How can I Download/install Mods for Minecraft?

-im new to computer gaming as a whole , i use to play PS3 but i like the look of mine craft and im starting to play computer Games so im new to the modding thing and i need some helpWell if you JUST started PC Gaming its great to experience the game first before you mod it. Even experienced PC Gamers do this. But if you still want to mod I can give you a website that shows all the mods and texture packs released.



Mod Site: http://minecraftforum.net/forum





Before you go to step one: If you cant see Appdata in your User folder then do this:

Go to the tab Organize in the top left of the Windows Explorer

then go to Folder and search option. After that go to the view tab and find View Hidden folders. Check that and press OK. Then you should see "Appdata" in your user folder.



One more thing.



THINGS YOU WILL NEED:



-WinRAR (Or any other program that can extract and open .jar files

- The mod you wish to use (if it's in an archive, extract the files and get them ready)



BACKUP YOUR .MINECRAFT FOLDER BEFORE ANY MODDING

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST DATA



Alrighty, lets get to it.







STEP ONE:



Read the OP's instructions carefully, and look for updates in the thread carefully.



To open your .minecraft folder:



In Windows 7: C:\Users\Your User Name\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft



In Windows Vista/XP: C:\Documents and Settings\*your user name*\Application Data\.minecraft



Linux: /home/Your User Name/.minecraft



Mac OS/X: ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft





.minecraft Folder



The .minecraft folder looks something like this:



-bin

-resources

-texturepacks

-saves

-options.txt





What's inside the bin folder is what we need:



-natives

-lwjgl,jar

-minecraft.jar

-jinput.jar

-lwjgl_utility.jar

-version file



Open the minecraft.jar file with WinRAR or the program of your choice. (Some programs may make another .jar file with the name "minecraft" in it, such as xau's HD Texture Patch which made a "minecraft-1.1_02" jar in my folder. Don't mod these .jar's, only mod "minecraft.jar")



STEP TWO:



This part is really simple. Now that you have your .minecraft.jar open, you can follow the instructions of the mod you got. Most instructions are like this:



-Extract the contents of the mod to a temporary folder (I keep all my stuff in a folder called Minecraft Tools on my Desktop, makes it easier to do over if I screw up again).



-Drag and drop the contents of the mod into the WinRAR window that has minecraft.jar open. If the mod has any folders in it that are the same name as any in the minecraft.jar (such as armor or gui, don't worry, WinRAR will merge the contents together)



-ALWAYS delete the META-INF folder in minecraft.jar. Even if the mod doesn't instruct you to.



-Finish any other instructions, and then you're done!