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Downloads will not complete and videos stop buffering

  • 5 replies
  • 15 have this problem
  • 7 views
  • Last reply by Thomas

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Hi, I'm using Firefox 20.0.1 and Windows 7.

I'm having problems with all my downloads freezing, always at different points. When the download starts, I have decent download speeds around 1-1.5mb/s but then it stops and this slowly reduces to nothing. If I then stop the download and restart it, it will do the same again, but stopping at a different point.

The same thing happens when streaming video/audio, with it getting to a certain point and then bufferring stopping.

I've tried turning off my anti-virus, resetting FF and uninstalling and reinstalling FF but still have the issue. I am able to download/stream the same files using other browsers.

Any help anyone can give would be really appreciated, I just cant find a solution anywhere and dont want to have to change browsers

Hi, I'm using Firefox 20.0.1 and Windows 7. I'm having problems with all my downloads freezing, always at different points. When the download starts, I have decent download speeds around 1-1.5mb/s but then it stops and this slowly reduces to nothing. If I then stop the download and restart it, it will do the same again, but stopping at a different point. The same thing happens when streaming video/audio, with it getting to a certain point and then bufferring stopping. I've tried turning off my anti-virus, resetting FF and uninstalling and reinstalling FF but still have the issue. I am able to download/stream the same files using other browsers. Any help anyone can give would be really appreciated, I just cant find a solution anywhere and dont want to have to change browsers

All Replies (5)

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Boot the computer in Windows Safe mode with network support (press F8 on the boot screen) as a test to see if that helps.

If it works in Windows Safe mode then you have a problem with other software, likely security software, that is running on your computer.

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I am an IT Tech, I have my computer clean of any virus, I don't use firewall or security software, just a plain good antivirus that won't interfere with any software at least it's a virus.

IT happened for me that small files download are ok.

but CD size files (ISO, etc) around not even 130 mb get up to 54 mb download, and suddenly, with no error at all, it stop completely as it was finished okay.

I downloaded from sourceforge.net that is very stable and trust site to download standard stuff.

I will try to install an add-on to avoid this, if even work, and see what happen. I use firefox because i trust it more than I.E or Chrome. But we need this fix please.

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Turn off AV scanning at the end of downloads.

In order to fix the problem, try disabling the scanning as follows:

  1. In the Location bar, type about:config and press Enter. The about:config "This might void your warranty!" warning page may appear.
  2. Click I'll be careful, I promise!, to continue to the about:config page. A list of settings should appear
  3. Filter the list by typing in the search bar at the top. Type in scanWhenDone. You should now find the "browser.download.scanWhenDone" preference.
  4. Double-click on that preference to set the value to false.
  5. Next, try to download something and see if it still hangs.

Please reply and tell us whether this helped you!

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I just found: browser.download.Manager.scanWhenDone

but I believe it is about the same you said. I did turn it to false.

I will try. But let me mention it again: it stop downloading in the middle of the file size or less (last try was 130 mb size, and it stopped at 45 or something).

I will let you know asap.

However, I did fixed it in other way using an Add-on called DownThemAll from firefox search and it is working charming so far.

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I am having a similar problem on both an XP and a WIN7 laptop. When watching a Flash Video if the download bar catches up to the buffer bar on the bottom of the screen, the video hangs up and I lose all connectivity to the web. Firefox works fine but any link results in a timeout. Even my security software (AVG PAID) will not access the internet, nor will IE which is still on my computer. Both the XP and WIN7 machines are up to date with all updates. If the download bar does not catch up with the buffer bar everything is fine for hours on end. Even doing a repair of the internet connection does not help, only a re-boot. Mind you while this is happening I still have internet connectivity for the TV and other devices that require it. Flash just seems to lock up the local computer's access. I'll also ask this as a new question. I've also tried safe boots on both machines.