Download torrents to WHS from client?

Fonix

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 1, 2004
Messages
160
Hey guys,
I've been trying to find a way to reasonably do the following involving a Windows Home Server. I want to be able to download a .torrent file (in Firefox), and have it automatically moved or copied to a designated folder on the WHS. I've tried Firefox add-ons that supposedly sort downloads and none of them seem to be catching torrents, or they only work on right-click "save as" and not with traditional click-direct downloads. I know I could do this by having software synchronize the two folders, but I want the synchronization to be instant so that when I download the file on the client the download begins on the server. I've been trying to find software but I am being overwhelmed by it all, and none specify that they will work with specified file types (I just want it to sync *.torrent files).

Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Server: HP MediaSmart ex485 - Windows Home Server-PP3
Client(s): Windows 7 Ultimate x64
 
I use Dropbox for just this purpose. I just drop the torrent into a directory on my local machine. This Torrent directory replicates from my DropBox folder on my machine to the DropBox folder on my WHS. uTorrent picks it up and off it goes. It's not instant, but it's quick, reliable and a non-maintenance option that doesn't require any manual copying or moving.

It's idea #4 in this MaximumPC link.

Use my referral code link and I get +250MB free in my dropbox storage. Refer your friends (up to 4) for 4x 250MB for +1GB over the 2GB default free storage amount.

Highly recommended tool that stays out of your way with nearly no overhead. With TrueCrypt, I also store Life Critical files in the cloud for secure, off-site safekeeping.
 
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There is utorrrent addin for whs over at wegotserved. I use it a d it works great you can paste the torrent URL into the addin to load or setup utorrent to monitor new torrent files and automatically load the new torrent

It releys on the webui to work and does a good job
 
I know Firefox allows you to sepcify a default action for different file types - I guess saving to a separate location isn't one of the options? I manually copy my from my Firefox default download location to a shared folder on my WHS (which utorrent scans for new .torrent files) but it isn't quite as automatic as what you want.
 
I know Firefox allows you to sepcify a default action for different file types - I guess saving to a separate location isn't one of the options? I manually copy my from my Firefox default download location to a shared folder on my WHS (which utorrent scans for new .torrent files) but it isn't quite as automatic as what you want.

I do this exact thing except im lazy so i made a script that does it.

Code:
#!/bin/bash

cd ~/Downloads

find . -type f|grep .torrent$ | while read FILE; do
	cp "$FILE" /Volumes/250G/Torrent\ Downloads/torrent\ files/
	#echo "File Copied : $FILE"
	mv "$FILE" ~/.Trash
done
killall Terminal


This is the mac/linux way to do it I guess. You could just find the same cmds for a .bat file
Just download your .torrent files and double click the script, the files end up in the recycle bin and utorrent automatically loads them if you set it to.
 
I know Firefox allows you to sepcify a default action for different file types - I guess saving to a separate location isn't one of the options? I manually copy my from my Firefox default download location to a shared folder on my WHS (which utorrent scans for new .torrent files) but it isn't quite as automatic as what you want.


This is really what I am trying to automate, I tried a couple add-ons that are supposed to let you do it, but none seemed to work with Firefox 3.5.5, they all required you to right-click and go to save-as. I use my iphone to RDP to my desktop sometimes at work, and as easy as it sounds, I am trying to make it as automatic as possible.

I'm running the utorrent add-in for WHS and what I was hoping to find is something more along the lines of a script to do it.

Dugn:
I will try out dropbox and see how it works out, I was hoping to get this working without having to use a third party software on the server but if it works, it works.

Thanks for all the input so far, I'm getting some good ideas some out and see how it goes.
 
Can you just share your download location and have utorrent on the WHS just monitor that network location for new .torrents? Thats what I do, though with just utorrent and not WHS. Works just about as instantly as you can get.
 
That is what I tried to do but when I try to access a network share from the WHS on the win7 client PC I get:
\\ARi-PC\ is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions.
The specified network name is no longer available.

I have the folder shared with "Everyone" when I try to map the share I get when "using a different username":
The specified network name is no longer available.
I can access my file shares from other PC's: vista x86, vista x64, win7 x86, win7x64 on the network just fine connected via wireless or wired, just not the WHS. Tried disabling firewall, made no difference.
 
