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Née whiterider
retired moderator
Original Poster
#1 Old 26th Jul 2007 at 11:56 AM Last edited by tiggerypum : 15th Aug 2007 at 4:21 AM.
Default Download Manager FAQ
This FAQ was originally intended to be available in the period of huge downloading issues before the new servers were installed, but finding appropriate software took much longer than expected and so that never happened. However, download managers are still useful tools to make downloading simpler and easier, and can help with problems like files not being completely downloaded etc.
Because of the way MTS2 is set up, most download accelerators just won't work - they try to hammer the servers with zillions of connections, using up other peoples' download slots, and so the servers refuse to let them download. So here we have instructions on how to set up download accelerators properly, so they will be a help rather than a hindrance.
Unfortunately, I've only been able to find programs for Windows or other OS's using Firefox. If anyone knows of a good accelerator which can be used in Mac OS without having to use Firefox, a link would be much appreciated.

There are three parts to this FAQ, the first two for those who don't have/have never heard of a download accelerator.

The first is for Firefox users only. If you don't know whether or not you use Firefox, look at the top of your browser window now. Does it say "mod the sims 2 - Mozilla Firefox"? If not, then you don't.
Firefox users can also use the second FAQ, but the program in the first is much nicer and cleaner.
The DownThemAll! Firefox FAQ

The second is for anyone who uses Windows, but doesn't use Firefox. This one is written for-dummies style, because those who need the hand holding are far more likely to be using Internet Explorer than Firefox.
The Download Accelerator Plus FAQ

And the third is a simple line of text for those who already have a download manager:
Set it up to use no more than two connections simultaneously!

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
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Née whiterider
retired moderator
Original Poster
#2 Old 26th Jul 2007 at 12:21 PM Last edited by whiterider : 26th Jul 2007 at 1:10 PM.
Default Download Managers for Firefox Users: DownThemAll!
A good free download manager to use with Firefox is DownThemAll!, as it is a browser addon and therefore will act just like a new feature; rather than being a separate program. This section of the tutorial will go into a little less depth than the others, as it's assumed that if you're not using IE, you're probably computer literate. Still, it will be very simple.


Installing DownThemAll!

DownThemAll's official Firefox addon page can be found here. Making sure you're on the user account you want to use DownThemAll with, and that you're using Firefox, click the Install button on that page.



Wait for the 4 second countdown to go through on the dialogue box that appears, and click "Install Now".



Restart Firefox when you're prompted to




Configuring DownThemAll!

Once you've restarted Firefox, go into the Tools menu -> DownThemAll -> dTa! Manager



Now hit Preferences...


The settings box should pop up with the "Advanced" tab open. If it doesn't, open Advanced. Set "Multipart Download" to "1 (Disabled)"
Note: Yes, this is the thing that makes stuff download faster. Don't try it on MTS2, we have it switched off and you'll likely not get your download at all



Now open the "Main" tab and set "Max Contemporary Downloads" to 1. This one controls how many files you'll download at once, so you may wish to put it up to 2 if you have a very big file that's taking a long time to download; but again, you can't download more than 2 files at once from MTS2.




Downloading with DownThemAll!

First off, you'll notice that if you right-click a link you'll now have two extra options: Save link with dTa on... and Start link with dTaOneClick!. DO NOT USE THESE ON MTS2!
The way vBulletin, the software MTS2 runs on, is set up, doing so will see you downloading "getfile.php" which, while nice to look at with the pretty green icon my installation of Dreamweaver has given it, is entirely useless to you.
Instead, just follow the link as you normally would, and wait for the Save box to appear.



In the Save dialogue, select "DownThemAll!..." (Not "dTaOneClick!"), and hit OK.



You will now be presented with an Add URL dialogue. The URL of the file, and the referrer URL are filled in for you: hit the Browse button and select the destination for your file.
Now, if you want the download to start straight away, hit the "Start!" button; or if you want it to queue up for download later, hit "Queue!".



