Unable to save or download filesFrom MozillaZine Knowledge BaseIf you are unable to save or download files in Firefox, try these suggestions: [edit] Clear the download historyIn the Firefox menu, go to "Tools -> Downloads" and click "Clean Up" (Firefox 2) or "Clear List" (Firefox 3). If if clearing the list doesn't help or it causes Firefox to hang or crash (or if the Downloads window is already empty), manually delete the download history as follows: [edit] Manually delete download historyFirefox 2: Download history is stored in the downloads.rdf file. Clearing the download history within Firefox may be unsuccessful if this file grows too large or if it is corrupt. In such cases, you can manually delete the download history, as follows:
Firefox 3: Starting in Firefox 3, download history is stored in the downloads.sqlite file instead of downloads.rdf. [1] Because of improvements in Firefox 3 data storage, there should be little or no need to manually delete the download history. [2] If you delete the downloads.sqlite file, you should also delete downloads.rdf, if it exists. [edit] PreventionIf clearing the download history resolves the issue, you can set Firefox to not save a download history in your "Privacy" options for History. In Firefox 2 and above, click "Tools -> Options -> Privacy". In Firefox 3.0 and below, uncheck "Remember what I've downloaded". In Firefox 3.5 and above, set "Firefox will:" to "Use custom settings for history" and then uncheck "Remember download history". However, this will automatically clear the Downloads window, leaving it empty after each download is completed. As an alternative, you can set Firefox to clear the download history whenever you close Firefox:
[edit] Choose a different download folderFirefox will automatically download files to a default location (e.g., to the Desktop or, depending on your operating system, to a special "Downloads" folder) unless you've selected a different download folder or you've set Firefox to ask where to save every file. [3] [4] [5] If downloads fail or if Firefox hangs downloading files it may be related to the download location; for example, the download folder may contain a lot of images [6], may be corrupt or inaccessible [7] or the folder may no longer exist. [8] [9]
[edit] Reset download folderFirefox may have lost track of which folder to use for the download directory. Symptoms would include "File - > Save Page As" and the "Save Image As" and "Save Link As" right-click context menu options not functioning or nothing downloading when you select the "Save" option in the Firefox "Opening" dialog box [10] [11] The solution may be as simple as choosing a different download folder, then going back and re-selecting your preferred download settings in Firefox Tools -> Options under "Main / Downloads" ("General / Downloads" in Firefox 3.6). For example, if "Always ask me where to save files" is selected, select "Save files to" and choose a download folder, then go back and re-select "Always ask me where to save files". [12] If you still have problems you can restore the default Firefox download folder settings as follows: Enter about:config in the address bar. A list of preferences will appear. Scroll through the list ( or type browser.download in the Filter box) and reset any of the following preferences that have a user set status (right-click on the preference and click "Reset"):
You can then change back to your preferred download folder settings, if you wish, in your Firefox options/preferences. If you'd rather just reset all Firefox preferences to the default values, you can delete (or rename) the prefs.js file in your Firefox profile folder or use the Safe Mode option, "Reset all user preferences to Firefox defaults". See Resetting preferences for more information. [edit] Choose a valid download folder in Safari Preferences - MacWhenever you attempt to download a file, you may see the error, <filename> could not be saved, because an unknown error occurred. (Save As.. will still work). To fix this problem on Mac OS X 10.4 and earlier, open Safari Preferences and check the "Save downloaded files to:" setting. If this is pointing to an invalid directory, it will cause downloads in Firefox to fail. Select a valid directory, such as your Desktop. Note that Safari no longer controls the default download location in Leopard (10.5). [13] A user reported in this thread that also changing the location using the old, unsupported Internet Explorer for the Mac solved this problem. If you still have a copy of that application, you might try this approach. Related bug report: Bug 384068 – [10.5] Firefox should download files to Leopard's Download Stack by default [edit] Check your internet connection
This download error can occur if the connection to the server was interrupted during the download. Make sure you are connected to the internet, then try the download again. [edit] Reset toolbars and controlsIf the dialog box prompting you to open or save a download does not appear, the issue may be a corrupt localstore.rdf file. Either delete (or rename) the "localstore.rdf" file in the Firefox profile folder or use the Firefox Safe Mode option, "Reset toolbars and controls". [14] [edit] Change or reset actions for file typesFirefox may be set to handle certain types of files with an automatic action and sometimes it is not what you want or may result in errors. For example, Firefox may automatically open a certain file type with an application or plugin, when you would rather save the file. Check for entries related to the problem file type via "Tools -> Options -> Content / File Types -> Manage..." (Firefox 2 ) or "Tools -> Options -> Applications" (Firefox 3) and change the action. For more information, see File types and download actions. You can reset all file download actions to the default settings by removing the mimeTypes.rdf file from the Firefox profile folder, as follows:
If you see this error, delete (or rename) the mimeTypes.rdf file in the Firefox profile folder, as explained above. This will resolve an issue in which Firefox tries to open executable (exe) files, which causes this error to occur. [15] [16] [edit] Delete corrupt plist file - Mac
