in some machines. They may also not be quite as long lasting as the labeled variety.

Adding Chapters to a VCD or SVCD with VCDEasy:

Recent versions of VCDEasy allow you to add your own chapters, . Many DVD players allow random access to any point on the disk, when playing a VCD. But you usually lose this capability when playing SVCDs.

VCDEasy now allows adding chapters - at virtually any point in a show - when burning from an Mpeg file (as opposed to burning from a bin/cue). The following steps assume you’ve already setup VCDEasy, you’re burning from an Mpeg1 or Mpeg2 file (to VCD or SVCD, respectively), and you’ve made all other entries and selections for your burn:

1. Click the “(S)VCD” button at the upper left.



2. Click the “Options” button along the top.



3. Select “Use Playback Control (PBC)”.



4. Click the “Chapters” button along the top.



5. Check the quantity listed for “Number of possible chapter entry points”, to verify you can enter multiple points. Some encodes won’t allow more than one or two entry points (see below).



6. There are several methods available for determining where your chapter points will be located. The easiest is probably “Create a chapter every” >> enter an appropriate interval. I frequently use “0:05:00.000”, to create a chapter every 5 minutes. Or I note the times of specific points in the show (commercial breaks, for instance) while watching it on my PC.
   
   Then I can enter specific times for the chapter points. After entering your selection, click the “Ok” button next to the entry you selected. The resulting chapter point time(s) will be displayed in the list at the right. Make corrections by selecting and deleting specific entries, or by clicking “Clear All”.

That’s it - just select Go to start the burn.

If you get a message stating the burn couldn’t be sent to the drive, you may not be able to use chapters with that file (or with your burner). Disable chapter creation (de-select “Use Playback Control (PBC)” on the “Options” page). Then start the burn over. You may want to use a CD-RW for your first attempt, to see how it works with your setup.

During playback, the chapter points will work only if your player is in PBC mode. On many players, PBC mode is activated simply by pressing the “Play” button (as opposed to entering a number, or pressing the “Advance” button). Once playing in PBC mode, move forward or backward to chapter points by pressing the “Advance”, “Reverse”, or numerical buttons (the numerical buttons only work if the default option enabling this feature was selected on the “Chapters” page of VCDEasy). When not using PBC, the chapter points should have no effect on playback.

Chapter points simplify moving to specific points in the video; many DVD players allow navigation of an SVCD only via entry points. VCDEasy offers much more creative opportunities, too, through its Mpeg still and interactivity features. Once you’ve mastered the addition of simple chapter points, you may want to try creating full menus, with interactive navigation capability. This involves two more VCDEasy functions: “Mpeg still” images, and the “Interactivity” menu.

The potential complexity of this topic exceeds the scope of this guide. A good source of information is available through the link at the bottom of the VCDEasy “Chapters” menu. Another good resource is the tutorial “How to create VCD menus and chapters with VCDEasy” at VCDHelp.

Definitely consider using CD-RW disks for your early experiments with menus. Many mistakes can creep into the process, and some DVD players can’t play menus properly.

I’ve encountered a few encodes that wouldn’t allow chapter point addition. The info on the “Chapters” page indicates how many points can be added; these encodes showed only 1 or 2 were available. TMPGEnc can sometimes be used to correct this; you perform a demux/remux operation on your Mpeg. This splits the file into its video and audio components, then reassembles them into a complete file again.

This 2-step process can be done in one operation. Make sure you’ve got plenty of room on your hard drive, since you’ll yield files totaling twice the size of the original. It may be faster if your output files write to a different drive than your input file is on.

1. Launch TMPGEnc.



2. From the menu list, click “File” >> “MPEG Tools” >> “Simple Multiplex” (if a “Project Wizard” dialog pops up on launch, click Cancel).



3. Click on “Browse” to enter your “Video input”.



4. Navigate to, and select, your Mpeg file; it will also be entered in the “Audio input” box, automatically.



5. Verify that the “Type” box displays the correct encode format for your file.



6. Select a destination folder and filename in the “Output” box (I usually use the original filename, but add “remux” to it).



7. Click the “Run” button.

This simple split/reassemble procedure sometimes corrects the file sufficiently that you can add multiple chapter points. If it doesn’t work, further repair (using TMPGEnc, VCDGear, etc.) may be necessary, but that’s beyond this guide’s scope.

