Correct way to test the beta

[ady4um]

I'm using ut stable 1.7.7 encapsulated. I would like to test the beta version, without "disturbing" the current ut folder. I also would like to continue downloading the torrents I have already started in my stable version, and to have the possibility to "return" to the stable version afterwards. I don't want to run both versions at the same time, just one at a time. In order to run the beta version also encapsulated in its own folder, I downloaded it to an empty folder and saved there an empty settings.dat file.

Currently, I have a multifile torrent in the stable version. Several files are skipped, and several are downloaded completely. Also currently there is no file partially downloaded. All the files are either skipped or completely downloaded. However, I do have a uTorrentPartFile saved in the current torrent's download location. The torrent is currently stopped in the stable version.

In this status, and keeping in mind I want to test the beta and (maybe) go back to the stable version afterwards, my first question would be, should I *copy* the .torrent file to the new beta .torrent folder? Should I *move* it? Or should I use/add exactly the *same* .torrent file from the *same .torrent folder*? Is there any difference between these options?

In any case, when using the beta I will choose to skip all the files in the torrent, just from the start (from the add dialog). So after adding, in one way or another, the .torrent file to ut beta, I want to unskip a file I haven't downloaded already. In this way, I would be testing the beta, and also taking advantage of the time and the bandwidth (instead of just downloading something I already have or some useless file). Probably I should also unskip the files I already have saved using the stable version, so I can seed them at the same time I download the just unskipped file.

In this status, should I use the same "download location" in the beta than the one I've been using in the stable version? Or should I copy the files to another location and then set this copy as the download location? In which case I can take better advantage of the files I already have, including the uTorrentPartFile? Does the uTorrentPartFile get unusable for the stable version after using the beta? And does the beta is capable of using the current uTorrentPartFile generated by the stable version?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[jewelisheaven]

Layout of all files EXCEPT partfiles is the same in 1.7 and 1.8. This means everything can be exactly the same in 1.7 AND 1.8 but you will have to re-download all missing pieces due to skipped files.

[ady4um]

OK, but could somebody be more specific? I appologise but this is not telling me what would be the most convinient way to go. What would be the recommended procedure, to use the same download location for both stable and beta? Or to use separated download locations? Knowing how to proceed, specially in regards to both the download location of the files in the torrent and the .torrent file itself, is very very important to me. So please, if anyone can be more specific about this, I will be grateful.

Since jewelisheaven mentioned it, in which way 1.8 treats the partfiles? In which way 1.8 is different from 1.7?

[jewelisheaven]

They're a different format... hence your partfile data is not cross-version compatible.

Convenient how? You already have a self-contained directory. You can have both EXEs in the same dir, or different dirs.. but you must use the same dat files or you won't resume anything. Also be sure you close the version completely to get the saved state into the resume.dat. I'm not sure but I believe that fast resume (parts which do not need to be rechecked) is not in 1.7 which means.. don't recheck.

Explain what you're clueless on.. because honestly if you're not willing to do the work at this stage after making half-dozen threads...

[ady4um]

First of all, I really appreciate your effort and the feedback all the people in the forum are trying to give to me and to others like me.

Well, about the threads, I am troubleshooting, and one technique is to separate a big problem in smaller ones. Those are related, but trying to solve each part of the problem is easier than writing a big, complex and particular problem. Each thread I oppened is about something different, and, although they are related in my particular case, each thread could be useful to other people in different situations other than mine.

In spite of searching the forum, the FAQ, guides, help file and others, I couldn't find a final solution, or at least an improvement. And most of the threads in the forum are not solved, including those I started, which is quite frustrating. I even read at least one thread where the mods were receiving insults, and even after that they tried to help him. But instead, in my case, I have posted threads where I have received no feedback, no even one, and I understand no one here is forced to give me any answer at all, and no one owes me an answer. In spite of this, I did helped others (in and out of this forum) and even tried to suggest some improvements. So yes, I am still looking. I am still trying to use utorrent and to solve - or at least to improve - my situation. And I think I read a lot more topics than the average user, according to the repeated questions I read being answered again and again. I am doing a lot more testing and troubleshooting than the ones I posted, so I think I could say "I am willing to do the work".

About me not understanding you, I don't want to be/sound rude, but I have to say it seems to me you haven't really read my post, but just the title. I was clear when I said I want to save and to run the beta in a separate folder, a different one from the stable. That wasn't my question. I even said I wanted to test the beta, and maybe GO BACK to the stable. So if you yourself is the one telling me there is some kind of incompatibility between them, then placing the beta in the same folder would not be an option in my situation, because it could be some (minor?) possibility the .dat files, including the settings.dat file, could become useless for the stable version after using them with the beta.

Maybe, this incompatibility is the reason why my uTorrentPartFile keeps growing and growing, which is just part of my problems using utorrent and torrents in general. But I suppose I will never know, because in the thread where I posted about this I got no final solution nor real reason for this file to keep growing (in my specific case and with the specific torrent I described there in that thread), in spite the well intentioned and appreciated answers.

So, if you (and of course others too) could read my post again, you can understand you didn't really answer to my questions. My questions are about the .torrent files folder, and about the download-location folder, where the actual files which are "inside" the torrrent are saved (NOT the location of the utorrent.exe file, neither the settings folder). In no point of my post I was asking about the utorrent.exe folder, or about the settings folder. I also already said I don't want to stop the download in the middle. I will change from stable to beta (and backwards) only when all the unskipped files are completed. I understand the potential inconvenience with the first and last pieces of a file. In regards to the resume.dat file, I just don't know enough about it file to understand the implications in that area. I hope not having the files downloads stopped in the middle could be useful.

