How do I download the games people post onto my pc?

[NehiAt]

Hello, I am really new to this whole thing and was wondering if somebody could teach me step by step how to download one of these eroge games?

 

[Frankincense]

Thread moved to tech support.

Step 1: downloading a game

There are 2 main ways to download a game, direct download and torrent.

For direct link download, simply click the links the uploader provided. Most file hosts only allow you to download a file within a certain amount of time though e.g. one file per hour.

For torrent, you need a torrent client (BitTorrent, µTorrent, etc.). Once you have a client, download the .torrent file and open it with your client. If there are people sharing the game at the moment, it will start downloading.

Step 2: extracting a game

If you get .rar files, that means the game are compressed and you'll have to extract it first. You can do this with WinRAR or other file archivers that support the file format.

Sometimes archives are split into many parts. (.part01.rar, part02.rar, part03.rar, ...) In this case you'll need to download all the parts before you're able to extract them.

Step 3: mounting a disk image

After the extraction, if you get a disk image file e.g. .iso, .img, .bin, you'll need a program that can read it e.g. Daemon Tools. The program will create a new virtual CD drive (which you can open with file explorer) and let you read the content of the disk image.

Step 4: changing system locale

Sometimes a game check if you're using a Japanese OS or if you're really living in Japan by checking your system locale. If it's a Japanese game, most likely you'll have to change your system locale to Japanese first even before installing the games. The setting is in Control Panel>Region.

In some rare case just doing this will not work, but most of the time the solution is posted in the thread where you downloaded the game. Just ask the uploader.

Step 5: installing a game

Open your virtual drive with file explorer. Then find and run a file called install.exe, setup.exe, or something like that. Follow the instruction. It's all in Japanese but should be no different than other English installers, (it'll ask to which folder and for which user to install, and stuff).

Step 6: running a game

Find the .exe file and run the game. If you get and error message then you'll need a crack, which usually comes with your download. The instruction on how to crack the game should be provided by the uploader.

Hope that answers your question.