On occasion I happen to get kicked off of my ISP, but they like to do that when I reach about 110 MB of downloaded information. LOL!! This usually happens when I'm at work or in bed, so my downloads all get cut off, as one would expect. I prefer not to have an automatic log-on performed by ANY software for obvious security reasons.

Should your downloads happen to get cut off in the middle and you are unable to resume the file from the same server you were downloading from before, I've found a trick to pick up the rest of the file, thanks to the handy-dandy temp folder that Gnotella uses.

Let's say you have a 12,000,000 byte file downloading and it gets cut off at 6,000,000 bytes. Go to your temp file and find the incomplete file, do not delete the file from your DL manager nor the temp file, but rather, find another file on the network that matches the exact length of your first file and begin a download. When it starts, abort it after a couple of seconds.

In your temp file you'll find two files of the same name with an indicator number at the beginning:

8881filename.txt
8882filename.txt

Use the detailed view to see which one is larger, and switch the two indicator numbers. The bottom one would become "8881" and the top will become "8882." Now go back and resume your download of the last one you found and you'll find that you'll have 50% of the file you just started. ;o)

Be careful with MP3's, however. If somebody records a song without information tags but is one second longer, it may appear the same length, so beware.

-Sir Eldren Coralon

WHY WHY WHY doesn't the Gnutella system make use of a simple CRC tag? It's a method as old as the hills, and it works.. If the file information transmitted over Gnutella contained both file size and a CRC, you could be absolutely certain that you had the same file, even if someone renames it.. It's not like CRCs are hard to calcutlate or take a lot of bandwidth to transmit, hell even the old Punter file transfer protocol had CRCs, back when I was using 300 baud modems and transferring 100k took all night...
Ahhhhh.. /rant off

- Mantar

Good info, Sir Eldren. There's also a file in the Gnotella directory with the DNS that the incomplete download came from. I thought about trying to edit that DNS in the file, but it looks like your way would be easier. The trick is (of course) to make sure the file sizes are the same.

Also, if any of you have a problem with a MP3 file that was downloaded, there is a free program out there called "UnCook" which will restore the MP3 to a playable state. I've downloaded a few that would not play and just "clicked" when I loaded them into WinAmp. The UnCook program fixed the error which was causeing the problem.

Mantar, I think Gnutella does use some kind of CRC check. If it didn't, I doubt you would ever get a good download off the thing. Especially of you're on a modem with line noise.

-Cutter