Why does pdf download stall at end only with Quantum?
With any pdf file, the downoad progress bar indicates all is well until the end when it says "a few seconds left"...for the next 5 minutes. Only then does the download folder show the file had more than 0 bytes and can it be opened. I can open Chrome, copy and paste the URL for the pdf site and download it there before Firefox is done. Or If I select the "open" radio button in the popup window, Foxit Reader allows me to immediately save a copy.
I have changed download folders and disabled all add-ons. Yesterday I did a firefox reset which seemed to fix it. After reloading and configuring all my plugins, it still worked. But today the problem is back...
Any ideas? Thanks...
All Replies (10)
Make sure you are not blocking content. Also, check your protection programs in case they are at fault.
Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.
A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?
Thanks. OK, I tried running Firefox in safemode, disabling Windows Firewall, MSE and Malwarebytes, changing the default download/preview application to from Foxit to Firefox unfortunately changed nothing. The download is quick (less than 1 sec for a small file), but it seems as though some final instruction in Firefox is hijacking closure. I tried timing two downloads with separate short files and the time was exactly (312 second on stopwatch) the same. Also, if one attempts to cancel the download by the icon in the download window, nothing happens for these 5 minutes. Nor does closing Firefox arrest the process, i.e. attempting to delete the zero byte file in filemanager leaves windows in "preparing to recycle" for those 5 minutes. Windows then asks for deletion confirmation, but when that is authorized it reports the file is gone. Yet none of this activity is grossly evident in Resource Monitor durihng this delay. Peculiar, no?
Hmm, very odd. Try using an external download manager.
This download manager works separately from the browser. The browser tells it what to download, and off it goes.
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org It is a powerful modern download accelerator and organizer for Windows and Mac.
Wow, I haven't used one of those since dial-up days when Netscaspe wouldn't resume an interrupted download. But as my first post indicates, bypassing the download manager internal to Firefox is becoming a habit. Your solution would be a better integrated workaround...easier than opening Chrome or Foxit reader. I do use the Flash Video Downloader add-on, mostly for capturing streaming video. If FDM plays well with FVD, it could be a win. I guess it's either that or refreshing Firefox again and saving a profile after each step of customization and confirming proper behavior. As much as I hate throwing in the towel, that doesn't much appeal to me either. Thanks again.
Some problems just can't be solved easily. So nature created workarounds.
The benefit of the download manager is that it can run faster than the browser alone. Also, you can go on to other things or shut the browser down.
Not realizing it was available as an extension, I downloaded (10 sec for a 50Mb exe file) and installed the program, then installed the Firefox add-on, rebooted the program, confirmed it was enabled, and a small pdf still took 5 minutes to complete. Go figure. So its back to plan B. Any suggestions on the most efficient way to proceed after the refresh?
FDM is a Addon that catches downloads downloadable files from the Browser freeing it up for other things.
Reseting firefox still failed to cure the problem this time, so eventually I uninstalled it, cleared all traces of it on the drives (but not in the registry) reinstalled it and it seemed ok...until I rebooted and the problem recurred. I tried to restore windows back a couple of weeks, and that too failed once and again after following the OS suggestion to disable system protections.
I appreciate your efforts FredMcD, truly, but I know when I'm licked. After 2 decades with Mozilla, It's time for me to explore Chrome. Thanks again, I think you guys do great work...
Firefox passes the file to the anti-virus software that is set in the Windows Security center as the default, so it can check the file to make sure the file is clean and not infected. If it takes that long to check the file then something goes wrong there.
Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support to see if that has effect in case security software is causing problems.
While waiting for WMC to finish recording my wife's show before a reboot, I grew excited by the possibility as it seemed to make sense. But wouldn't the the security software be invoked and stumble equally with Chrome or opening in Foxit reader? Or why would there be no problem opening a pdf in Firefox, and only on saving it. So with waning enthusiasm, I opened msconfig, did as you suggested and was amazed to have normal downloads. After opening msconfig to select a normal boot again, I checked the startups for suspect programs. I saw nothing worrisome, but decided to un-check a few I didn't use: some Nuance Paper Port things, MSO groove, Glary Utilities and Java autoupdater. Amazed was I again on reboot to see all was well with pdf downloads. In search of a reproducible cause I re-enabling all items in startup expecting the problem would recur, but it didn't. Anyway, I clearly need to play with it some more before concluding that all is well. Thanks much for getting me this far.