I know virtually nothing about torrents.

I'm trying to download at least one file of this (http://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4003797) because of its audio - 6 channel audio for both English and Russian. I figure that if the English audio doesn't have background music on its own, the Russian audio might - then I could make soundtracks for the episodes. The problem is there aren't any seeders to help me out - not one byte of data is downloading.

So, the question is - is it possible to "force start" a torrent? As in, force something to kick in a few kbps for me? If that's not an option, is there something else I can do to get things going?

Thanks.

I see one single Seeder, but they might be on/off sporadically.

You can't really force anything to start on your end.

Not even asking the Original Seeder would help much.
There are far too many variables to ensure a successful connection long enough to seed.
You could ask them to stop all other torrents and seed yours but even that's not a guarantee.

If they insist on seeding multiple torrents, they can't force yours to start. Some clients have "Force-start" which doesn't mean it will force connections and downloads/uploads to happen. It only means that when you reach your maximum allowed active torrents (as defined in client settings), your forced-start torrent will always be active, regardless of settings. Whether or not it downloads/uploads is an entirely different matter.

If the OSeeder is uploading from their home, you have to rely on their speeds from their ISP.
OS is from Russia and I don't know what kind of internet they have: fiber? Did OS buy fiber high speed internet?
Other variables include whether or not their ISP throttles torrents or even connections from/to other countries.
More variables depend on your end of the client settings, your ISP, your internet plan, etc.

If OS has a seedbox, then there is a greater chance of you being able to download if he stops his other torrents on his seedbox.
Somehow, seedboxes are so much faster.
If you have a seedbox and they have a seedbox, things would be so much better.

I just added the torrent to my seedbox and it's showing really, really dead.
But then, anything I grab from that site is always dead. It will take about a week for it to finish. Maybe a month. Maybe never.

It's kind of a bum site for anything that isn't mainstream seeded.

Single seeders tend to be random on rutracker. just sit with it active for a couple of weeks and see if it goes anywhere.

I see one single Seeder, but they might be on/off sporadically.


But then, anything I grab from that site is always dead. It will take about a week for it to finish. Maybe a month. Maybe never.

It's kind of a bum site for anything that isn't mainstream seeded.

I quite agree with all the points you raised about there being several variables that could hinder TheSkeletonMan939 from completely downloading the series in question, apart from the ones I underlined quoted. Been a member on there for ages and I can say one thing, though mine is based on my own experience and most especially given my taste is not remotely close to mainstream. Rutracker has a very good community. A torrent like that, with a single seeder/or maybe even none at the time OP wrote the original post. In such situations, OP could simply post on that thread, requesting if others would be so kind to seed said torrent. It has never failed for me. Also one more thing, be patient.

Thanks. Guess I'll just have to wait it out and hope for the best. Meanwhile, I'll look for any other episodes with 6 channels.