Burning a VCD/SVCD from an Mpeg in VCDEasy, using a pre-existing XML file:

Posters occassionally provide an XML file with their posts. This contains a set of instructions VCDEasy uses when creating your CD image files. It includes chapter insertion points, for instance. The poster might provide this file so you can burn the encode with chapter points inserted at the commercial breaks, for instance. Or a complete menu setup might be included.

You must substitute your filename & path statement for those in this pre-existing XML, so VCDEasy can find the files on your computer. There are several ways to accomplish this; here’s one I use:

1. Load Mpeg and ISO files into VCDEasy as normal. See the section “Burning an Mpeg file with VCDEasy” and follow steps 1-8.



2. Adjust VCDEasy’s settings:



• Click the “Settings” button >> “VCDEasy” button >> Uncheck “Delete CD image files...” (particularly if this is your first attempt at this procedure).
• Check “Generate the XML file only”.



3. Click “Go” to create an XML file. You’ll use this file as a source for some modifications you must make in the pre-existing XML.



4. In Windows Explorer, navigate to your default VCDEasy output folder (“XML Output Folder” on the “(S)VCD” “Main” page).



5. Copy the filename of this new VCDEasy-created XML file to the Windows clipboard (e.g., default = “videocd.xml”). Rename this file; I’ll call it “NotUsed.xml”.



6. Copy the XML file you want to use into this folder. ALWAYS make modifications to a COPY, NEVER the original file. At some point, you’ll make an error; with an intact original file, this is no big deal. Rename this copied XML, by pasting from the clipboard the filename you just copied.



7. Open both XML files with Notepad.



8. From the “NotUsed.xml” file, find the Mpeg filename entry (<sequence-item src=). Copy the complete contents between the quotation marks (the complete filename, including path statement, of the source Mpeg video file).



9. Insert this filename into the XML you want to use (e.g., “videocd.xml”). Paste your Mpeg’s filename over the existing filename, between the first set of quotation marks.
   
   Example:
   where “C:\Video Files\BVS6x22-SVCD.mpg” is the correct filename for the video file on your computer.
   
   Important: The quotation marks and other text must remain intact; replace only the filename (between the first quotation marks).



10. If you added ISO data files to your compilation, you must insert these filename/path statements into the XML file you’ll use:
    
    Find the “filesystem” data entry in both XMLs. From NotUsed.xml, copy the info following the “SEGMENT” folder entry. Paste this into the XML you want to use - “videocd.xml” - in the same position (immediately before the “</filesystem>” tag.
    
    In this example, the path statement and filename “C:\Video Files\BVS6x22.NFO” is inserted:
    
    Before insertion:
    
    

      <filesystem>
        <folder>
          <name>SEGMENT</name>
        </folder>
      </filesystem>

    After insertion:

      <filesystem>
        <FOLDER>
          <name>SEGMENT</name>
        </folder>
        <file src=“C:\Video Files\BVS6x22.NFO”>
          <name>BVS6x22.NFO</name>
        </file>
      </filesystem>

    If you added more than one data file, you’d repeat this for each one, adding a file statement (“<file... </file>”) for each file . It might look like this:
    
    

      <filesystem>
        <folder>
          <name>SEGMENT</name>
        </folder>
        <file src=“C:\Video Files\BVS6x22.NFO”>
          <name>BVS6x22.NFO</name>
        </file>
        <file src=“C:\Video Files\LABEL.JPG”>
          <name>LABEL.JPG</name>
        </file>
        <file src=“C:\Video Files\BONUS.ZIP”>
          <name>BONUS.ZIP</name>
        </file>
      </filesystem>

Click “Tools” button >> “(S)VCD Build/Rip” button.


11. Under VCDxBuild, click XML file button, navigate to the folder containing your XML file, and select it.



12. In the BIN file box, enter the name of the same folder that contains your VCDEasy-generated XML folder, but with your default bin filename (e.g., “videocd.bin”).



