mIRC Install Help

Instructions for Net Newbies and Download Dummies.

These terminally simple instructions assume you know nada, nothing, njente about computers. We not only assume that you know nothing, but we assume that knowing nothing is making you nervous... Right?

No worries, we will help you with Downloading, Installing and the Setup of mIRC. If you made it this far you will certainly manage to get and install mIRC on your PC, if not today then tomorrow! On this page we hope to clarify downloading mIRC (and files in general) from the Internet to your PC and we will introduce you to installing and setting up the program in Windows. Just read on and follow the instructions..... dare to dive into it head forward ! It might be a good idea to print this page!

If you have difficulties reading this English text, one of the translations might help?

STEP ONE: Download mIRC 6.16.

• mIRC is distributed in a self-extracting cabinet; a small program that will unzip and install mIRC on your PC. You don't need any external programs to install and setup mIRC on your PC, just follow the instructions below.
  
  In these instructions we assume you are using Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, NT or newer. In the unlikely event you are using a very old version of Windows, like Windows 3.1, 3.11, or Windows for Workgroups, an older 16 bit version of mIRC is available. This file is named mirc591s.exe
  
• Now you're ready to download the mirc 6.16 cabinet from one of the addresses on the list of download sites and save it to your hard disk. The file is named mirc616.exe
  
  
• To download a file and save it to your harddisk instead of viewing it, click on the link to the file while holding the SHIFT key on your keyboard down. In several web-browsers (IE, Netscape, Mosaic) you can also right-click on the link and select 'Save this link as...' from the popup menu that will show. When your web-browser asks where to place the file, select a directory on your harddisk where you can find it back later.
  
  
• Sometimes your web-browser will confront you with a warning message like :
  "Unknown File-type. No external viewer configured for this file.
  Do you want to configure a viewer now OR save file to disk ?"
  In these cases select "Save file to disk".
  
  
• Also Internet Explorer will warn you how 'some files can harm your computer if it contains malicious code'. That of course is true, but mIRC does not contain such malicious code.
  
  

STEP TWO: Installing mIRC

Once you have downloaded mIRC, you are ready to install it. During the install procedure mIRC's files will be automatically extracted from the cabinet and all necessary steps for starting mIRC will be taken. If you're upgrading an older version of mIRC you will be able to keep all your old settings.

• Open the Windows File Manager or Explorer with which you can see what files are found on your PC's hardisk. You can find its icon in the 'Start' menu, under 'Programs'.
• Locate the mIRC 6.16 cabinet which you just downloaded and saved to your harddisk. It is named mirc616.exe
• To start the installation process just double click on the cabinet. The installation program will be started automatically.
  • Determine the place on your harddisk where you want mIRC to be installed. Normally the proposed c:program filesmirc will do fine. Upgraders just browse to the directory where their current mIRC version is found and select that as destination directory.
  • If you want the installer to keep backup copies of all eventual older files, keep the "Make backups" option selected.
  • If you want the installer to add a mIRC program group to windows and set up the mIRC icons, keep the "Add icons" option selected.
  • Select 'OK' and you're done! The installer will take care of all the work.

STEP THREE: Setting up mIRC

Now that mIRC is installed on your PC and the program group and mIRC icon are available in the program manager, this is what is required to set it up:

• First make sure you have an active connection to Internet. Normally you just have to start up the modem connection to your Internet provider to do so. To anticipate any problems in the future always first start your modem and then mIRC.
• Double click the mIRC icon (shortcut) on your desktop to start up mIRC.
• mIRC will start and show the Options Dialog and require you to fill in some information:
  
  
  • In the mIRC Options dialog (as above) you see an options tree structure. You can expand a branch of the tree (a Category) by selecting an item (Connect, IRC, Sounds,..) and clicking on the little �plus� sign. A list of sub-items will unfold. At first only the main �Connect� menu item seen above, has to be filled in. Select this item and enter the following information in the fields;
    
    ����Real Name: Your real name (ie, Bob Newbie)
    ���� E-Mail: Your email address (ie, [email protected])
    ���� Nick Name: A one to nine character alias to use on the chat system (ie, BobNewbie)
    
    ���� Alternate: If someone else is already using the Nick Name you you�ve chosen on IRC, you will be known by this alternate name instead. (ie, Newbie2)
    
