Can't download anything—any fixes?

Hey there.
I’m running into a real headache trying to download anything at all. Nothing will finish—honestly, I can't even tell if the downloads are actually starting. My entire "Downloads" folder is just... empty. Not even the old stuff from back when things actually worked on this machine.
To give you some context, I had an IT guy out about a week ago because my files were crawling with viruses, so now I'm wondering if he accidentally wiped out some essential system setting or something needed to make downloads happen.

Any advice would be huge!

😢

Are you getting some kind of specific error message right when the download finishes or something? Maybe give me a few more details... Anyway, you could always just grab Norton and run a scan to clear out whatever junk is messing with your system.

Maybe it’s just dumping everything into some other file somewhere.

So, here I am, trying to download this software, right? Everything looks great—it’s cruising along for like five minutes straight—but then, when it hits that final 46-second mark, boom. A little notification pops up saying "download failed." And get this: it happens every single time.

I’ve got a feeling it isn't even bothering to stash files in some random folder; it's more like the whole thing just fails to actually grab anything at all.

Which program are you using to download? You might want to try Free Download Manager; I find it much easier to resume interrupted downloads there.

Here, give this a shot. Try downloading the graphics driver directly from NVIDIA's site; it should be smooth sailing.
Just hit *AGREE@DOWNLOAD and then click Save file
http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/77227#

So, what kind of antivirus are you guys running these days, and more importantly, is it actually doing its job or just sitting there being useless?

Like, say your subscription expires and you're stuck with a license that isn't renewed...

I mean, there’s a chance your antivirus software might be throwing a wrench in things,
making it think something suspicious is happening when it isn't. Or, you could just be running into some corrupted folders—you know, those half-baked files that get stuck mid-download—though honestly, if this is happening with absolutely everything you try to grab, that seems pretty unlikely.

Have you thought about just using a torrent client instead? You can find basically anything on those various pirate sites, so I’m certain you’d be able to track down any standard programs you're looking for without the headache.

Nicole Chase72 said:So, I’m trying to download this software—it’ll run fine for like five minutes, right up until the last 46 seconds—and then boom, "download failed" pops up. Every single time.

I don't think it's actually saving files to different folders; honestly, it feels like nothing is being downloaded at all.

Does it always stall at the exact same percentage? There's a chance your internet is just dropping out—not long enough for you to notice while browsing a site, but just enough to kill a massive download.

Try testing it with a tiny file first, just to see what happens. It could also be crappy Wi-Fi interference—if you're on wireless, move closer to the router or just plug in an Ethernet cable and see if that fixes it. Third possibility: you've got a virus or some other malware. I dealt with something similar once, but explaining that whole mess on a forum isn't worth the effort. Best bet is to grab an antivirus on a different computer, install it, and run a full system scan.