13. Click execute. VCDEasy will create your bin and cue files.



14. Burn the files as you would any other bin/cue; see the section about burning bin/cue files with VCDEasy, if you need more information. You might want to try this with CD-RW disks at first, so you can find any problems using re-writable disks - remember, this may not work with all XML files. I’ve only done this XML substitution when both XMLs were created using VCDImager (the image-creation program in VCDEasy).

These instructions cover insertion of only one Mpeg file into the XML, and menu setups aren’t discussed. The procedure for multiple-Mpeg and/or menu-driven burns is similar, but more complicated, and is too variable for a detailed explanation here.

Note: Remember to reset any VCDEasy settings you altered (e.g., re-check “Delete CD image files...”; uncheck “Generate the XML file only”). Also, since VCDEasy didn’t delete them for you, delete all the bin/cue/xml files you created in your default output folder, to free up disk space.

If you experience problems using VCDEasy, post a message “ATTN: Group - VCDEasy Question” with specifics. It wouldn’t hurt if you append a copy of the burn’s log. Several people in the group use VCDEasy regularly, and should be able to help.

The VCDs posted are generally less than 650MB, and can be burned to a CD-RW disk. You might try burning to CD-RW as a test, and then testing this disk in a software-emulation DVD player, or in your stand-alone DVD player. That way, if something goes wrong with the burn, all you need to do is wipe the CD-RW and try again. When you get any problems solved, you can re-burn on a standard CD-R. Note that some DVD players won’t play CD-RW disks; check VCDHelp’s compatibility page for info about your machine.

Handling CRC Errors In Downloaded RAR Files Using WinRAR Recovery Records

1. Most posters include an .SFV file or .PAR file with their post. Use them to verify files as they are complete on your hard drive, if possible, rather than waiting until all RAR files download. Hopefully, you’ll find errors before messages are dropped from your server(s). If PAR files are included with the post, use the small .PAR index file (rather than the SFV) for verification. This can alert you to problems, if the PAR set was improperly created. Or make a copy of the SFV file before you use it, so you have an unaltered “spare” SFV available.



2. If you get CRC errors reported, try downloading a new copy of the file right away. Try downloading the file again from the original server before requesting a repost. The file might be okay on the server; the error may have occurred en route to you. You may have to refresh your header list before you can re-download. I’ve had this work frequently; it’s worth a try. If you have access to multiple servers, try a new copy of the problem file from a different server. If PAR files are available for the post, consider downloading one of the Pxx volumes, instead of the RAR file. See the PAR instruction section for more information.



3. Alternatively, if all RAR files have been downloaded and you get an error reported in WinRAR, try WinRAR’s repair function:

   Open up WinRAR from the start menu, click the repair button, and select the file. It will create a new, corrected version, renamed “_recover.rar”, or something similar. Rename this file to the original filename, and test it with PAR or SFV.

4. WinRAR’s repair function can introduce its own set of problems, however. If PARs are available for the post, use them to recover the problem RAR(s). See the section on PAR files for detailed instructions.



5. If you have trouble extracting from a set of RAR files, the files may not really be corrupt, just renamed. If the post includes PAR files, just use FSRaid and the .PAR file to automatically rename the files. To work out what needs renaming when no PARs are available, make your own SFV file from the ’bad’ files and open it and the original SFV in a text editor. If the CRC values match anything in the ’real’ SFV then you need to rename the files. If they don’t match anything, delete the RAR file and download a new copy of it. -- Posted by DC



6. If these attempts don’t work - and PARs aren’t available - ask for a repost. Since posters are reluctant to repost a whole file, explain your CRC problem and that you’ve attempted re-download and repair; they may take pity on you. :-) Or one of your fellow downloaders might repost the file.

Using PAR Files With FSRaid And SmartPAR:

Note: These PAR instructions don't yet incorporate info about the PAR2 format. You'll find a brief PAR2 overview in the Overview section.

Many posters now include PARchive recovery files (.PAR & .Pxx) with their posts. They will usually mention this in their NFO/TXT/0 file, but sometimes you will just see PARs associated with a post (and some PAR sets are posted by someone other than the original poster). They are commonly the last files posted; you need the RARs before using the PARs. If a post includes PAR recovery files (.PAR, .P01, .P02...) you’re in luck - it should be very easy to replace missing or corrupt RARs. Use PAR files INSTEAD of asking for fills. Posters who go to the trouble of including PARs will probably be very reluctant to provide fills, too. But you only need the large Pxx files if you encounter a problem with the RARs - otherwise, you can ignore them.

