Problem downloading large files (IE7)

Topic

New Reply

I am experiencing a strange problem with IE7 (final) when downloading large files, e.g., 60+ megs. Although the amount varies, what happens is that the download will “stall”, i.e., it appears to time out. This again is with the default IE “Download Manager”. Out of sheer frustration, I installed Firefox 2 the other day and tried downloading the same large files which had failed with IE7 and they downloaded without any problem whatsoever. (Side note: I cannot understand the attraction to Firefox after having used it for several days. I personally prefer IE7 by far )

So, the obvious question is: What could possibly be causing IE7’s Download Manager to quit when downloading large files? There are no error messages, etc. so I can’t provide that kind of additional information. All I can tell you is that the download starts…. continues fine and then arbitrarily stops and I finally have to close the Manager dialog thus losing what had been downloaded to that point.

Jeff

Reply | Quote

Replies

I can’t believe it would be something so obvious, but what is the size of your temp internet files folder?

Reply | Quote

My TIF cache size is set at 100 megs. I’m puzzled why this would be relevant. A couple of times the Download Manager stalled at over 150 megs, but maybe I am not understanding something here? hehe

Jeff

Reply | Quote

Presumably IE is downloading to somewhere, and somewhere different to FF(?) – I was wondering if there was issue with space somewhere. Are you defining where the downloaded file is saved, and can you see the file grow in size as it is downloading?

(I’ve seen downloads go into a Temp folder and then on completion be transferred or executed, but perhaps this was automated upgrade downloads that I didn’t have total control over…)

Reply | Quote

1) True, the downloading data has to be stored somewhere temporarily but I don’t think that has to do with TIF. After you mentioned this I checked the cache size in Firefox and it is only 50 megs by default.

2) Yes, I always “define” where the download is to be saved which is a folder named “Downloads” on my Desktop.

3) Yes, I can see the file size grow, at least according to the progress indicator in the Download Manager dialog box.

4) Right…. some self-executable files will unpack and install upon completion. But this is not relevant to my situation since none are program update self-executables which are generally accessed via the application updater.

As I said….. this is strange. But what other kind of problem do I ever get but the “strange” kind?

Jeff

Reply | Quote

Is this one particular site? I’ve downloaded many files of varying sizes (up to 150MB) at work & home on several different machines using IE 7 without an issue.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

No, it doesn’t matter which site I download a file from, e.g., Microsoft, Acronis, Nero, et al. But again and much to my chagrin, I can download the files which fail using IE7 successfully using Firefox.

Jeff

Reply | Quote

As I said IE 7 is my main browser and the main browser for others here at work. I’ve not heard any complaints (and believe me I would hear). Have you tried disabling any IE add-ons? Long shot but who knows.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

Joe,

No complaints here from me re: IE7. It is my preferred browser. In fact the ONLY reason I installed Firefox was as a test to see if the problem was with IE or with my system in general. As soon as I resolve this download problem, Firefox is history. I have no problem downloading files with 3rd-party download managers which I prefer to use when possible. But some sites don’t allow them. So the problem is IE specific. I don’t have much in the way of Add-ons in IE7. And the ones I do have shouldn’t have any affect on downloading files, e.g., SnagIt Toolbar (not displayed), ieSpell, Sun Java, FlashGet, and Adobe Reader.

Jeff

Reply | Quote

Well I’d disable Flashget and see what happens.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

Joe,

I did one better and uninstalled FlashGet and then tried downloading Acronis True Image 10 with IE7’s Download Manager. It got to 43 megs and then stopped. Fortunately I was able to download the file with “Free Download Manager” and had no problem whatsoever downloading the file. So, I’m back to square one again.

Jeff

Reply | Quote

Just as a matter of interest, is there any consistency with the time of the download, e.g. they all fail after xx mins of downloading?
(What sort of d/l speed anyway?)

Any firewall, or program checking for updates, that may be interrupting things?

Reply | Quote

[indent]

---

Leif asks:
Just as a matter of interest, is there any consistency with the time of the download, e.g. they all fail after xx mins of downloading?
(What sort of d/l speed anyway?)

Any firewall, or program checking for updates, that may be interrupting things?

---

[/indent]
1) No consistency in regard to the time of the downloads nor in the amount downloaded, i.e., % downloaded.

2) Speed: It of course varies, but usually the download speed is at my max (116 KB/sec +/-) and sometimes that speed holds and other times it will drop as low as 45 KB. The progress information is displayed for quite some time after there is no activity, i.e., it displays the download speed, total size of the file and the amount downloaded, which of course becomes static. Eventually, perhaps after 1/2 hour, the display changes in the progress information disappears.

3) Nothing re: firewall, program updates, etc.

Early this morning I tried downloading a large file using Firefox and that also died/stalled after 65 megs had been downloaded at 116 KB/sec. I was more than frustrated at that point. Fortunately, I was able to download it with a 3rd-party download manager this time which worked great. But again, using a 3rd-party download manager is not always possible.

Jeff

Reply | Quote

Have you checked with your ISP, as some will time out on large files?

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

Reply | Quote

Dave,

Actually, calling my ISP was the very first thing I did since I assumed that it was the root cause of the problem since I am on a satellite connection. But they checked the logs, etc., and assured me that I had not been cut off and that there was no reason on their end for the problem. I have another machine here that belongs to a client and I’m going to try downloading a large file with it using a dialup connection to see if it too experiences the same problem. If it does, then it would point to the issue being a remote server problem and nothing on my machine. However, since I am experiencing this “stalling” on virtually every server I have tried, it still indicates a local problem.

Jeff

Reply | Quote

With files of 60+ Mb, is there a consistent reason why you can’t use an FTP client (which are specialists in handling this sort of “heavy lifting”) – or is that one of your “3rd party download managers”? HTH

Reply | Quote

[indent]

---

Is there a consistent reason why you can’t use an FTP client . . .

---

[/indent]
Most of the time FTP isn’t available to download files. Usually, HTTP is the only choice.

Reply | Quote