If the uTorrentPartFile is incompatible between 1.7 and 1.8, what happens with that file when using the same download-location in both versions? Does 1.8 even "touches" it? Or it creates another one? Does this incompatibility means I should use another download-location for the files in the torrent (for my specific case)?

If I asked for something more specific is because I couldn't be sure of the implications of "layout is the same". I apologise if I sound unskilled, but if I knew what the implications are, I wouldn't be asking again.

Having that said, I thank you for the information you provided, and I will have it in mind, and hopefully you and/or other people in the forum could help me with my questions.

[Firon]

The partfile is not incompatible between versions. Neither are any of the dat files.

[Ultima]

Well, 1.8.x can use resume.dat from 1.7.x, but 1.7.x can't use resume.dat from 1.8.x. Meaning you can't really swap versions at will. Upgrading to 1.8.x is a one-way street due to relative path changes.

You can certainly share .torrent files between versions (set the "Store .torrents in" option to the same directory for both versions). The only problem here is that if you want to load .torrent files in both versions, you'll have to do it twice, and when you do it twice, the second time you add the torrent, µTorrent will see the existing .torrent file and create a (renamed) duplicate. So the only fix for that would be to first remove the existing .torrent file from the storage directory, then load the .torrent file in the second version -- when you're switching versions. Quite troublesome, and probably not worth the effort just to save a bit of disk space or spare your disk some extra clutter. I wouldn't worry about sharing .torrent files; simply reload the .torrent file for each one, and let them use their own .torrent caches.

When you progress in one version, and want to swap to another version, you'll need to force a recheck in between version jumps. Additionally, you'll need to keep in mind that incomplete pieces will be thrown out between rechecks.

Edit: And yeah, partfiles are compatible between versions.

--- 2008-01-08: Version 1.8 alpha (build 7660)

- Fix: elusive "The parameter is incorrect" and "The data is invalid" errors on Win98 (old partfiles with this error are corrupt, sorry)

[ady4um]

Thank you for your help. Here's how I decided to proceed, according to my situation and to

Ultima's explanations. I hope this could be useful to other users.

Please notice the following is NOT a chronological, step-by-step procedure, but general points I

had in mind in my particular case.

In my case I decided to use 2 different encapsulated folders for the stable and the beta, so any

dat file will be 100% compatible with its ut version, specially when talking about beta.

I also decided to *copy* the .torrent file used by the stable version to another different

folder. According to Ultima's suggestion, I loaded this copy of the .torrent file to the beta,

and each .torrent copy (1 in the stable and 1 in the beta) is handled "independently" by each ut

version (see more about this in following paragraphs).

The third location was the "download location", the folder where ut will be saving the actual

files in the torrent. In ut beta, while adding the .torrent file, I pay special attention to the

following points.

1_ I choose not to start the torrent immediately, so I can double check everything before the

torrent starts.

2_ Having in mind I am both, troubleshooting previous problems and testing/checking the beta, I

want to proceed in a conservative manner. For example, I am not running both ut versions at the

same time, but just one at a time. In case I close ut, I would check in task manager for the

process to finish before starting ut again (any version), and I wouldn't force-end the proccess

using task manager (unless after several minutes ut is still there and refuses to close).

3_ Every time I unskip a file in the torrent and start downloading, I wouldn't stop it till it

is downloaded and saved completely. I wouldn't quit ut neither, till all unskipped files are

completed. This reduces wasted pieces and potential problems when switching between different ut

installations/versions back and forth.

4_ Every time I want to quit ut, I would stop the torrent. Since I wouldn't stop any torrent

before all unskipped files are completely downloaded, no pieces are discarded or wasted (except,

maybe, the first and/or the last pieces of a file, in specific cases). This means that every

time I run ut, the torrents' status is "stopped" or "finished".

5_ To prevent or at least minimize wasted "border" pieces (those sheared by more than one file),

I would unskip subsequent continuous files, as opposed to unskipping files from different parts

of the torrent. "Subsequent" files in this context means the "files" tab in ut is sorted by the

"first piece" column (not by name, probably the default sort order in most ut installations)

6_ In my case, I choose the *same* download location for downloaded files I've been using

before, running ut stable. In this context, "download location" means the folder where the files

"inside" the torrent are being actually saved. I made this decision, taking into consideration

*ALL* the other points. This is actually the only thing that makes these 2 ut installations not

completely independent from each other. An even more conservative procedure could be saving the

files in another separate folder, different from the download location I used in the stable ut.

But this "more conservative" method has also its cons, including more wasted pieces when

downloading multifiles torrents in 2 ut instalations.

7_While adding the "shared-between-ut-versions" .torrent file to the beta, I choose to skip all

the files. *After* the torrent is listed in the torrent's job list, in the "files" tab I select

the files I already have saved in the download location (while using the stable ut) and choose

to unskip them. Then I force recheck. If everything seem to be right, then I unskip another

file, which wasn't completely downloaded. (Then I force a new recheck, but probably this is not

strictly necessary). Just *after* I perform all this, I start the torrent (to download), and as

I said before, I don't stop it at least until all the unskipped files are completely saved.

8_ When returning to the stable version (after the beta is completely quited and is not being

shown in the task manager), I would perform a new recheck, before unskipping another file. When

this recheck is finished, and a new file unskipped, I would start the torrent... repeating the

previous procedures as in the beta (except of course is not necessary to add the torrent again).

By this procedures, I could *try* the beta, being able to go back to the stable version, and in

every try I would download something useful, taking advantage of the time, disk space and

bandwidth. Of course, this general method for multifiles torrents would be aplicable also to a 1

file torrent, or even to more than 1 torrent at the same time.

I would be glad to read here any comments and/or suggestions about this, specially from the mods.