Download the small .PAR index file if it’s available. It allows FSRaid to correct filename problems, and both FSRaid and SmartPAR can verify your files using it. This is particularly important if no SFV is provided, but the PAR is preferable even if you have an SFV. PAR verification is more rigorous, and “used” SFV files cause problems with some repairs.

The instructions below are very detailed, in response to many posted questions about the use of PARs. For those people who don’t need this level of detail, here’s the gist:

1. Determine the number of corrupt/missing RARs, using the .PAR index file with FSRaid or SmartPAR.



2. Download that quantity of Pxx files.



3. The total number of valid files available for the repair (RAR plus Pxx) MUST equal the total number of files in the original RAR set, otherwise the process SIMPLY WON’T WORK.



4. Put all RARs and PARs in the same directory; speed will improve if no other files are in this directory.



5. Launch FSRaid, or SmartPAR (see PARchive resources below, for links).



6. Follow the dialogs in the program, and recreate the needed RARs.



7. You must get the same quantity of Pxx files as the number of missing RARs - you can’t just download one PAR and copy it to make extra recovery volumes.

NOTE: Since this question keeps coming up, let me reiterate: each PAR in a set is unique. YOU CAN’T CREATE USEABLE PARs BY DUPLICATING OTHER PARs. See the PAR resources list for program download and information sites.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The newest PAR tool is FSRaid. I highly recommend it. It’s faster than SmartPAR in most situations, and provides features beyond just recovering files (see FSRaid details). It calculates the quantity of files still needed, and can correct filenames. I consider it easier to use. And there are at least two situations where SmartPAR causes problems that FSRaid avoids. But in the interests of full disclosure, I should alert you that I had a small part in FSRaid’s development, so I may be a tad biased. :-)

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: Mirror will no longer be supported, and no new versions will be developed. Use FSRaid or SmartPAR, regardless of the source of the PAR set (except see the note about very old PARs). While it is a possibility, it’s highly unlikely you’ll encounter such old PARs. The new programs use the same PAR file format as Mirror, are MUCH faster, are highly reliable, and offer more features - with more developments on the way.

But tremendous credit is due the original PAR program, Mirror, for introducing PAR recovery to Usenet. All downloaders are in its developers’ debt.

YET ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: WinRAR version 3 incorporates a rendition of parity recovery modeled after PARchive volumes. These REcovery Volumes use the “.rev” file extension. This is a very recent development; WinRAR v3 is still in the beta-testing development stage. I only mention this so you’ll recognize these files if you encounter them. More information will be provided in a future edition of this guide.

Now, the detailed instructions:

The .PAR file is an index file; it contains verification information for all the files of a set (RAR and PAR). It operates similarly to SFVs, but provides more rigorous file checking (and can correct filenames, when used with FSRaid). It doesn’t provide any file-recreation capability. The .Pxx files are parity volumes; they contain a sophisticated parity checksum of the files, which allows your PAR program to recreate RAR files. Each Pxx includes the same index information as the .PAR, so you shouldn’t need the index file if you already have a Pxx parity volume.

If a RAR file is missing or corrupt, you can restore it using a parity volume (from the same post) and the remaining RAR files. Case in point: you are missing .r04. You can restore it with the complete, verified files you do have (.r00 - .r03, .r05 - .rar), and one Pxx file.

It doesn’t matter which Pxx file you use (.P01, .P02, .P03, etc.) - any one will do. If you are missing two RAR files, you can restore them with any two parity volumes. Again, it doesn’t matter which parity volumes you use. You can consider the Pxx files as “wild cards” - any Pxx can restore any one missing or corrupt RAR file (as long as the Pxx is from the same post as the RAR - but see the note re: older Mirror versions).

You must have at least as many Pxx files as the number of missing RARs. If you’re missing more RAR files than parity volumes are available, the repair won’t work. But you can’t just download one PAR and copy it to make extra recovery volumes. YOU CAN’T CREATE USEABLE PARs BY DUPLICATING OTHER PARs. You must download more parity volumes (if available in the post), or request a repost for the RARs you can’t recover.

