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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 the proper mIRC 5.9 cabinet.
mIRC is distributed in a self-extracting cabinets that will install mIRC on your PC.
You dont need any external programs to install and setup mIRC on your PC, just follow
the instructions below.
You first have to find out what mIRC issue you will be running. mIRC is available in
a 16 bit issue (mirc59s.exe) and a 32 bit issue (mirc59t.exe). The 16 bit
issue is meant for older (16 bit) Operating Systems like Windows 3.1 or 3.11. The 32 bit
issue is meant for 32 bit Operating Systems like Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP or NT.
Determine which issue you will be using.
- If you have windows 3.1 or 3.11, or windows for workgroups, go on installing the 16 bit issue.
- If you have windows 95 with an old 16 bit winsock like Netcruiser, or the old 16 bit Trumpet
winsock, go on installing the 16 bit issue! (-not- the 32 bit issue)
- If you have a normal windows 95, 98, 2000, ME or NT, go on installing the 32 bit issue of mIRC 5.9.
If you are in any way uncertain about the proper choice, you could decide to install the
16 bit mIRC issue! That version will always work! We will go on showing the installation of
the (most common) 32 bit mIRC. The installation of the 16 bit issue only differs a little in
the names of the files.
Now you're ready to download the appropriate mirc 5.9 cabinet from one of the
addresses on the list of download sites and save it to
your hard disk.
The cabinet with the 16 bit issue is named: mirc59s.exe
The cabinet with the 32 bit issue is named: mirc59t.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
(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".
STEP TWO: Installing mIRC
Once you have downloaded a mIRC cabinet, you are ready to install mIRC in windows.
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 Main group in Windows or under the 'Start' button, under 'Programs'.
Locate the mirc 5.9 cabinet which you just downloaded and saved to your
harddisk. It is either named mirc59s.exe (16 Bit) or mirc59t.exe (32 Bit)
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:\mirc 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  icon (shortcut) 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, Tjerk Vonck)
E-Mail: Your email address (ie, t.r.vonck@student.utwent.nl)
Nick Name: A one to nine character alias to use on the chat system (ie, Krejt)
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, Krejt2)
You also have to select a local or nearby IRC server. A long list of servers is available by
default. Just select one. At first the default Random US DALnet server will do fine!
Next, you could select the Local Info sub-item. Normally you dont have to fill in anything here.
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. Dont 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.
Now 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 t.r.vonck in my case)
The System should allways 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.
mIRC is now set up and totally ready to use.
STEP FOUR: Using mIRC
Click on the File menu and select Connect. Or select the lightning button in
the Toolbar for the same effect.
- 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".
You are on IRC now !! Congratulations.
The mIRC Channels Folder will pop up. It shows a selection of the most popular IRC
Channels available all over the world. 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 {channel_name} command in the
single line box at the bottom of the Status window. Popular channels are #42plus, #friendly, #mirc,
#teen, #texas, #amsterdam, #newbies, #help, #england, #usa, well there are thousands. 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 Authorisation" or "Cannot Resolve IRC Server name" try using a different IRC server or
read the mIRC FAQ for more info.
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