The main DownThemAll! window will now pop up, listing the file you're downloading as either Paused or Starting.



Time for the next file - and you have a choice. If you want to download the file to the same place as the last one, hit "dTaOneClick!" in the Save box (notice it shows the path it will download to underneath the tickbox).



If you want to download to a different location, hit "DownThemAll!..." and repeat the above.

If you've queued up files, you'll need to start them downloading yourself - select the queued files, and click "Resume"



If you get a Time Out error, a 503 error, or a generic "Server Error"; don't worry, just select the errored download and hit Resume again.
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What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Née whiterider
retired moderator
Original Poster
#3 Old 14th Aug 2007 at 8:20 PM
Default Download Managers for The Rest Of You: Download Accelerator Plus
Unfortunately there isn't really anything as clean and nice as DownThemAll! for non-Firefox users, but Download Accelerator Plus is a fairly nice program that certainly does what we need. This bit will go into ridiculously minute detail, so apologies to those who really don't need it!


Installing Download Accelerator Plus

Download Accelerator Plus (DAP) can be downloaded here, and has a freeware version. Click the big green button on the left and download the installer.



Note: This section describes in-depth how to install the program. If you don't need instructions to do so, skip this section - but make sure to keep the "Make Download Accelerator Plus my default Download Manager" box checked

Once you've downloaded it, double-click the installer. In the box that pops up, hit

and then


This screen will now appear:

1. Click 'Browse' and set the folder you want DAP to install to. Normally the default setting is fine.
2. Make sure the "Make Download Accelerator Plus my default Download Manager" is ticked. Untick the other one if you want.
3. Hit Next


Uncheck the install Google Toolbar box (unless you want Google toolbar, that is), and hit Next.
Note: This screen won't come up if you already have Google toolbar installed

The next screen will show this image

Just let it do its thing, and when it's done hit Next.

The next screen asks you for contact details:

You do not need to fill these out. Just untick the "Send me special offers" box and hit next.

Now you'll be asked which version of DAP you want to use

Pick the first option and hit Next again.

Another "Do want to install this as well?" screen now - just untick everything and hit Next

And on the next screen hit



Configuring Download Accelerator Plus

If you try to use DAP now, it won't work. You won't be able to download anything from MTS2 - first you need to set it up.
You should see a little icon in your system tray, the far right end of your Taskbar:

Right click the icon, and a menu will pop up. Click "Options..." on this menu


The Options window will now pop up. Click "Connection" in the list at the side, and you'll see this:

Open the dropdown menu at "Acceleration mode", and set it to "Normal Speed". Now make sure the number in the "Download Queue" box is 2. Once you've done that, hit Close.


Downloading with Download Accelerator Plus

First off, right click the system tray icon again and open the main DAP window


Now find whatever it is you want to download, and click the little smiling floppy disk as normal. Your normal save as box will have been replace by a DAP window.

Click the filepath (2) to tell the program where to download to, then click the arrow at the end of the "Download" button. In the list that pops up, click "Download Later".

Do that for as many items as you like, then look at the Download Manager window you opened. You'll see everything you've told DAP to download queued up in the "Downloads" page.

Click "Resume All", and your files will start downloading.
A second window will pop up, showing the files that are currently being downloaded.

A window will pop up when a file is finished - you can close it, or use the Open button to open up the file.

While writing this tutorial, I downloaded a 9 Meg file with no problems using DAP - but if one of the files does get corrupted or cut off, you can redownload it without having to find it on MTS2. Just click the "Completed Downloads" tab at the top of the DAP window, right click the damaged file on the list and click "Redownload".



Turning Download Accelerator Plus off

You probably won't want the DAP box to pop up every time you download from any site; so once you've finished downloading from MTS2, right-click the system tray icon and click "Disable downloads by DAP"

Then when you want to use it again, click "Enable downloads by DAP"
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What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
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