Utorrent

Nathan, I found this on another site:

Recommended Preferences settings for uTorrent 1.5:
(if the option is not mentioned here then it means no or either - user's choice)

General:
Check for updates - yes
New torrents start in stopped mode - yes
Prevent stand-by if there are active torrents - yes
Alternate list background color - yes
Check association on startup - yes

Folders:
If you always want to download your torrents to a specific folder then
Put new downloads in - yes, and put the path to the folder (or browse for it) in the textbox

If you like to store completed torrents in another folder then
Move completed downloads to - yes, and again put the path to the fold in textbox

If you want to store the .torrent files in a specific folder then
Store .torrent files in - yes, and add path to textbox

Network:
Do NOT use 'Randomise port each time uTorrent starts' - unless you have all ports open and forwarded (definitely NOT recommended lol)
Best to choose a port in the range 50000 to 60000 and enter this value in
'Port used for incomming connections' (make sure you have forwarded this one port value in the router and firewall - TCP and UDP)

Global maximum upload rate - 0 for unlimited, or a value that is about 65% of your max upload rate if you want to browse the internet at the same time
Global maximum download rate - 0 for unlimited, or a value that is about 65% of your max download rate if you want to browse the internet at the same time
This is a question of experimenting with the values until you find a configuration that suits your system

Enable UPnP port mapping - NO - setting this will show you as being unconnectable on the site

Protocol Encryption - Outgoing = Enabled
Allow incomimg legacy connections - yes
This setting may help those that have problems with their isps filtering out and stopping torrent traffic.
As more and more ppl are using this - it is recommended to enable it (but not Force)
The 'allow incomimg legacy connections' - yes - this is for connecting to those peers that are not yet using Protocol Encryption.

Torrents:
Enable DHT Networt - NO
Enable DHT for new torrents - NO
(unless you want to use the public torrent sites - not recommended now because of all the viri and spyware found there)
Enable Peer Exchange - NO - its another type of DHT
Enable scraping - yes - this allows you to stop a torrent (when you have at least 1:1 ratio or have been seeding for a total of 72 hours) and yet still see how many seeders and leechers are still on it - useful if you need to raise your ratio as you can see which torrents you can jump back on.

Pre-allocate all files - this will make space on the hard drive for all new torrents - varying opinions - I like it and set it on.

Seeding Priority:
Type the required ratio needed here - I use 110% (1.1:1)(I give back 10% more than I downloaded - the more the better.
Seeding tasks have higher priority that downloading - personal choice - I set this on as I am more interested in seeding back and keeping a good ratio.
If this is set you may find that the download rate will reduce and hover around the upload value - useful as when the torrent finishes your ratio on the torrent will be at least 0.5 if not 1.0

When Torrent has reached the seeding goal
Limit the upload rate to - yes - you probably have other torrents to seed, so allow more of your bandwidth to them by limiting torrents that have reached the required ratio.

Other:
Automatically load torrents in directory - when you download a .torrent file you may want to place them in a folder that uTorrent will continually check. When it finds a new .torrent file it will automatically load it up ready to start.
I find this useful and set this option on.

Allow uTorrent to send anonymous version number and random id when checking fo
a new version - yes


Also - if you choose Properties from the context/right click menu for each torrent, you can fine-tune each torrent's speed and Ratio Max (etc)

....and this:

µTorrent Tweak Guide

I thought it would be a good idea to post some decent information on µTorrent settings with some great info to get your connection the best that it can be.

Important! You need to make sure encryption is enabled and that you have your ports open/forwarded correctly otherwise no tweaking in the world will help you download.

It is also recommended that you choose a random port when you start up µTorrent as an extra precaution against bandwidth throttling (make sure you open/forward the range of ports you decide to use).


If you are having problems, and want to optimise your µTorrent settings like I did, read on!

µTorrent Settings Optimizer

This is a great wizard that tells what to input into all the settings in your µTorrent client. Simply enter your downstream/upstream connection speed and voila!

http://ut-settings.go.pl/

LvlLord's TCP/IP patch

More info: http://www.lvllord.de/?lang=en&url=tools
Download and apply: http://www.lvllord.de/?lang=en&url=downloads

Torrent Download Test

If you want to download a really well seeded torrent file to test your download rate grab a package from the following web site (don't worry - all files on the web site are legti):-

http://distribution.openoffice.org/p2p/index.html

Downloading a torrent file from here will be a good indication of how good your download rate really is.

If you get a good rate downloading from here you know your µTorrent settings are spot on but remember that at peaks times your download rate will slow down due to network congestion so I recommend trying it out of peak hours.

I hope this helps.

Great stuff theghurka.
You are the main reason i switched to utorrent.
thanks,
When i was reading the forums on utorrent it was pages on pages about it and when id read a few paragraphs i would forget things.
The utorrent i have, doesnt show some of the things you posted. Mine must not be the latest version, although i got it off the utorrent site.
In general, i cant see prevent utorrent on standby thing and start all torrents in stopped mode.

You probably do have the latest version which is 1.6 so some of the settings above will no longer apply but it should give you an idea of how to optimise it.

If you're not sure just ask. There's plenty here using utorrent.

Thanks. I did follow the first section you provided and my download speeds did go over 10. I have forwarded.
With utorrent, do you do the thing were you type in the ports on the firewall to configure it for that ?

Don't waste your time with LvlLord's TCP/IP patch. That thing is very out of date and doesn't work right with some versions of XP now.

Plus with µTorrent you have to change internal settings to make use of it. And you don't need to because µTorrent is already set to work fine with SP-2.

Thanks, im going to follow every guide i can follow on utorrent tonight.

heres some more links for you:

http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=3912
http://www.johntp.com/2006/04/19/how-to ... -utorrent/

this should help you get the most out of utorrent

Thanks, its going to be a while before i can look at those becuase of my computer problems. Will look though when its sorted.
thanks