Questions
The things people ask first
Twelve answers covering accounts, waiting rooms, how the catalogue is kept, what the numbers on each page mean and what to do when something does not behave.
Do I need an account to download anything?
No. There is no registration on this site, no membership tier and nothing that asks for an email address in order to reach a page or a file. Every title page is open and every file behind it is reachable directly.
Is there a waiting room or a countdown?
No. There is no interstitial between a title page and its file, no timer and no sequence of pages to click through. The button on a title page is the file.
Why is the catalogue only thirty titles?
Because every title in it is checked when its publisher issues a new build. A catalogue ten times the size would mean nine out of ten pages nobody has opened in years, listing versions and requirements that stopped being true a long time ago. We would rather hold less and have it be current.
How often are titles refreshed?
When the software moves, not on a schedule. The refresh log lists what has changed and how recently, and each title page shows when that entry was last touched. A title that has not moved in a while has usually not had a new build.
What does the bar next to each title mean?
It is the download count for that title as a share of the most taken title in the library. It is there so a ranked list reads at a glance rather than requiring you to compare seven figure numbers in your head.
What is a mirror count?
Every file sits on several servers. The mirror count on a title page is how many of them are currently carrying and answering for that file. A higher number means a slow or unreachable server matters less.
A download is slow or will not start. What now?
Try again, since mirrors are picked per attempt and a slow one is often just a slow one. If it keeps happening, report it through the contact page with the title name and roughly what you saw, and the mirror gets checked.
The version listed does not match what I installed.
That is worth telling us. Version drift is the most common thing that goes stale on a page of this kind, and the contact form has a subject for exactly this. Include the title and the version you ended up with.
Can I ask for something that is not here?
Yes, through the requests page. Requests are read and repeated requests for the same title move it up. There is no promise attached to any single one, but the library has grown almost entirely from that form.
Do the pages work on a phone?
Yes. Every page reflows down to a phone width, including the requirement tables and the file details. The search field works the same way on a small screen as it does on a desktop one.
Why do some titles list two architectures?
Because the image installs either one. On those entries the choice is made during setup, and the file detail table says so. The 64 bit build is the right choice on any current machine unless something specific requires the older one.
How do I get something removed?
The removals page sets out what a rights holder needs to send and where it goes. Requests that identify the material and the rights involved are handled promptly.
Still stuck
If none of this covers it, the contact page reaches a person and the form has a subject list that routes it. For a title that is not in the library at all, use requests instead, since that is the form that feeds the catalogue.