All Torrent files contain "invalid Data"

[snick]

Hi I just downloaded Transmission on my Mac OS X and it says "The torrent file cannot be opened because it contains invalid data." when i try to open the files with it. The files are shaded grey and cannot be opened in the application as well.
I've downloaded Utorrent and this has the same problem, I've downloaded multiple torrents from different places.
Looking into advice it says check your firewall, not sure what i would check, but I am on VirusBarrier X6

This problem doesnt seem to be in the FAQ's from what I can tell

thanks

[snick]

tried lots of files. surely not that much on pirate bay doesnt even work?

[snick]

also, i've tried downloaded the highest rating files - not sure how that all works though

[snick]

having a look round other ways to download files. I've managed to get some torrents to come up in Utorrent (although I'd prefer to use Trasnmission, and it just says 0% downloaded, but say its connected. Perhaps this may help?

[snick]

thank you so much the link about ports has helped me get started.
I've realised that my mac does not recognize privatize.com with tracker.example.com.se and tries to open it as a word document. The files that I have been able to download now have the little Utorrent symbol next to them. there are still some that I cannot select, confusing!

[Whosawhatsis]

Found the cause of the error in my case. Apparently, some torrent creator(s) put an extra zero-length field in the data about each file. Check your torrent files for the string "pathl0:" to see if you're having the same problem. Removing the "0:" part allows the torrent file to load successfully, but (at least in the case of the private tracker where I got the files I found this in) it makes the tracker not recognize the torrent. So either Transmission needs to be fixed to accept these files with the zero-length field or the people making these files need to remove it (preferably both).

[kaushalmalkan11]

A simple method to get rid of “Torrent is not valid Bencoding” is downloading the same file from the different site or sources. To avoid the error you can try to download the same file from some other torrent website, and it will work. This corrupted file is from the torrent engine’s side, and hence there is no way to troubleshoot it. Therefore it is worthwhile to try downloading from a different source. For this purpose, you will get many sites like IDM or DAP that will let you download.


There are other methods too but I would suggest you to read more about them before deciding which one would be best for you.

Reference Links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/torrents/comme ... ing_error/

https://www.techwhoop.com/unable-to-loa ... bencoding/

[john123]

I had tried many files but not that much on pirate bay and that does not work? And also i had tried to download the highest rating files but they are not downloading

[sandeepsign]

Hello sir, I am having problems with downloading software from Some Tracker and even rarbg too. many times it gives me the message invalid file.

[sandeepsign]

Try to use magnet links instead of torrent files they have no encoding its just direct information to the torrent file. This helps too sometimes.

Do not download their broken torrent, just use magnet direct links.

some benefits going directly to magnet links described here

Magnet links, compact strings of text, encapsulate all the essential details required to initiate a download, including the cryptographic hash of the target file and information about available trackers and peers. Unlike .torrent files, magnet links do not host or point to specific content locations; rather, they act as signposts guiding users and torrent clients to the distributed network of peers sharing the desired files.

One of the most significant advantages of magnet links lies in their simplicity and accessibility. Users need not download separate .torrent files from centralized repositories; instead, they can initiate downloads directly by clicking on magnet links embedded in websites, forums, or shared messages. This streamlined process eliminates the need for cumbersome file downloads and simplifies the initiation of torrent transfers.

[dimag0g]

I used to get this message with torrent files from my favorite tracker on v2.94, but I was still able to add the torrent once I closed the error message dialog.

Now with v3.00 it's getting worse: I get the error and the torrent appears to have no files inside. However, if I add the same torrent a second time, I get to see the files and the download starts. No error message appears the second time.

It would be great if this error message was more specific (e.g. "invalid character in field foo", "field bar has invalid length", etc.). Even if Transmission is not getting fixed to support broken torrents, I could at least report the issue to the tracker properly, instead of just saying their torrents are "invalid".