Getting started with Download.com

If you're new to Download.com, you might find the site a bit daunting. We offer a vast number of files and many ways to find them. But with some preparation, you'll be downloading excellent software, games, and music in no time. This step-by-step guide can help you find the files you want, download them, and install them on your hard drive with confidence.

Why can't I download my file?

Wouldn't it be nice if, when you clicked the Download Now button, the file just landed on your desktop? Sadly, because of spyware and hacker threats, your Internet browser may disable automatic downloads. Though that keeps unscrupulous sites from installing "drive-by downloads," it does add a step to the process.

For example, Internet Explorer (with Windows XP Service Pack 2) and Internet Explorer 7 will pop up a little yellow bar at the top of the screen that informs you a download has been blocked. To continue the download, you can right-click that bar (called an information bar), and select Allow this download. Once you do that, you'll see a dialog box that asks you to approve the download--it's redundant, of course, but secure. You should then choose to save your file to the Desktop or a designated download folder. Mozilla Firefox users will just see the dialog box.

For a list of solutions to the most common problems that can occur when downloading files to your computer, check out our downloading problems & help page.

Where did my download go?

One of the biggest problems with downloading files is figuring out where they go once they're on your hard drive. Creating and using a download folder eliminates that problem. Right-click your desktop and hover your mouse pointer over New until a menu pops up. Select Folder from that menu to create a new folder on your desktop. When the folder appears, its name, New Folder, should be highlighted already, so you can just type your name for it, such as Downloads. Though you don't need to leave this folder on your desktop, make sure you remember where you put it. When you start downloading a file, your computer will ask you where you want it to go; specify your download folder, and you'll always know where your files are.

You might want to create a separate folder for your music downloads, or just use the My Music folder in the My Documents directory on Windows machines. Some media players look in their own folders to find music files, but most of them will also search your computer for music. As long as you know where to find the files, though, you should be able to tell the program where to look.

Find the good stuff

Download.com offers the largest software library on the Web, as well as tons of free music. We've organized the content so you can find what you're looking for in a variety of ways. Below are some of the most common methods of finding files on our site. We also have a list of 10 Tips for using CNET Download which you may find handy.

Search for what you want If you know the name of the software you want, type it into the search box at the top of the screen and click Go. If you don't know the name of the software but have an idea of what you want, you can type in words related to your software. For example, if you're looking for a painting program, you can type paint or art.

On the main page, you can specify whether you want to search Software, Games, or Music using the pull-down menu below the search box. On section pages, such as the Audio & Video page, the search starts within the category, but you can widen the search to all of Download.com or the whole Web through the pull-down menu. With the Advanced Search button, you can search by publisher or license, so you can find, say, all Macromedia graphics products or all free audio players. The Music section of Download.com lets you search by artist or song title.

Check category listings Are you looking for the latest game or a new painting program? The front page of Download.com lists the major categories of software titles. Click Design & Photo if you're looking for painting programs, or just start clicking around. Similarly, Music categorizes its content by genre, so you can poke around in the Country or Jazz subsections to find something appealing. Browsing the categories may turn up your future favorite software or an artist you never knew you liked!

What's new and hot If you want to find the latest and greatest software, or just see what other people are downloading, look for the Editor's Pick, New Releases, and Most Popular tabs on the subsection pages. When we find programs and music we particularly like, we put them in the Editor's Pick spotlight. The New Releases list shows you the latest updates and programs that have come in, and the Most Popular list gives you the most-downloaded programs for the week in that category.

Once something catches your eye, click the name of the software. That takes you to the title-detail page, which provides a description of the file, a picture, and a download link. To download the file, just click the Download Now link.

Install your software

Once you've downloaded a piece of software to your hard drive, you need to install it before you can use it. Most downloads are in EXE, MSI, or ZIP format. If it's a ZIP file, you might need a ZIP utility such as WinZip or WinRAR, although recent versions of Windows XP come with "unzipping" built in. To access Music downloads, you can open them by double-clicking, or access them through your favorite media player.

EXE or MSI files Double-click the downloaded file. If it's an EXE file, it will confirm that you want to run the program, then launch the installer and take you through the steps. Pay attention to each of them--some will display conditions for using the software, disclose any additional programs that come with the download, and ask you to set up directories and preferences for the program.

An MSI file works similarly, using the newer Microsoft Installer technology, but you still only need to double-click the file to start installing. If it's the first time you've opened an MSI file, you may need to install the MSI installer itself, but that should happen fairly automatically.

ZIP files If it's a ZIP file, your ZIP utility should launch and show you a list of files the ZIP file contains. First, check whether the Install button appears on the menu bar; if it does, click it to kick off the installation process. If it doesn't appear, look for a file called read-me. If there is one, double-click it and read it, looking for any warnings or suggestions about how to install the software. Then look for a file called setup.exe or install.exe (if there's a read-me file, it should tell you the name of the installer file) and double-click it. The installer will take you through the steps required to put the software on your machine.

Mac files If you're a Mac user, the most common compression formats are DMG, HQX, and SIT. StuffIt Expander, which comes on most Macs, will automatically decompress all these files. Mac users should find an install or setup file included in the folder, or may just need to drag the folder's contents to the hard drive.