Three Windows programs work with PAR sets: FSRaid, SmartPAR and Mirror. Recent tests indicate FSRaid is the fastest PAR tool, frequently 10% to 25% faster than SmartPAR. The original PAR tool, Mirror, was very slow, and is no longer recommended. FSRaid and SmartPAR can also verify and restore in one step, “remember” previously verified files, and are easily associated with .PAR files (i.e., can be launched by double-clicking a PAR file). Some report problems creating PAR sets with SmartPAR, but this is not a common occurrence with the most recent version. FSRaid offers several additional features; I currently recommend FSRaid for both restoration and PAR set creation.

There is a command-line PAR program for Mac OS X users, and also a GUI version based on the same code. For non-OS X Macs, request fills as normal, or use Virtual PC with a Windows PAR tool. For other platforms, see the resources list.

How to Use FSRaid and SmartPAR with PAR Files:

1. Get the program:
   FSRaid
   SmartPAR
   Read these instructions and play with them to see how the process works.



2. Ignore the large Pxx files, for now. Download the NFO/TXT/00, the SFV, and the .PAR index file; these support files are sometimes posted together in a single zipped or RARed file (e.g., “BtVS 6x15 - Support Files.zip”). Download the RAR files. All these files must be in the same directory. PAR recovery may be faster if there are no other files in this directory.



3. Verify your downloaded files with the SFV file, with the PAR file, or by attempting an extraction with WinRAR. If a PAR index file is available, use it for set verification, rather than the SFV - this will prevent problems with some improperly created PAR sets. Also, FSRaid’s file rename ability may prevent unnecessary downloads, caused by misnamed files. If a file is incomplete or corrupt, do the usual things (re-downloading from your server, trying other servers, etc.) as listed above. If no PAR files are available, try a repair using the recovery record in WinRAR.



4. Still missing one? Instead of making a repost request:



5. Determine how many files you need (corrupt &/or missing). Do this with the parity index file (.PAR) and FSRaid or SmartPAR:
   
   
   • FSRaid: Double-click the .PAR file, or launch the program and click “Load” Or, you can drag-and-drop any PAR/Pxx file to the FSRaid window.
   • SmartPAR: Double-click the .PAR file, or launch the program, click “File” >> “Open Parity Set”
   
   Then navigate to the directory containing the file RAR file set >> select the .PAR file, then “Open”. SmartPAR doesn’t currently support drag-and-drop.



6. Get the required parity volumes:
   Download the same quantity of Pxx files as the RARs you need to recover. They must be for the same post as the RARs to be reconstructed. The total number of valid files available for the repair (RAR plus Pxx) MUST EQUAL the total number of files in the original RAR set, otherwise the process SIMPLY WON’T WORK. If more parity volumes are available than you need, which ones you download won’t matter (.P01, OR .P02, OR .P03, etc.), they’re interchangeable - ANY Pxx can be used to recreate ANY RAR. Again, you must get Pxx files equal to the number of missing RARs - you can’t just download one PAR and copy it to make extra recovery volumes. Since this question keeps coming up, let me reiterate: each PAR in a set is unique. YOU CAN’T CREATE USEABLE PARs BY DUPLICATING OTHER PARs.



7. Recover/restore your files. All RARs, the required .Pxx file(s), and the .PAR file (if downloaded), must be in the same directory. Launch FSRaid or SmartPAR (if they were closed during downloading). They are single-run programs not requiring installation - just double-click them to launch (or double-click the .PAR file, if you’ve launched either program before). Follow the instructions in the program’s dialog boxes:
   
   
   • FSRaid: Click “Load”
   • SmartPAR: Click “File” >> “Open Parity Set”
   
   Navigate to the directory containing your files, using the dialog window that opens. You will be prompted first to verify the RAR set, then repair/recover (FSRaid and SmartPAR can be set to do both in one step). You don’t always need the .PAR file - you can use any Pxx volume to verify all the files in the set (each Pxx file contains the same index info that’s in the .PAR). To start the process with a Pxx file in FSRaid, just select it from the “Choose a PAR file” dialog - or use drag-and-drop. In SmartPAR’s “Open” dialog, change the file type to “Pxx” in the “Open Files” dialog, and select any Pxx from the list.

