Someone please help me with my downloads issue!

[wart]

I recently installed Firefox 3 (although I have no idea if this is the reason as to why my problem exists) and around the time I installed I have not been able to download ANYTHING.

My download will give me the visuals of completing but when I go to look at my desktop where I put all newly downloaded files in it's place is a .part file instead of the complete thing. Opening it does nothing but give me an error saying Windows cannot open said file. I try using IE7 to see if it's a browser issue and it does the same thing, but this time nothing shows up on my desktop, not even a .part file.

I first noticed the problem when trying to update my graphics card drivers through nvidia.com. I used IE7 for that and it worked, I downloaded the driver and it set up fine, after that however, it's been non-functional.

I have not changed any settings within Firefox 3 or IE7 to block downloads and now I am beginning to think it may be my router (which is working fine as I type this, but I am replacing due to instability of signal and long bouts where it decides to stick its thumb up its bum and not work at all). Or maybe it is my ISP/modem? Is it possible that either my modem or router could be making it impossible for me to download anything? Another thing is that another computer on the same network can download things fine.

Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!

Venting is good.

 

[JackMDS]

Did you check carefully the Hard Drive to make sure that your Downloads are Not in an other folder.

In Firefox it is easy to choose the what would be the Download Folder. Tools/Options - Middle of Main Tab.

Make a new folder choose it as the download destination and see waht happens.

IMHO downloading every thing to the Desktop is a No No to begin with.

 

[wart]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
Did you check carefully the Hard Drive to make sure that your Downloads are Not in an other folder.

In Firefox it is easy to choose the what would be the Download Folder. Tools/Options - Middle of Main Tab.

Make a new folder choose it as the download destination and see waht happens.

IMHO downloading every thing to the Desktop is a No No to begin with.

Yes. I also tried re-directing downloads to a folder, nothing shows up.

 

[Lemon law]

Get a clue wart, what you are experiencing is somewhat unique to your computer and only your computer. I too have firefox3, many other people have firefox3, and if we are not experiencing EXACTLY the same problems you are, you are tee totally out of your mind in blaming just firefox3.

Having said that, I will be the last person on earth to say you are a liar. I believe you are being sincere here, I think you do have a genuine problem, and its probable that your installation of firefox3 has played a role in triggering some sort of computer conflict with other installed software on your computer. I have been there, done that more than a few times, and I agree it simply sucks. But get that other clue, its just sometimes the nature of computers, and you will not be the first or the last to be fucked by the fickle finger of fate.

And now, like it or not, you are in troubleshooting mode. And you will get all kinds of advice, most of it no God damn good. But that is part of troubleshooting, trying this that and the other thing until you find something that works.

 

[wart]

Originally posted by: Lemon law
Get a clue wart, what you are experiencing is somewhat unique to your computer and only your computer. I too have firefox3, many other people have firefox3, and if we are not experiencing EXACTLY the same problems you are, you are tee totally out of your mind in blaming just firefox3.

Having said that, I will be the last person on earth to say you are a liar. I believe you are being sincere here, I think you do have a genuine problem, and its probable that your installation of firefox3 has played a role in triggering some sort of computer conflict with other installed software on your computer. I have been there, done that more than a few times, and I agree it simply sucks. But get that other clue, its just sometimes the nature of computers, and you will not be the first or the last to be fucked by the fickle finger of fate.

And now, like it or not, you are in troubleshooting mode. And you will get all kinds of advice, most of it no God damn good. But that is part of troubleshooting, trying this that and the other thing until you find something that works.

Woah, actually I wasn't really blaming Firefox 3 singularly. In my post I stated that I didn't know if it was exclusively BECAUSE of Firefox. Also, I came here to ask in the Networking forum to see if there was a possibility it maybe my router or modem stirring up some trouble.

If anything, it's not me who should get a clue, but you who should read my post a little more carefully before coming in here acting like a dickhead.

 

[c3p0]

How long has this been going on? If only a few days, then I might consider using the System Restore function and restoring back to before this problem began.

c3p0
:beer:

 

[Lemon law]

To wart,

I am sorry that I offended you, but still in the way of trying to help, you are still in troubleshooting mode, and here are some of my thoughts and suggestions. But you did ask for some venting.

1. Your downloads are coming in as .part files. To better understand .part files I googled ".part" without the quotes. And while I just scratched the surface on the hits I got, these can be associated with torrents, emule, .rar compression, and mozilla and firefox. And also may associate with the firefox flashgot extension. So doing the .part file research might give you a better understanding of your problem.

2. You noticed the problem after you updated your video drivers, so its also possible they are the cause of the conflict. Can you roll it back to the previous driver to check?

3. You did ask the router and modem questions. I doubt a dumb device like a modem could cause your problems. In terms of the router, which you mentioned has been squirrely lately, but you still cast doubt on that theory because another computer on your network, that presumably goes through the same router, does not have the same problem. But to definitively rule out the router, you will have to bridge around it on your computer and directly connect to the internet. Which also implies the question, do you have some sort of software firewall on your computer that could be blocking or causing a fragmentation of downloads. And if you suspect that, try either temporarily turning the software firewall off or if your firewall lacks such a switch, you may have to use msconfig to take it off the start up list to get an definitive answer. And if you can isolate the problem to a software firewall, then you can later either switch firewalls, or find a way to reconfigure the one you have.

4. I did mention you can try either deleting firefox3 or starting firefox in windows safemode with networking. There is another option, try firefox in its own safemode which you can get to using start--programs---find firefox--and choose firefox safemode. And since .part files are sometimes associated with mozilla and firefox, a trip to the mozilla forums may be recommended-------------http://forums.mozillazine.org/ You can of course read all parts of the forums to see if they have an answer, you can register for the forum and then asks a direct question, and one of the unusual things with the mozilla forums is that you can ask questions as an anonymous guest without registration. One warning, its a very busy forum, so check back often, and in a day or two, your post may be four or five pages back. And I had a few minor problems with firefox3, and from experience, I can say, most posts receive a helpful answer.

5. Just a few suggestions on what I would be doing if I were in your boat, computer troubleshooting is part logic, part dumb luck, but its you and only you who can try various things with YOUR computer that will test if a hypothesis is true or not true.

and edit in, c3po has another good idea that is worth trying.

 

[wart]

I finally fixed the problem somewhat late last night after 3 hours of working with it. I googled my problem and different parts of what might have gone wrong and did end up eventually looking at system restore as the other solutions I found did no good.

Apparently when I downloaded a demo of Quake Wars: Enemy Territory and uninstalled it a few hours later I also deleted Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable. I have no idea why I would do something so idiotic. I restored to a point before that happened and problem solved.

Thank you guys for all your advice and forgive me if my thread came off as novice and annoying (which it most likely did). I was extremely frustrated in the hot weather and with my downloading issue and let it get the best of me.

Here's to system restore, google and forums!