Kids Domain

PC Download Help

This page covers these questions:

How do I download a file?

To download from our pages, look for the area that says 'Download From:' which lists sites where you can get the program from. Click on any one of those sites, and the download should begin. You only need to successfully download from one of those sites. Then you will need to install the program. Some web browsers can be set up to do this all automatically, and others will require you to do it by hand after the file is done copying to your disk. Usually PC owners download .zip files, and Mac owners get .hqx files. Both need to be decoded before you can run your new program.

Will I be billed for what I download?

We do not collect any fees for the shareware, the pages are simply recommendations for programs to try. You can download it and test it, and you need to look at the README or other files that come with the shareware that let you know how much to pay, and what options there are for paying. Some programs can be registered on Compuserve, I don't know if AOL has a registering option yet. Some have 800 numbers you can call with a credit card. Many simply accept checks sent through the mail. You only pay for the shareware that you choose to pay for - that you find worthwhile. If you download something, and you don't want to pay for it, you should just delete it from your hard drive.

We list the fees for the programs on our pages so that people are aware from the beginning if the program they are downloading is free to keep, or how much it costs. But we do not collect any fees. we also don't and won't charge for anyone to access these pages, nor do we get fees from the shareware authors for posting their programs - this is a totally free service.

Why do I receive a login request when I try to download something?

Sometimes the FTP sites that the KD uses are overloaded. So that the machines can cope with the traffic, the various sites set a limit to the number of consecutive connections. Unfortunately, by setting this limit it stops site maintainers connecting as well. The solution to this is to only limit 'anonymous' connections. When the limit is reached, rather than informing you that there are too many 'anonymous' connections, it presents you with a login form just in case you are a legitimate user of that machine.

This behavior only happens with certain browsers, like AOL's old browser. Netscape and Internet Explorer users will just see a 'too many users, try again later' kind of message.

Basically, if you ever receive one of these requests then just ignore it and try to connect again. *NEVER* put your own username and password in the box!

I get a "No Viewer Configured for File Type..." Error

This is a Netscape error, letting you know that it does not have the helper application set up to decode the file. That is fine, just select 'SAVE' and it will write the file to disk, you can decode it later.

Now I have a (.zip) file on my PC, what do I do?

Assuming you have pkunzip, which is a very popular program to unzip files, simply enter the directory where the zipfile is located that you wish to decompress and type:

pkunzip filename.zip

If you get an error message 'Bad Command or Filename', DOS is telling you it can't find the program you are referring to. This can happen because you are either not spelling the name of the program properly, or you didn't put a space between the program name and its options, the program is not in your path., or you do not have a copy of pkunzip on your machine. First check that you typed everything correctly. If you need a copy of pkunzip, you can get it from the PKWARE web site. Please note that pkunzip is a shareware product, and runs on Win and DOS.

You could also go and get the FREE Stuffit Expander, which will expand StuffIt (.sit) and ZIP (.zip). StuffIt Expander will also expand files in uuencoded (.uue), BinHex (.hqx), and MacBinary (.bin) formats, such as those commonly found on the Internet. Other archive formats supported include ARC (.arc), Arj (.arj), and gzip (.gz). StuffIt Expander will also expand self-extracting archives created by StuffIt, ZIP, and Arj.

You can get the FREE Stuffit Expander for Windows from the Aladdin Systems Web Site.

There are also other programs, like WinZip, that will expand zip files, but I figure if you have such a thing, you already know what to do with zip files.

I'm getting an error when I try to download, now what?

If the error is a 'File Not Found' kind of error, please contact me. If there is any change in the filename, like the author put a new version up in the archives, my link to the program will break. Also the archives sometimes do a major shuffle and move things around. At any rate, I need to track down the file and fix my links.

Please include the name of the file you are trying to download and the error message you're getting, so I can best help you.

If the error reads something like 'Could Not Login to FTP Server' or says something about 'user limit' or 'server full' then you just need to keep on trying. You can try that server again in a few minutes, or you can click on any of the other sites offered. Sometimes trying to download from a machine located on the other side of the globe makes sense, because it is not so heavily loaded at the time.

If the error is 'No Viewer Configured for File Type...' This is a Netscape error, letting you know that it does not have the helper application set up to decode the file. That is fine, just select 'SAVE' and it will write the file to disk, you can decode it later.

I can't download from any of the sites you have listed

First, write down the name of the program listed under 'Source:' that I list with the file descriptions. You might also be able to find the program using part of the text name of the program.

You can then try searching for the file at www.filez.com

You should also let me know, so I can double check that the links are good.

Help, this download is taking FOREVER!!!

This site is a collection of links to programs. These pointers point to machines all over the world where archives are located. Those archives are sometimes overloaded - especially on weekends and Friday nights. If you try to download from one site, and the response seems really bad, try another.

If the site that is storing the file or your internet provider is overloaded, downloads will be slow. You might get better results downloading from a site on the other side of the world, where people might be sleeping.

What is a (.zip), (.sit) and (.hqx) file?

A (.zip) or a (.sit) file is a single compressed file that contains many larger files. Compressed files are good because they cut your downloading time in half or even less, and make it possible to fit large collections of files onto one floppy disk.

A (.hqx) file is an encoded file that makes it possible to transmit a file as a text file, and is useful for emailing files. Another format is mime.

Some of the information about download PC programs came from Tom Guthery, FLIX Productions. Thank you Tom! By the way, he has some award winning shareware.

We've got another page of answers to questions.

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