If you see this error each time you attempt to download a file, go to your home directory and delete this preference file: [17] [18] ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.internetconfig.plist If deleting the plist file above does not solve the problem, you might want to edit that file as per instructions in this thread. (More information on corrupt .plist files can be found here.) [edit] Disable add-onsProblematic extensions can cause download or file-saving issues, such as nothing happening when you click a download link [19] or a missing "Save File" option in the "Opening" dialog [20] (in the latter case, press the "Enter" key as a workaround). To see if an extension is causing your problem, disable it from the Add-ons manager ("Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions") or via Firefox Safe Mode. Since certain extensions also modify preference settings, you may also need to reset those preferences via about:config (or reset all preferences). [edit] Remove download manager plugins - WindowsDownload manager plugins can interfere with Firefox downloads if the download manager is uninstalled or otherwise stops working. Such plugins include:
Information about other download managers can be found at PluginDoc. If you find any of these plugins, remove the plugin files from the Firefox plugins folder (usually C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plugins) or, in Firefox 3, try disabling the plugins via "Tools -> Add-ons -> Plugins". See Issues related to plugins for more information. [edit] Reconfigure security softwareZoneAlarm Pro and CA Personal Firewall (formerly eTrust) include settings that can cause downloads of certain file types to fail with the message, This object has been blocked. See the article Object has been blocked for information on configuring these products to allow the download. [edit] Temporarily disable antivirus or update security software
You may see the above message when you click a link to download an executable (.exe) file. This problem can be caused by a conflict with your antivirus scanner and a firewall product such as Comodo Firewall (see this Comodo forum topic for details). Some firewalls continue to be active when disabled in the user interface, so disabling the firewall may be ineffective. As a workaround, temporarily disable your resident antivirus scanner when downloading an executable file, then re-enable it when the download is complete. If you are using the Comodo Firewall, updating it to the latest version may resolve the issue. [26] [27] Note: PC Tools ThreatFire (formerly Cyberhawk) can also cause the message, <filename> could not be saved, because an unknown error occurred when downloading certain types of files. [28] If you cannot work around the problem or resolve it by updating the software, consider using another security product. [edit] Disable virus scanning in Firefox preferences - WindowsThis issue does not occur in Firefox 2 or below. Starting in Firefox 3, Firefox launches your installed anti-virus program to scan files when the download completes. [29] In some cases, this causes a substantial delay [30] In other cases, the file is not saved after the scan completes. [31] [32] You can disable this feature by setting the preference browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone to false in about:config. [33] Note: If the Download Manager appears to be stuck scanning for viruses, try closing and re-opening the Downloads window instead of disabling the preference. [34] [edit] Enable downloads blocked by Security Zone Policy - WindowsThis issue does not occur in Firefox 2 or below. Starting in Firefox 3, downloads of executable files (e.g., .exe or .msi) may fail and the Firefox Downloads window will contain this message, under the filename:
This issue occurs because Firefox now honors your Windows security settings for downloading applications and other potentially unsafe files from the Internet. [35] [36] You can resolve this issue as follows: [edit] Bypass Windows Security Policy checkStarting in Firefox 3.0.6 and Firefox 3.1 Beta 2, you can use about:config to manually add the new Boolean preference, browser.download.manager.skipWinSecurityPolicyChecks and set it to true. This will bypass the Security Zone Policy check. [37]. Alternately, you can reset your system Internet security settings, as explained below. [edit] Reset system Internet security settings - WindowsFirefox 3 may block downloads of all executable files if the Windows Internet security option, "Launching applications and unsafe files" is set to "Disable". This setting is misleading, since downloading is also blocked. This security option is available on Windows Vista and Windows XP systems with Internet Explorer 7 installed. To change the setting, open Internet Options (via Control Panel or from Internet Explorer -> Tools) and click the Security tab. With the Internet zone icon highlighted, click the Custom level... button. A list of security settings for the Internet zone will appear. Find the "Launching applications and unsafe files" setting (under Miscellaneous) and select "Prompt (recommended)". [38] [39]. Note: If "Launching applications and unsafe files" is already set to "Prompt (recommended)", try toggling the setting (e.g., select "Disable", click "OK", then go back and select "Prompt (recommended)" and click "OK"). [40] Another reported solution is to simply reset all Windows security zones to the default levels ("Internet Options -> Security -> "Reset all zones to default level"). [41] If you need more help modifying or resetting your Internet security zone settings, this article includes screenshots and setting details for Windows Vista and Windows XP with IE7 installed. On some Windows XP systems, the above solutions do not work; also, if IE7 is not installed, the required "Launching applications and unsafe files" option is missing. Installing or reinstalling Internet Explorer 7 can resolve the issue. [42] [43] [44] (If you do not have another browser that allows you to download IE7, you can order it on CD.) For help installing or reinstalling Internet Explorer 7, or if you are unable to download executable files using Internet Explorer, even after trying the above solutions, visit a Windows forum such as AumHa Forums or Windows BBS.com. For advanced users: Another solution is to edit the Windows registry so that the value name 1806 in both of these registry keys has a value data of 1 ("Prompt"): [45] [46]
Warning: Editing the registry incorrectly can damage your system and make it unusable! Note: If executable file downloads are blocked from certain sites but you are able to download exe files from other sites, check in "Internet Options -> Security - > Restricted sites -> Sites" to make sure that the problem site is not in the "Restricted sites" list. Some Security software, including Spybot S&D, adds known malware sites to that listing. [47] [edit] Other solutionsA systematic approach to troubleshooting can be found in the Standard diagnostic - Firefox article. Also check to see if a solution to your problem is given in one of the articles listed below. [edit] See also |
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