This is really what I am trying to automate, I tried a couple add-ons that are supposed to let you do it, but none seemed to work with Firefox 3.5.5, they all required you to right-click and go to save-as. I use my iphone to RDP to my desktop sometimes at work, and as easy as it sounds, I am trying to make it as automatic as possible.

I'm running the utorrent add-in for WHS and what I was hoping to find is something more along the lines of a script to do it.

Dugn:
I will try out dropbox and see how it works out, I was hoping to get this working without having to use a third party software on the server but if it works, it works.

Thanks for all the input so far, I'm getting some good ideas some out and see how it goes.

Can you just set the default download location for Firefox to be the location that utorrent is monitoring for files? You'd end up with all your stuff there (presumably on the WHS box), not just torrents I guess, but at least it would be automated.
 
You must really like trying out linux distros :p

Find your default download directory.
Right click, Share

In the WHS make a new Share

Downloads
Completed
Incomplete
Torrents​

Then Install uTorrent on the WHS.
Setup uTorrent to autoload torrents that are in the \\Client\downloads\ share.
Set utorrent to move torrents to \\whs\downloads\torrents\

NOTE: When using uTorrent on WHS do not map to D:\ drive directly, use the UNC Shares path. ie \\Server\Share
 
I think that may be the simplest way to do it, I really only wanted to have my .torrents sent to the server, I have a ton of storage on my desktop it would be a shame not to use, but this would truly be the simplest solution.

Thanks for all the input guys!
 
NOTE: When using uTorrent on WHS do not map to D:\ drive directly, use the UNC Shares path. ie \\Server\Share


Why not?

For me, I simply create a new windows user and login as that user (using remote desktop) to run my vuze and emule clients. I set the output folder to that user's own folder in the share directory. I have no problem having D:\ in the path names
 
Why not?

For me, I simply create a new windows user and login as that user (using remote desktop) to run my vuze and emule clients. I set the output folder to that user's own folder in the share directory. I have no problem having D:\ in the path names

Because DE uses shadow copies, NTFS symbolic links. So if you actually browse all the folders in your D:\ you will see double even if you dont have duplication enabled.
What this does is allows Windows to pool all the disk.
It abuses the shit out of symbolic links so when it says that something is here, its really somewhere else.

The reason you dont want to do it through the D:\ is because
  1. DE is Fragile.
  2. If do this your files may not end up where you want them to all the time.
  3. When you do it this way your file permissions will not get set properly. PP3 might have fixed this, but i doubt it.When you add files directly and then try to access them from a different non-priveleged account such as guest. It wont let you.
 
Will this work effectively:

I use utorrent on my machine, and just map the folders to the WHS download share?
any problems with having the utorrent software on my machine and write/read from the WHS share?

thanks
S
 
I added this to my Vista registry
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.torrent\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.torrent\shell\Start Torrent]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.torrent\shell\Start Torrent\command]
@="cmd.exe /c ECHO OFF & ECHO Starting torrent... & MOVE \"%1\" \"\\\\CHIEF\\Downloads\\Start\""

This makes the default task for opening a .torrent file a command that moves the .torrent file to \\CHIEF\Downloads\Start\, which is a shared folder on my WHS. uTorrent installed on my WHS is set to 'watch' this folder and auto start any .torrent in it.
In my Firefox settings, I have it set to handle .torrent files by just opening them.
So I click a .torrent link and it pops up a command window for a quarter of a second that says "Starting torrent..." and then it is automagically starts in uTorrent on my WHS.
 
Firefox add-on BitTorrent WebUI.

My desk top points to the local address and my lap top (which I really only use from school) points to my home WAN IP. It's idiot proof, very simple to use (much more so than any script) and very reliable.
 
Phimp's method seems like the best one; its the most automated. Like others here, I just have a watch folder on my server and move the torrent files to that manually, and then just use the WebUI to manage running torrents.

If this is a fairly requested issue, I can look into making a small app that will take any .torrent file you give it and move it to the destination of your choice. (This is essentially what Phimp's method does)

-Cool-
 
This is really what I am trying to automate, I tried a couple add-ons that are supposed to let you do it, but none seemed to work with Firefox 3.5.5, they all required you to right-click and go to save-as. I use my iphone to RDP to my desktop sometimes at work, and as easy as it sounds, I am trying to make it as automatic as possible.

