Setting up Directories for sharing and downloading

After Kazaa has been installed it's good to have easy access what you want to share and what you are downloading. Make two new directories on your hard drive one called 'download' (for example) and one called 'shared' (for example). The first directory is where the downloads will go and the second on is where you can put files what you want to share with other people.

Now in Kazaa Lite on the top menu bar, go to Tools > Find Media to Share. There will be a tab on the new window you opened called 'folder list', click on it. To make sure your not sharing any other folders, click on 'de-select all'. Now click the plus sign next to c: drive. Then put a check in the box next to the shared folder that you created earlier. Now hit ok. Now make sure you move anything you want to share to people into the shared folder. Your download folder is automaticly shared, so don't select that one (otherwise your files will appear twice in the My Kazaa screen).

Now to setup where you files download. Remember once you pick a spot to download, the .dat files remember that folder. When the files are finished downloading, they will be put in the folder they remembered. So if you change your download location and have some unfinished downloads, move all of them to the new folder, but don't delete the old folder yet till all have finished downloading.
To change the download location, in Kazaa Lite on the top menu bar, go to Tools > Options. In the window that open up, there is a tab called Traffic, click on that tab. You will see "Folder for Downloading Files" and a white box next to it saying where your current download location is. Next to that box is a button with "..." in it. Click on that button and "browse for folder" window will open up. Select the folder that you created earlier on and click on OK. Now after you download something with Kazaa Lite, it should show up in that folder.

Note: Remember that your download directory is automatically shared!

Setting up your options

Here are some examples of general settings you can use.

Open Kazaa up and on the top menu bar, go to tools, then click on options.

The first tab called "User" should be open. Your user name should already be in there. You can change the username to whatever you want.There are two check boxes. The first one "Launch Kazaa Automatically" should be unchecked. The second one "Notify me before automatic updates" should be checked (this option is not available in version 2). You want this one checked because if you are running Kazaa Lite and normal Kazaa try's to install an update, you will want to say no to that update. If you installed that update, it would install the updated normal version of Kazaa, not Kazaa Lite.

Next tab is "Traffic", click on that tab. The first part "Folder to Download files" should already be configured by the steps in the last section above. The Next two boxes, Max number of downloads and uploads, should be set to 4 download and 2 upload if you are a slow internet access user. (Modem, ISDN). Set it to 8 download and 4 upload if you are a fast internet access user. (DSL, Cable modem, T1, LAN). The box for "Disable sharing of files with other Kazaa users" should be un-checked.
Version 2 of Kazaa Lite has a virus-scanning option. If you already have a virus-scanner installed, you should check the box "disable scanning of shared files for virusses". If you do want to use the virus-scanner, leave this box unchecked.

Next tab is "Advanced", click on that tab. The settings for "Maximum number of search results" should be set to 200. "Maximum bandwidth ... to be used for transferring file..." should be set to Unlimited. "Do not function as a supernode" should be checked. If you have a broadband internet connection, a fast computer and have Kazaa running most of the day, you could uncheck it. That way you help keeping the network up and running. What "Optimal Bandwidth use when computer is idle" does is ignores your Max uploads & Max upload bandwidth settings when your computer is idle, so uploads get a high priority when you are away from your computer. I leave mine un-checked.

Next tab is "Filter", click on that tab. The filter should be set to no filter.
Under "Miscellaneous" check 'filter files I cannot download due to firewalls' and 'filter bogus audio and video files'.

Next tab is "Firewall", this tab should be fine how it is. If you have a proxy server this is where you put the settings of your proxy.

Next tab is "Messages", click on this tab. The ignore list should be blank and the "ignore all incoming messages" should be un-checked.

Now go ahead and click ok at the bottom.

Do I have to share?

You do not have to share files, but it is greatly appreciated. If there were no people sharing files, then you would also not be able to download anything.

Kazaa and Kazaa Lite version 2 have a Participation Level feature. If you have a high Participation Level, you will get priority over people with a lower Participation Level when you download files.

You can increase your participation Level by sharing files. Whenever you upload files, your Participation Level will rise. When you download it will go down.

How many files should I share?

Depends on what size the files are. If you are sharing large files (over 100 MB) then sharing 10 or more is fine. If you are sharing smaller files like .mp3 then share more files, around 50 or more. These files won't take as long to upload so having more to share to keep you uploading.

Note that this is just an indication for an average. You can share less or more if you want.