Tutorial

FrostWire Tutorial 1: How to Use FrostWire for Beginners

If you’re completely new to downloading files on the internet, we recommended reading the first part of this guide. It explains what torrents are, and the difference between torrents and playable files. It also has tips on how to stay safe while using FrostWire to download digital content. Okay, let’s get right down to the downloading.

Installing FrostWire

Once you’ve downloaded FrostWire, navigate to the folder where you saved it. Double click the .exe file to launch the installer. It will ask you to choose your operating system and customize some features. Make sure to uncheck both boxes that install the Ask toolbar (if you don’t want to download the Ask toolbar, that is. If you want it, check the boxes and proceed with installation.) You’ll also be asked to identify a folder to save your downloaded files in. The default is FrostWire > Torrent Data. If you want to change this to your “Music” or “Downloads” folder, simply navigate to the said folder and click “Next.”

Installation Problems Troubleshooting

Installer is corrupt error
Delete the FrostWire.exe file and clear your browser’s cache, then try downloading FrostWire again. It’s best not to use download managers and installers that can produce this error.

Freezes when installing java
Don’t cancel installation. First do this: Check if you have “J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0” listed under Programs. If you don’t have it, download it and install, then try running FrostWire installer again. If you already have the program installed, use Task Manager to locate the java installer and end it. The FrostWire downloader should have moved on to the next step.

Removing ASK toolbar
If you’ve accidentally installed the toolbar, you can uninstall it from Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs on Windows. If you still see the Ask toolbar on your browser, restart your computer.

Running FrostWire

You need to be connected to the internet when using FrostWire. Go to your desktop and double click the FrostWire icon to launch it. Wait for the program to load and detect your internet connection. This may take a few seconds. Now you’re ready to search for torrents. There’s an option in the left panel to filter your search based on file type: audio, video, documents/books, images or programs. You can ignore this and go straight to torrents. This is the quickest way to find anything on FrostWire. Click on the “torrents” button and type your keyword in the search field. If you’re looking for music, enter the song title or the artist and hit search. The latest version of FrostWire supports Google hints, so if you misspell anything, it auto-corrects your entry.

You should see a list of results on the main window. There’s going to be a lot of files in there if you’re searching for a popular song, or zero files if the song is rare or unpopular. Click the “Seeds” bar up top to sort the list from most number of seeders to least number of seeders. Seeders are people who share parts of the file, so the more people sharing, the faster your download speed (in general). Pick the file with the most number of seeders and double click on it to start downloading. Music files take a few seconds to finish downloading on an average connection and longer for slower connections. When the file has finished downloading, you’ll see a tiny pop-up notification at the bottom right corner of your screen. Files are saved in the location you specified earlier.

Problems Troubleshooting

FrostWire unable to initialize and start
Some antivirus software may block FrostWire features can cause it not to run. If you’re using Norton antivirus, add FrostWire to the “exceptions” list under the Internet Worm Protection feature.

Can’t find a file/zero results
It’s not uncommon to get few or no results if you’re looking for rare or unpopular files. Try changing the words or word order to see if you come up with more results. If you still see nothing, try searching again at a later time.

Cannot preview files with media player
Not all files can be previewed with the media player. Torrents cannot be previewed while downloading, as they are not playable files. Examples of playable files are .mp3, .mpeg, .m4a and .avi.

I keep downloading fake files and ads
Some seeders or servers will post fake files with popular search names. That’s why it’s important to check the details and file size before you download it. You can also block the host if you keep seeing fake files. Right click the search result and select “Block Host.” You can also mark them as “Junk.”

FrostWire Tutorial 2: How to Transfer Music Files from FrostWire to iTunes

The latest version of FrostWire supports iTunes compatibility, so you don’t have to manually sync files from FrostWire to iTunes. You can still send files individually to iTunes but if you’re going to be using iTunes play downloaded content, you can set up FrostWire to send all downloads automatically to iTunes.

To send all files automatically, go FrostWire and click Options under Tools. Look for iTunes and click the “+” sign next to it. Click on “Importing” and check the box beside “Enable iTunes Importing.” Click “Apply” and then “OK.” To send individual files to iTunes, go to your FrostWire library (FrostWire > Library) and select the track or file you want to transfer. Right click the file and select “Send to iTunes.”

How to Download Music for Free Using FrostWire

Downloading free music is as easy as search and click on FrostWire. If you’re new to FrostWire or downloading torrents, we recommended reading the first part of this article to get a feel of how things work. Before downloading anything on FrostWire, make sure you have an updated antivirus software and firewall installed and running.

Now for the steps:

Step 1 – Run FrostWire

If you don’t already have it, download FrostWire for free from this website or from the official website at www.FrostWire.com. It’s best to download straight from the source to avoid fake programs. Select your operating system from the list and follow the on-screen instructions to install. You’ll see a customization pop-up window sometime during installation, uncheck the boxes that install the Ask toolbar (if you hate that, check the boxes if you want that) and choose whether you want to seed or not after your download completes.

Also, set the folder where you want the downloaded files to go into. Keep your internet connection active and double click the desktop shortcut to run FrostWire. Wait for the program to load (might take a few seconds) and detect your connection.

Step 2 – Search for Music

There are many ways to search for digital files on FrostWire, but the best and quickest way is to just click “Torrents” on the left pane after typing your search word (don’t click Audio). For example, if you’re looking for music called “This is Legal” by artist So Legal, type “This is Legal” or “So Legal” in the search field (the one with the Google hint), click on the Torrents button and hit enter. Now you should see a list of results.

