Fixing the parts ....
Now, if there were PAR files, they would be 10MB in size too. So, in this case, EVERY file is damaged, you would need 4 PAR files to fix this. I'll clue you in .. no one uploads 4 PAR files for a 4 file archive. You'll see 1 or 2.
So PAR doesn't help you. Enter PAR2.
PAR2 files are smaller, more flexible PAR files. You ONLY need as much PAR2 as is required to repair the damaged parts. In our example, we're missing a total of about 4MB of RAR parts. SO YOU ONLY NEED ABOUT 4MB OF PAR2 FILES!
Most of the time, you will find MANY PAR2 files. Some are very small, some are the full size of the archive pieces. Download a total of about 4 MB of PAR2 files.
Now, open one of the PAR2 files in QuickPAR. If you have enough parts, it will rebuild even the damaged files and render you a PERFECT RAR SET, ready to extract and use!
Update: PARs and RARs knowledge in now a thing of the past thanks to the excellent Newsleecher program. Thanks to it's brand new unique "Repair 'n Extract' feature, you don't even have to repair or extract your own files anymore. It's pure bliss. Consider this before you cheapen out and go with a free newsgroup program. Newsleecher is the best.
My head hurts ... is that as bad as it gets here? The web is a lot easier ...
Nothing worthwhile is easy. :)
Actually, if you can get a handle on PAR files, you are all set. You now know what newsgroups are, you know the tools you need to download, repair, and extract the stuff you want. You know that the files you want are categorized by group name (like alt.binaries.tv.family-guy).
You might run across software that is not only archived, but appears in a BIG file that ends in .iso or .img. These are disc images. An exact copy of a CD or DVD put into a single file. Various formats use different software to burn them to a disc. However, if you use Alcohol 120%, it will handle almost ALL the disc images out there.
I downloaded a TV show, and I can't play it! Or it has sound, no picture!
You will need a CODEC to play it. This is a plugin (sort of) for your player to playback specially compressed video. MOST of the time, its DivX (www.divx.com). Download and install the DivX player and you should be able to play the movies just fine.
You can always search Google for the file extensions you can't play to find a program that will play it.
There has to be an easier way to find what I want than crawling through endless pages of newsgroup feeds.
It's time for you to learn the secrets ....
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