A warning, however: I have encountered one PAR set that would work only when accessed via the .PAR file, due to a rare bug in SmartPAR’s PAR creation. FSRaid-created PARs won’t cause this situation. If you run into trouble, try using the .PAR index file rather than a .Pxx file.

Another warning: SmartPAR won’t find your PAR files, if they aren’t sequentially named correctly. If you download PARs, and SmartPAR doesn’t recognize them, try FSRaid.

The process is hard disk-intensive, so avoid other drive read/write activity while restoring. The time required depends on the size and number of missing RARs, and your system’s performance, of course; it may take several minutes. Both FSRaid and SmartPAR incorporate a progress bar to give you an idea how far along the process is. FSRaid allows you to pause the process.

If you get an error message, try re-booting your computer, then running the program again. That’s it! Extract the encode from the restored RAR set as normal.

If you are missing more RAR files than the number of parity volumes available, request a fill (see the info below about the proper procedure for fill requests when PARs are available). This shouldn’t happen, if you use good technique and have a halfway decent server, since most posters include three to eight Pxx files with their posts (usually 10% to 20% redundancy of the RAR set).

Once you’re comfortable with PAR use, you might want to modify the sequence listed above, if you’re downloading manually (rather than with an auto-downloader). For posts which include PARs at the beginning - or when a post completes before you start downloading - download all the available Pxx volumes right away. Then download the quantity of RARs you need to complete the post. If the post consists of 50 RAR files and 5 PARs, for instance, grab the 5 PARs, then any 45 of the RARs. You can skip any suspicious RAR files: those with replies stating a file’s corrupt, or with an odd file size, for instance. Verify the files as they come in (using FSRaid or SmartPAR). When you have enough files, stop the download, repair the set, and extract your encode. This may eliminate downloading some corrupt files, reducing your bandwidth use.

Tips When Using FSRaid:

• The “Check” button verifies only problem files (currently shown as missing, corrupt, or misnamed); files shown in green (valid) are ignored. A “Check” is therefore faster, but may miss some problems that can creep into large downloaded file sets. For the most complete verification of your files, select “Check all”.



• Always run a “Fix names” before downloading anything additional. The “Needed:” tally includes misnamed files in some circumstances; after fixing the names, you may find you already have enough files to do a repair (or even that a repair isn’t necessary).



• Or you can set your Prefs to “Automatically fix names before a repair” and/or “Automatically fix names after a check”. These options may prevent unnecessary additional downloads or repair attempts.



• If you select the download monitor function, FSRaid alerts you with an audible tone when you have either a complete file set, or enough PAR files for a repair. This works only if your newsreader writes completed files to the same directory containing the PAR file that launched FSRaid.



• A special circumstance exists where a PAR repair would result in corrupt “recovered” files; the file set is unrecoverable. This occurs only VERY rarely, when identical repeating numerical sequences exist within multiple files in a set. FSRaid (v2.3.0 and up) now detects these occurrences, and pops up an alert message that describes what steps you should take. Basically, you’ll need at least one extra Pxx file for a proper repair, so FSRaid can find a combination where the repeating sequences don’t occur.



• The Help file includes a picture of the main menu, along with a description of its features, instructions, and additional information about PARs.

Recommended strategy for requesting fills, when PAR files are available:

If you have, for instance, 3 parity volumes available, but you’re missing 4 files: .r00 to .r03. You think, “I need one more file!” and request a fill for .r00. Someone else is missing .r02 to .r05. He requests .r05. So the poster needs to repost .r00 AND .r05. To save the poster upload time and bandwidth, state ALL missing files in your request:

You request:
ATTN: John Doe -- missing BtVS12x21.r00 to .r03 -- need 1 file. Thanks.

Someone else requests:
ATTN: John Doe -- missing BtVS12x21.r02-.r05 -- please post one of these. Thanks.

PAR Set Creation:

1. Assemble all the RAR files, and any support files to be included (SFV, NFO, etc.), into an otherwise empty directory. For large, multi-disk posts, use a different directory for each disk.

   While not strictly necessary, this helps prevent inadvertent files from creeping into the set. I’ve encountered PARs that included a “Disk 2” RAR in a “Disk 3” PAR set. This might require re-downloading a fil