We were all new users at one time or another. Many users I talk to have asked to have downloading explained. I shall try to answer a few of the questions about downloading here.
Have you ever been to http://shareware.cnet.com or http://download.cnet.com and others and seen some of the neat programs, games, or other great stuff available but not known quite how to successfully use downloading to get these programs? Or would you like to get a new update to one of your software packages like the Microsoft Office 97 service pack or download music or get the latest list of viruses for your virus scanner? Here is how.
WORKING
WITH DOWNLOAD PACKAGES AND ZIP COMPRESSION
First we need to understand how a program or update package is stored
on an Internet server. The person or company who wrote the program
probably
used a version of PKZIP to prepare the package. PKZIP is a program that
compresses one or more modules of data to a single file. The file name
ends with “.zip” or “.exe”. They then upload the single file to a
server
with file transfer capability (FTP). You can then download this file to
your PC for your personal use. BUT HOW...
We need to understand and do a couple of things next. Let’s create two new directories (called Folders in Windows) on your hard disk. We will call the first “download” and the second “work”. If you use Windows 95 open “my computer to the C: drive”. Select “file then new then folder” and name the first directory “download”. Repeat the process for “work”. Now we have one location to download into and second location into which we may extract (or unzip) the program's modules.
Most downloadable files come in one of three forms: zipped (.zip), self-extracting zipped (.exe), or self-installing zipped (.exe). A .zip file must be manually extracted (unzipped) by the user. A good program for this is “WINZIP95“ available at http://winzip.com. Click on “download evaluation version.” This program is of the type “self installing”. What this means is that, after you download the file to your “download” directory, and you execute it by double clicking on the icon, it will automatically install the WINZIP utility program. When the installation is done, you are ready for about 95% (or more) of all files available for downloading.
DOWNLOAD
EXAMPLE, STEP BY STEP
Let’s say you just found what looks like a great little program called
ABC.zip at http://shareware.cnet.com
and you would like to get it and try it out. If you click on the file
on
a Web page like shareware.com, you will probably be presented with some
locations from where it may be downloaded. Choose the closest one to
you
or, if you are not sure, guess. There probably won't be any
problem.
After a while you will begin
to
have some preferences for sites to download from, but for now just
choose
a site that has the program you want. Click on your choice. Next you
will
probably be given a choice of where to save it on your PC. Choose the
“download”
directory. Select OK and you will see the download begin. After the
download
is complete, the file should be in your “download” directory.
If the file was a .zip file,
double
clicking on the file will start WINZIP. WINZIP will give you a list of
the modules included in the file. One will likely be named README.TXT
or
something similar. One useful thing about WINZIP is that you don't need
to break apart the .zip file to look in the text files that you
download.
You may click on the TXT files review any notes and instructions. If
you
decide you don't need the program, just exit WINZIP and delete the .zip
program from the “download” directory. If you decide you want to
uncompress
the download, select the WINZIP button called “extract.”
You will be given a choice of where to extract the modules. Select your “work” subdirectory. Select the “all files” button and click start. The .zip file will be uncompressed and broken apart into the “work” directory. Then you simply follow the installation instructions that you learned about from the README files.
HOW
SELF-EXTRACTING DOWNLOADS WORK
If the file is of the “self-extracting” type, it should be downloaded
into the “work” directory or moved there from the “download” directory.
When it is opened, a “self-extracting” (.exe) file will automatically
extract
(break apart) in the same directory where it resides. WINZIP is not
needed,
but the file must be where you want your unzipped program files to
reside
(probably the "work" directory). After automatically extracting, you
may
read the README type files for installation instructions.
A “self-executing” (.exe) file may be executed from whatever folder you download it to. Double clicking on the file will automatically begin the installation process. Any instructions will be part of the process. Easy! WINZIP is a good example. So is the Netscape Navigator browser and e-mail package, although it is much larger than WINZIP.
KEEPING
YOUR DOWNLOADS STRAIGHT
After extracting the program's modules the original .zip or .exe file
will still be there. If you like the program and want to save it, you
should
MOVE it to a more permanent directory such as “My Downloads” or
“shareware”
that you setup up. Make the directory the same as above for “download”
and “work”.
Work with “download” and “work” as temporary storage areas. Clean them out frequently. They tend to get cluttered up and confusing. “Work” should only have ONE set of program modules in it at any time. Not only can you become confused if there is more than one download there, but also the new program may get confused and cause problems in the installation.
One final note...keep track
of
which programs you download and where they all are. Delete the ones
that
don't pan out by uninstalling them per their instructions. Also delete
the originals from your drive. In the last few years, hard drives have
become MUCH larger and faster. As with most things, there is usually a
downside to any improvement. It's great to have loads of room.
But
this leads to clutter and confusion since most of us tend to be less
careful
about saving space! Also keeping your recycle bin cleared of old files
will save space. By the way, this is also true for your “trash” E-mail
folder. Get rid of the old junk and spam messages.
I hope this clears up some of the confusion regarding downloading for
our newer users. As always, don't hesitate to ask for help.
For some great downloads, try entering “top ten downloads” (without the quote marks) in the search engine at http://google.com or just click these links: ZDNet or Top Ten List Search.
Have fun,
Chris Mayer angler@ccboxes.com
______________________________
This PC information provided for you by:
C&C
Computers Chris Mayer (Owner)
Edited and updated by Thomas F. Eason