# napster substitute **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2000, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napster-substitute/33964 "2000-09-21T05:04:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napster-substitute/33964/1 "2000-09-21T05:04:48Z")
a few weeks ago i asked for help because i can no longer get napster to open on my computer.i have tried everything.it worked fine , then just stopped opening. it starts to open then just hangs up there until i control alt delete-i give up! maybe that metallica guy sent me a virus- so where are the other free music downloads like napster? also, on google, how do you get the little window where you type in the search word to NOT remember that word and open when you type in the first letter? i need to cover my tracks-thanks ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napster-substitute/33964/2 "2000-09-21T07:27:19Z")
As far as I’m concerned, the only substitute for Napster is to actually go digging around porn/warez sites for Mp3’s, like we had to do two years ago, in the olden-golden days. You whipper-snappers are so spoiled 😃 But seriously… just try re-installing Napster. And if that doesn’t work… well… I guess you can go back to those antiques that they call “Compact Discs”. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napster-substitute/33964/3 "2000-09-21T08:14:44Z")
I’ve got a friend who downloads all his mp3s off newsgroups. Have yet to try it myself, so I can’t say anything about the selection… but it’s one option for you. ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napster-substitute/33964/4 "2000-09-21T09:12:55Z")
Do you read Wired? Good. There’s a tear out section detailing all your alternatives. try [http://www.gnutella.com](http://www.gnutella.com) [http://www.scour.net](http://www.scour.net) for starters. –Tim ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2000, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napster-substitute/33964/5 "2000-09-21T23:36:10Z")
I would have recommended Scour, but it seems to be crashing on me lately. A cool thing about Scour is that you can dload video media as well. I got a bunch of episodes of Family Guy and South Park. ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2000, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napster-substitute/33964/6 "2000-09-22T00:16:21Z")
Gnutella was pretty good, but now it’s kinda buried in its own success. It’s a completely distributed system, so as the network grew, so did the traffic. It’s still usable, given a fast enough connection. Don’t forget Imesh. I don’t use it too often, but it has been nice a couple of times. ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2000, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/napster-substitute/33964/7 "2000-09-22T01:27:20Z")
First, go to [http://www.napigator.com](http://www.napigator.com) and download napigator. It lists all of the other nap servers besides napster. When napster shuts down next month (most likely), these other servers will still be available. If you still can’t connect, you will need to not only delete napster, but edit ant references to napster out of your registry. Go here: [http://expage.com/napsterfix/](http://expage.com/napsterfix/) If you do edit your registry, BE CAREFUL!!! You can really fuck up your PC if delete the wrong thing.