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 FreeWire
Help
This page is under constant revision and updating. Please refer
to the Help Index on the right for alternate support options.
FAQ - click on the topics for
answers
- What is UCmore?
Does it display advertisements?
1. How do I install
FreeWire? What is an active installer?
2. Why do I need a Java Runtime Environment? Which
one should I pick?
3. Why does it take more time to load FreeWire than
other apps?
3a. I've recently upgraded FreeWire to a newer version,
and now I can't start or load the program at all! Help!
3b. I upgraded to a version that supports file hashing
(post 2.5) and when I first run FreeWire it slows my entire system
down- what is happening?
4. I'm having trouble connecting to the Internet
with FreeWire.
5. How can I make sure my downloads complete?
6. What adware is installed with FreeWire? Does FreeWire
contain spyware, and is my privacy safe?
7. Why is the FreeWire symbol a hot pepper?
1. How do I install
FreeWire? What is an active installer?
To install the latest version of FreeWire, download it from our
download page. You will be downloading
a small file (120Kb) that acts as an active installer. Make
sure you remain connected to the Internet when you run the installer.
FreeWire's installer will dynamically download and install the
components you select (active install). A Java Runtime Environment
is required- select the default JRE during installation if you
do not already have one installed.
2. Why do I need
a Java Runtime Environment? Which one should I pick?
FreeWire is written in Java, which is not a native programming
language for Windows. For this reason it must run in a Runtime
Environment (distributed by the creators of Java, Sun Microsystems).
The JRE is distributed with FreeWire, and alternately the download
is available free from our download page.
It's rather large, but necessary to run FreeWire. Version 1.3.1
is the default version of the JRE, and is the smallest download
(5MB)- it is recommended. Version 1.4 is a newer version, and
adds some functionality and speed to FreeWire, but has not been
tested as thoroughly- also it is a larger download (9MB).
3. Why does it
take more time to load FreeWire than other apps?
Java programs like FreeWire generally take longer to load user
interfaces than applications programmed in native Windows code.
Once FreeWire loads up it will function and perform as well or
better than other non-Java programs, however. Make sure you are
connected to the Internet before attempting to run FreeWire.
3a. I've recently
upgraded FreeWire to a newer version, and now I can't start or
load the program at all! Help!
This is caused by the JRE no longer being identified by the
new program file. If you find yourself in this situation, uninstall
the Java Runtime Environment completely (all versions), and uninstall
FreeWire. Then simply download and re-install both from our site.
You'll find that all should go smoothly once you've done this-
this bug was pretty well fixed in FreeWire 2.4.3.
3b. I upgraded
to a version that supports file hashing (post 2.5) and when I
first run FreeWire it slows my entire system down- what is happening?
File hashing is an extremely CPU intensive activity, but it
only needs to occur the very first time you run FreeWire. This
makes for performance loss on some systems, even though FreeWire
employs CPU-throttling measures to attempt to decrease this effect.
When all your files have SHA-1 hash IDs then you will find that
FreeWire runs smoothly and normally. Typically it should only
take a few minutes, depending on the speed of your system and
the number of files you share. But trust us, hashing makes for
a huge improvement in downloadable search results, so let it happen!
4. I'm having
trouble connecting to the Internet with FreeWire.
Make sure you've dialed in or otherwise established your Internet
connection before starting up FreeWire. It will usually take a
few moments to connect to the Gnutella network once you've started
FreeWire. Typically the longer you run FreeWire the better connection
performance you'll get from it, as it takes time to adequately
connect you to enough hosts to provide the most possible content.
Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) may lock out Gnutella traffic,
which travels by default on Port 6346. Users can check if Gnutella
connections are available when they're connected to the Internet
by doing the following:
1. From the Start menu, choose "Run".
2. In the box, type "telnet 64.61.25.171 6346", then
click OK.
3. If the resulting window doesn't say "GNUTELLA OK"
within a few seconds, your
ISP has likely blocked Gnutella access. We have no control over
this, sorry.
5. How can I
make sure my downloads complete?
We recommend downloading only from "4-star" search results
or from results with multiple hosts (smart downloads). Similar
results will be grouped together (a little blue arrow will appear
next to them) as smart downloads. Select those results and click
"Download Any", and FreeWire will attempt to download
the most suitable file.
Some downloads may fail because the host has run out of upload
slots. FreeWire will continue to attempt to download the requested
file (you will see a "Busy" message next to your download).
If FreeWire can't directly connect to a host it will attempt a
"Push" download. FreeWire attempts two Push requests
before giving up.
Sometimes your download may fail if the user you are downloading
from moves or deletes the file, blocks your access to it, or disconnects
from Gnutella.
FreeWire will "auto-resume" unfinished downloads by
default.
6. What adware
is installed with FreeWire? Does FreeWire contain spyware, and
is my privacy safe?
FreeWire may come bundled with third-party applications, but installing
them is entirely optional to you (you can opt-out of installing
them during the FreeWire installation process). We would recommend
that you choose to install these, as they are the means that we
continue to develop excellent software. We are committed to ensuring
the best user experience, and any third-party software companies
that we are partnered with have software that provides excellent
value to you, and carry excellent privacy policies. It is our
policy to run all our partner's software on our workstations,
in part to show that we stand behind them and trust in their privacy
policies, and in part because programs like UCMore are quite useful.
We do not consider any of the applications we bundle "spyware",
and we only partner with companies who display outstanding privacy
records. FreeWire P2P values your privacy, and so do our partners.
We wouldn't ask our users to install anything that we wouldn't
readily install ourselves.
7. Why is the
FreeWire symbol a hot pepper?
Good question. We just thought it was catchy and something people
might easily remember. No good reason, really =).
What is UCmore?
Is it spyware or does it display advertisements?
UCmore is an optional component that can be installed with FreeWire.
UCmore is a search accelerator toolbar that integrates into Internet
Explorer. UCmore is unobtrusive, Spyware
free and DOES NOT display pop-up advertisements or ads of
any kind. To learn more about UCmore click
here.
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