I use a Firefox add-on called Automatic Save Folder. It has options so you can left-click on a download and not see any of the normal Firefox dialog boxes. I have it set up so.torrent files goes to a WHS folder that is monitored by utorrent.
 
Can you just set the default download location for Firefox to be the location that utorrent is monitoring for files? You'd end up with all your stuff there (presumably on the WHS box), not just torrents I guess, but at least it would be automated.

this is how i do it. my thoughts on it are what would i be downloading that i wouldnt want shared across my network anyways. like a recently downloaded pro evolution 2011 demo, then i easily installed it on my htpc and desktop from my whs download folder.
 
I download on my desktop and copy it to a folder that is monitored by utorrent on the server. I could set my browser to download everything to a specific folder but I just don't want everything in the same folder.
So now I use dropbox on my desktop, ipad and server and have that monitored for torrents and nzb's. Works fine. Sure I have to cut and paste but i'm ok with that.
 
Because DE uses shadow copies, NTFS symbolic links. So if you actually browse all the folders in your D:\ you will see double even if you dont have duplication enabled.
What this does is allows Windows to pool all the disk.
It abuses the shit out of symbolic links so when it says that something is here, its really somewhere else.

The reason you dont want to do it through the D:\ is because
  1. DE is Fragile.
  2. If do this your files may not end up where you want them to all the time.
  3. When you do it this way your file permissions will not get set properly. PP3 might have fixed this, but i doubt it.When you add files directly and then try to access them from a different non-priveleged account such as guest. It wont let you.

The guides I read said quite the opposite. They said you DO want to download to D:\ because if you have an ongoing download to a share the pieces can get moved around the drives and corrupt your download. And going straight to D: bypasses DE as it's not in a share. I don't know if that's correct but it's what I do and it works fine.

So mine is setup to download to D:\\Downloads, a folder I made on D:, (NOT D:\\shares\downloads) then when the file is complete it will run pars and extract the file automatically and move it to \\Server\Downloads

I have never encountered any of the issues you described. No doubles. No problem accessing the files there. No issues. Been doing it like that for a couple of years now. That's just what the guides said so it's how I set it up. I have heard of corruption issues downloading torrents directly to a share.
 
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I have found a pretty elegant solution to this problem, I believe. I have associated all .torrent files using "open with..." in the context menu to a small batch file that copies the file to my auto-download folder on my home server.

This tutorial assumes you already have uTorrent installed on a separate "Server" and you have setup autodownloading from a specified network share "Torrents" on that computer. For more information on setting that up, refer to the uTorrent website (http://www.utorrent.com/documentation/migrate).

This tutorial was written on a Window XP machine, for other OSes YMMV slightly.

Steps:
1. Create a new folder on your computer (I used C:\Program Files\uTorrent)
2. Go to Tools --> Folder Options... now select the View tab at the top and in advanced settings make sure that "Hide extensions for know file types" is unchecked. Click OK.
2. Right click within the newly created folder and go to --> New --> Text Document
3. Rename the file to uTorrent.bat and click YES when windows asks you if you are sure you want to rename the extension.
4. Right click on the newly created file and click edit from the context menu.
5. Type in the following two lines
Code:
@echo off
copy "%~f1" "\\Server\Torrents\%~nx1"
Description:
@echo off -- tells the console not to print anything to the screen
copy "A" "B" -- copies file A to location B
%~f1 -- refers to the full path of the file
Server -- is the name of your shared computer running uTorrent
Torrents -- is the name of the shared folder that you have uTorrent scanning for new downloads
%~nx1 -- refers to only the filename and extension of the file

6. Save and exit the file
7. Locate a .torrent file somewhere on your computer (you can also create a fake .torrent file by using the New --> Text Document menu and then renaming the file to something like faketorrent.torrent)
8. Right click on the .torrent file and select Open With --> Choose Program...
9. Make sure that the "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" is checked
10. Click Browse...
11. Navigate to the Batch file you just created (in my case C:\Program Files\uTorrent\uTorrent.bat) and click ok.
12. Optional -- Re-check the "Hide extensions for know file types" in folder options if desired.

Done

Now all .torrent files are associated with this batch file and you can either single click the torrent file in your browser or double click any .torrent file and the file will automatically begin downloading on your server. This batch file can be used on multiple systems and along with webiu there is little difference from having uTorrent installed and running on your machine. Great for laptop users with a headless home server.

Best of luck, hope this helps someone.
 
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