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Error Cant open .torrent file (all torrent files) – and how to fix


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Error – Can't open .torrent file (all torrent files) – and how to fix it.

All torrents in my uTorrent list had a red cross, and the message: Error: Can't open .torrent file: [path to torrent]

Found a simple solution:

- In uTorrent: Options >Preferences > Directories > uncheck below: Automatically load .torrens from..

- In Windows Explorer, change the extension of all torrents for completed jobs back to the original: .torrent (read Note!)z

- In uTorrent, select all torrents (ctrl+a). Right click the selected area > Force Re-Check.

- Select all again. Right click the selected area > Start.

- Restart uTorrent to see if it all works. Done. :-)

Tip: will it work? Try this with one torrent only

Note: the original extension of torrents is: .torrent. But here all of a sudden all torrents had the extension .1.torrent.loaded. So in Windows Explorer cut ".loaded", and ".1" out. But it also may be just ".torrent.loaded", so without the ".1". (check the correct name in the uTorrent torrent list.)

This may not be the final solution. During experiments I noticed, sometimes a 'repaired' torrent keeps working after .loaded was added. And sometimes cutting off .loaded didn't help. The final answer will come from the uTorrent Team, I hope..

Now, whó's got to hang for this? I mean, ever since we decided to bring "peace and democracy" to the Middle-East, our morals are shifting to medieval times again, shouting about "just causes" etcetera. So who is to blame, and fit for a witch hunt this time?

It doesn't look good. Whenever I check "Automatically load.." in uTorrent, and look in Windows Explorer, the extension .loaded is added to the file name of all torrents in the location, you've specified under "Automatically load". And when I rename the torrent, cutting off that .torrent, one second later it is there again. :-) Spontaneously.. I don't do anything.

And what's worse.. I don't believe I ever checked that box, and it all happened after an uTorrent update, I think..

So I am afraid the tomatoes will have to be thrown at some uTorrent programmer, who innocently devotes his/her life to nothing else than doing good for the benefit of everybody.. As such, nothing new. Idealists are always overthrown by the masses.

But for 2 hours I tried everything. Read the forum, checked settings, checked paths, installed previous versions of uTorrent, replaced the uTorrent folder under Application Data with various backups I had made, checked for disk errors in Windows Explorer.. nothing! That usually results in questions like: Have I gone mad? Have they gone mad? Has everything got mad? Is it the Secret Service?.. But here is the salvation:

Thanks to member Greycow, who in this topic about this problem

http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=63181

made the remark: "..I mean was I also seeding like a good citizen". :-) That awoke the patriot of Torrent-country in me! I mean, this beautiful torrent-land, so peacefully lead by the powerful and all loved and praised uTorrent Team.. I mean, if Napoleon could mobilise complete armies to fight for his nonsense, than the uTorrent-Team certainly deserves voluntary heroes, bravely standing up for the good cause, don't they?..

Humbly bowing to the masters: Torrenti te Salutant! :-)

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

I think I have found an alternative solution to this problem. As long as you have not moved any of your partial or completed downloads and have still have the .torrent files for each one then the solution is trivial. Simply remove each torrent, DO NOT select 'remove and' and delete .torrent files or data, just remove the download from the list in utorrent, then find and open the appropriate .torrent file the same way you did when you started the torrent (just File>Open or double click the file in Explorer...) and after ensuring the file path is correct and selecting which files you want utorrent will do a quick check and your torrent will be back up and running from where it left off.

If you are worried about losing data because of removing the torrent from utorrent just back up the files somewhere, but I did not lose any data (other than unfinished pieces, but I think you lose them if you shutdown anyway), the torrents started from where they left off before shutdown. If you have not kept the .torrent files for each of your downloads you will have to go and find them all again.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi all,

Not sure if this applies to everyone, but I found the solution for the problem I've been having with numerous 'Can't open .torrent file' error messages I see after starting utorrent. It's been a monster pain 'cause I've had to reload and recheck everything that's generated this error message.

First of all, I've noticed this only with completed torrents. My client is set up using a temp directory, a completed downloads directory, a directory for incomplete .torrent files and another directory for completed .torrent files.

Let's say it looks something like this:

c:\temp = temporary download directory

c:\final = completed download directory

c:\torrents = temporary .torrent directory

c:\torrents_done = completed .torrent directory

I typically have a buttload of torrents running; however, I keep my queues short so that my network doesn't get saturated with TCP overhead running a bunch of low-bandwidth torrents. This has been part of my problem because, when a download completes, its status changes from 'Downloading' to 'Queued Seed'. Since the progress bar indicates 100% and the completed file is transferred from c:\temp to c:\final, I've assumed that the torrent is complete. However, in looking at the 'Completed On' field in utorrent, there is no time & date stamp on the file, so utorrent doesn't consider it to be 'complete'. What this means is that the .torrent isn't moved from c:\torrents to c:\torrents_done until the download 'completes'. This only pertains to finished torrents with a state of 'Queued Seed'. Torrents that complete naturally assume a 'Seeding' state and successfully transfer the .torrent to the completed .torrent directory. Cool! Shut down the client before downloads are 'completed', i.e. 'Queued Seed' and, when it's restarted, confusion reigns along with error messages for every torrent that is in limbo and didn't successfully 'complete'. Uncool.

The solution is to force downloaded, yet 'incomplete', torrents to complete. If a download has a state of 'queued seed' and no 'completed on' time & date stamp, highlight the transfer, right-click and select 'Stop'. Right-click again and select 'Force Start'. You can now see utorrent 'complete' the transfer by assigning a completion time & date to the transfer. After the torrent 'completes', I 'Stop' the transfer and then 'Start' it again. This puts it back in a 'Queued Seed' state but with a time & date stamp in the 'Completed On' column. Additionally, this can be confirmed by observing the transfer of the .torrent file from the temp directory to the completed directory.

I've done this, restarted my client and now I have no error messages, so this procedure resolves the 'Can't open .torrent file' error message issue after starting utorrent.

Another note: I got lazy and, when right-clicking on the download, I didn't select 'Stop' but 'Force Start' instead. I thought this worked but after stopping and restarting utorrent, I had error messages for those transfers. So be sure to 'Stop' the transfer, 'Force Start', 'Stop' again, and then select 'Start' to put it back in a 'Queued Seed' state.

I hope this helps.

selah

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