Click on the “Seeds” column to sort from the top seeders to the bottom seeders. This is a great way to download files from the most number of sources. Double click the file you want and it should download. Download speed depends on the upload and download speed, your internet connection, file size and other variables. A music file should take a few seconds on an average connection. When your download is finished, navigate to the folder where you saved it and play the file.

Step 3 – Downloading other files

A four-minute audio file usually takes instantly or a few seconds if you have a fast broadband connection. Movies and games take longer, depending on file size and number of sources. You don’t have to babysit FrostWire while the file downloads, but it’s good to check on it once in a while. Sometimes the file will stop downloading and say “needs more sources.” This means there aren’t enough people sharing that particular file. You can cancel the download or click on a similar file. You’ll need to find another torrent for it. When your download is finished, you’ll see a pop-up alert.

The playable file is saved in whatever folder you set for downloads. If you want to download legal torrents only, FrostWire has a community page called FrostClick that hosts perfectly legal torrent files and files under the creative commons license. Some great, free programs you can get are Open Office, VLC and GIMP. If you’re going to be downloading video files, make sure you have VLC. It’s one of the best video players out there and recognizes most video file extensions (unlike QuickTime and Windows Media Player).

Download the Old Version of FrostWire That Works

There’s a reason programs like FrostWire are upgraded, to make them better and get rid of bugs are two of them. If you want the best version, get the latest version (5.4.0). It supports both Gnutella AND BitTorrent, so you’re pretty covered. If you’re having trouble installing or using the latest version, you can try the old version.

You can download the version 4 of FrostWire here.

How to Share Files on FrostWire

The latest version of FrostWire (version 5) has completely dropped Gnutella for exclusive BitTorrent file sharing. It’s all about torrents now, which hopefully will reduce spam and increase connection speeds. If you’re new to torrents, it’s a way of downloading parts of files from many sources at once, instead of downloading the entire file from one person at a time. A seeder is someone who shares files, while a leecher is someone who downloads files. Leechers download from multiple seeders simultaneously, so the more seeders, the faster the download (usually). If you’re considering being a seeder and sharing files, it’s almost as easy as leeching.

While you are downloading a torrent file, you are also automatically seeding the file to other people. It’s automatic, and you don’t need to configure anything. But if you want to share a specific folder or lots of data (photo albums for example), there are extra steps involved. Here’s how:

1. Organize the files you want to share. Any digital content is fair game, as long as you own the copyright or it is freeware (photos, videos, films, documents, eBooks, music). Create a folder and label it properly. You can also create subfolders.
2. Launch FrostWire and click File > Create new torrent.
3. Navigate to the folder you want and select it.
4. Check the “trackerless torrent” option (more secure). If you want the tracker option, uncheck the box and enter the tracker’s URL. Also check the “Start Seeding” box.
5. Click Save Torrent As and navigate to where you want to store it. Name your torrent and save. You’ve made your first torrent. Yay!
6. Send the torrent or magnet link to your recipient (as email attachment or by posting it on your blog, Twitter, FB, etc.). For magnet links, right click on the seeding torrent and click “Copy Magnet.” Copy the link to an IM window, blog post or email.

An alternative to sharing is the MagLnk feature. Go to File > Send File/Send Folder. Navigate to the folder you want to share and select it. FrostWire will create a download link that you can send to your friends. When your friend opens the link with FrostWire running, the file will automatically download. Note: Requires FrostWire 5.0.6 or later. Obviously, you don’t want to share sensitive files with the public. Once you share the torrent link it becomes available to the whole world, so be careful what kind of files you share. To stop seeding the file, right click the file in the Transfers window and select Cancel Download.

Download FrostWire for Your Android Device

The FrostWire app for Android has been available for download from the FrostWire website for some time, but now it’s up on the Android market. It costs $4.99 on Google Play, but you can get the free version from the FrostWire website. While similar apps lets you manage your home BitTorrent client on the go, FrostWire brings P2P transfers directly to your phone, so you can share any digital content.

Features:

• Swipe to skip songs in the media player
• Browsing and file sharing with other Android devices on WiFi
• BitTorrent on WiFi, 3G and 4G connections.
• File sharing and music streaming for Desktop 5.3+
• Social network support
• Private messaging with attachments
• Chat room
• Auto-updates

The first thing that the app asks you to do after installation is to create a nickname and select files you want to share (photos, apps, documents, videos, ringtones and music). You have to be careful with this because there’s no option to select individual files or folders. So if you select “videos,” every single video in your phone will be available to the public. Searching and downloading is as straightforward as on the desktop version. Select a peer to search their files or hit search and enter your keyword. The number of peers and files is limited at this time, but expect it to increase over time. It’s not a good idea to download 600 MB video files over 3G or 2G, but you can speed up your downloads if you and your peer are both using Wi-Fi. Otherwise it’s like dial-up all over again.

Pros:

File sharing over Android devices
Fun to download photos from other people’s phones
Easy search and download music for free

Cons:

Buggy, and tends to have the same problems as other P2P programs
Some transfers don’t start
Takes forever to search and download
App doesn’t seem to search the network that the desktop version uses

Verdict:

The FrostWire app is a decent P2P app, but is very limited and prone to bugs at this point.