i have downloaded ktorrent on my windows partition and am at a loss. it is a TAR file and windows does not recognize it. i dont know if i downloaded the wrong file or what. if someone could please help i would appreciate it.

Most probably you want to use winrar for this, as it is the most used tool for archives on windows.

The tar file only contains the source code.

If you just want to install ktorrent on windows, the easiest way is to use the KDE windows installer http://winkde.org/pub/kde/ports/win32/installer/kdewin-installer-gui-latest.exe