mIRC Installation

The Most Popular IRC Chat Client

There are many Windows, Mac and Unix based IRC clients. mIRC is the most popular Windows IRC chat client and will be discussed here. You will find easy setup instructions, a mIRC command reference, and how to use scripts to enhance your mIRC client. A single mIRC client has the ability to run multiple scripts, join multiple networks, & includes a file server to share your favorite files.

mIRC is a shareware IRC Client for Windows, developed by Khaled Mardam-Bey in 1995. It is a full featured IRC chat client complete with it's own advanced scripting language that continues to broaden with each new release. It contains many features and abilities for the novice as well as the seasoned user.

mIRC's server list contains over 300 servers from all over the world. They are listed by server name and regardless of location, you will be able to find chat channels in your native language. Choosing which server to use is entirely up to you, Undernet will be discussed here as this is the Network I belong to.

Getting Started with mIRC

If you don't already have the mIRC client you can obtain it here.
The current version available is mIRC v6.31. mIRC is shareware, You can download and run an unregistered copy for 30 days. Registration is required if you wish to keep the client. mIRC costs a very reasonable registration fee of US $20.00. You need only register once. Your registration license entitles you to lifetime updates and fixes. Please support mIRC and help keep the project going.

Installation

Double click the mirc6.31.exe to install the software. You will be presented with the default location to install to C:\Program Files\mIRC. While the default path is acceptable to many users it is recommended that mIRC be installed to the root of any drive you choose i.e. C:\mIRC. This prevents issues when installing 3rd party scripts to your client.
Please Note if you are running Windows Vista it is recommended you install mIRC version 6.21.

When installation is complete you will be presented with the setup window.
The Real Name field should Never contain your real name. Real Name and Email are not required to contain your actual information, however they are required fields.
Next choose your desired Nickname and an alternate Nickname.

Under the Connect option menu select Identd.
Enable Identd Server.
User ID should contain your primary Nick.
Port 113 is default.
Select Enable only when connecting.
Note: If your computer is behind a nat router or a firewall Port 113 will need to forwarded for this setting to function.

Next choose Servers from the mIRC menu. Use the drop down menu to select the Network you wish to connect to. Here we will use Undernet. Once you've chosen Undernet click the connect button. That's it. Your now connected to Undernet.

When you connect to the Undernet Network, your favorites folder opens. It contains many channels already available for you to join. This menu can be customized to include your favorite channels, remove existing channels & more. Other options include join on connect, & minimize onjoin.

As I've covered only the barest minimum needed here to load the mIRC client and join a Network, I invite you to read the additional tutorials I've provided to get the most out of your IRC experience. As with any other online media there is an unspoken manner of behavior, netiquette if you will, that should be followed by every user. When in doubt feel free to ask.

If you don't find the information you need within these pages, feel free to join
Pc-Mirc-Help on Undernet.