    
  • Now you could select a local or nearby IRC server, but there is no need to. For now the server mIRC selected for you will do fine! (In this image you see how mIRC selected an Undernet server.) If you decided to select a different IRC network, a long list of servers is available by default in the /Connect/Servers/ sub-item. Just select one.
  • Next, you could select the Local Info sub-item, but normally you dont have to fill in anything there. Just make sure the boxes under 'On Connect, Always get :' Local Host and IP Address are Checked (selected). For various Internet Providers and PC setup's you might need other settings here. Don't worry too much for now, if you get problems later just read the help provided on this topic in the mIRC Help file (mirc.hlp) or mIRC FAQ.
  • Then you might want to select the Identd sub-item and Enable the Identd Server. Your User ID should already be filled-in there. Eventually fill in your Account Name in this field. (Your account name is the part before the @ in your email address, like 'tjerk' in my case) Or fill in anything you like. Do not use spaces or strange characters! The System should always be set to UNIX and the port is always port 113. 'Show Ident requests' can be left Off, 'Enable only when connecting' can be set On.
• Once this is all set, click on the OK button to close the mIRC Options Dialog, Or press the large "Connect to Server" button in the Connect menu.
• mIRC is now set up and totally ready to use.

STEP FOUR: Using mIRC

• Click on the File menu and select Connect to connect to IRC. Or select the lightning button in the Toolbar for the same effect, or use the large "Connect to Server" button mentioned above.
  
  
  • After a short wait (up to 20 seconds) you will see some meaningless blurb appear in the status window.
  • The last line will say something like "End of MOTD command". It is possible it takes a while for the connection to establish. Don't worry, sit back and relax - in the end it will work!
    
    
  You are on IRC now !! Congratulations.
  
  
• The mIRC Channels Folder will pop up. It shows a selection of the most popular IRC Channels on our network. You might want to try some of them? You can double-click on any channel suggested in the list. Or you can select more channels and hit the Join button.
• Alternatively, to join a conversation, type the /join #channelname command in the single line box at the bottom of the Status window. To get a listing of all available channels you might try the /list command.
• When you join a channel, a new window will appear on your screen. The names on the right side column are those people who are currently joined in the channel. The left hand window is where everyone's conversation takes place. To say things to the people joined to the channel, just type your comments in the single row box at the bottom of the channel's window.
• To leave a channel, just double click on the close box, which is located at the top-left hand corner of the channel name's window.
• There are many more commands available on IRC, and we recommend you do some further reading in one of the widely available info files. These www pages offer an IRC Intro page in case you need more info on IRC, and the mIRC FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to help you solve any possible problem you might encounter now or in the future.
• If you have difficulties connecting to an IRC server, because of errors like �No Authorization� or �Cannot Resolve IRC Server name� try using a different IRC server or read the mIRC FAQ for more info.

NICKSERV

NickServ allows you to "register" a nickname and prevent others from using it. The following commands allow for registration and maintenance of nicknames; to use them, type /ns HELP. For more information on a specific command, type /ns HELP command. We suggest that you use the same username that you have on TSR and/or forums. We reserve the right to change any questionable nicknames.

REGISTER

Syntax: /ns REGISTER password email

Registers your nickname in the NickServ database. Once your nick is registered, you can use the SET and ACCESS commands to configure your nick's settings as you like them. Make sure you remember the password you use when registering - you'll need it to make changes to your nick later. (Note that case matters! TSR, Tsr, and tsr are all different passwords!)

Guidelines on choosing passwords:

Passwords should not be easily guessable. For example, using your real name as a password is a bad idea. Using your nickname as a password is a much worse idea ;) and, in fact, NickServ will not allow it. Also, short passwords are vulnerable to trial-and-error searches, so you should choose a password at least 5 characters long. Finally, the space character cannot be used in passwords.

IDENTIFY

Syntax: /ns IDENTIFY password

Tells NickServ that you are really the owner of this nick. Many commands require you to authenticate yourself with this command before you use them. The password should be the same one you sent with the REGISTER command.

GROUP

Syntax: /ns GROUP target� password

This command makes your nickname join the target nickname's group. password is the password of the target nickname.

Joining a group will allow you to share your configuration, memos, and channel privileges with all the nicknames in the group, and much more!

SET PASSWORD

Syntax: /ns SET PASSWORD�newpassword

Changes the password used to identify you as the nick's owner.

To register a channel on the TSR IRC Network please fill out the form on this page:

http://www.thesimsresource.com/chat/request.php

Once your channel has been approved, you will receive documentation that will assist you with your channel.