What are Chunk files?

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What are Chunk files.

What are CHUNK files and what should I do with them (if anything)?

When Newsbin downloads a multipart file (a file requiring more then one post to complete) it saves parts of the file as CHUNK files in the "SPOOL" directory. This directory is under the install directory. Each CHUNK file is the decoded binary of one Post. If a file is made up of 30 parts, then when the file's completely downloaded, there'll be 30 chunk files in the spool directory. Newsbin combines these chunks together to create the actual file. It knows what order to combine them in because the CHUNK file's actual extension is the index of the chunk.

What good are Chunk files?

If you lose a connection 1/2 through a download, Newsbin will use the CHUNK files to resume the download right where it left off. For example if you had downloaded 20 parts of a 40 part MPG, then your system crashed. When you restarted and re-selected the file for download, It would ignore the 20 chunks that were already downloaded and start downloading at chunk 21.

How are chunk files cleaned out?

The most common way a chunk file gets deleted is when the download finishes. In the case of terminated downloads or crashes, chunks get left behind on disk. If the chunks get more then 3 days old though, they're automatically deleted when Newsbin starts up.

Can I delete CHUNK files?

You can do whatever you want with the chunk files, delete them, move them, whatever. If you delete chunks out from under a download though the download will fail when it's time to assemble the file.

Can I save CHUNK files?

If you set "Save Chunk" mode in the advanced tab, the chunks won't get deleted. If you set "Save Chunk Text" mode, the encoded data is saved in the spool directory. If you see corrupt data errors, you could examine the text file to see if the encoded data's any good.

How can I manually assemble chunk files?

Because of the way the chunks are named, the Master Splitter assembler will combine chunks together. They don't all have to be there either. You could use "Chunk Download Mode" to download what parts (incomplete posts) you can get then. Reassemble the partial file. You activate the Master Splitter copies in the downloaded files list right click menu under "Combine Files".