I downloaded the BIAB and RB programs immediately upon ordering the hard drive. It didn't take too long with a fast connection and allowed me to play with the program while waiting for the hard drive and all of the other RTs and styles, etc. I didn't ask for a link to the new RT's because they are so big and would take a while to download. I think the program only file (BIAB & RB) was around 260 mb - not that big of a file to download these days. I would download the file and tinker with it, but that is just me. If you are running everything from the internal hard drive you won't hurt or loose anything in the process (as far as I can tell). With all that in mind, being in Washington state I received the hard drive in a couple of days anyway. Good luck and have fun either way you go.