Something Weird with my Firefox

Usually, when I want to download something using Firefox, I would click on the download link and a pop-up appears and I can choose whether I want to run it straightaway or wave it to some folder in my computer. (I chose to always tell Firefox where to download the file). I'll call this the usual scenario.

However, recently, I clean installed my computer (no problems related to it, btw), and reinstalled Firefox, I went to Mininova to download some torrents. To my shock, the above usual scenario does not happen. What happened instead was Firefox would say "loading" then "done" without showing the pop-up. I checked with other websites such as those listed in the DV5T drivers download page on NotebookReview forums and also other torrent sites, and it's all the same....well not exactly.

The weirdest part of all this, is that some websites still work (by work, I mean that the usual scenario occurs). The websites that I've tried and works are torrent site by Cartoon_Palace works...and so does a site where I downloaded mmkeys.dll from for my iTunes and so does the Mozilla website.

Here is a list of things I've tried but didn't work:

1) disabling my anti-virus software (AVAST)
2) reinstalling Firefox
3) updating Vista to the max, then restarting

Can anybody give suggestions on what I can do?

 

very odd. So it does not download the file at all or defaults to the desktop?

 

try cleaning out the user files for firefox - cache, history, etc.

 

It does not download the file at all. Even when I change the settings to always download to a specific folder (which means that the download will automatically start), the download does not start.

To tell the truth, I was spamming the "clear private data" button. All the things that can be cleared were ticked.

 

Made another discovery though it really is a weird one...

If I choose to open a download link by right-clicking it and "open link in a new tab", everything proceeds as normal, but when I just left-click the download link, it doesn't work.

Anybody able to give explanations?

 

The same thing happens to me with firefox (I thought I was going crazy seeing as no one else was having that issue). The only way around it (as you have also noticed) was to right click on the download link and select open link in new tab, doing that would cause firefox to then display the usual download pop-up thus allowing you to download the file.

I myself would also like an possible explanation for this as I have been unable to find any way to sort this problem. Strangely this problem doesn't occur with the firefox installation on the dell vostro 1500 that I use at work but it happens all of the time with the firefox installation on my dv5z and both are using firefox 3.0.8.

 

Are you guys using Vista x64? I ask because on my laptop that is running 32bit Vista, everything works as it should. On my new desktop running 64bit, I am having the same issues as you guys. Although I did not know about the right click workaround. I would just close FF and download using Opera...

 

I had the same problem, then I switched to Opera, and now everything works great!

 

Amazing! And it doesn't change from thread to thread, the words you use to describe your experience, either! What is this? The 1000th post into a Firefox thread saying how much you like Opera?

 

You might try the Download Statusbar add-on extension. It is highly customizable and, in my opinion, improves the download manager of Firefox a bit.

Also, another thought, it may be that some of the sites are using scripts to alter the download process. You might want to consider installing and using the NoScript add-on extension.

 

76th.

Thank you.

 

This thread is kinda old, but if anybody's interested, I think I found the problem.

After a few days pondering, I reasoned that the only thing that changed with regards to Firefox after I reinstalled Vista, is that I installed the newest version of Firefox i.e. version 3.0.8.

Going from that, my hypothesis was that an older version of Firefox should fix the problem, so I downloaded version 3.0.5 (I think this was "old" enough) from FileHippo. I completely uninstalled version 3.0.8 completely (bookmarks and add-ons included; I'm not taking any chances) and then installed the 3.0.5 version of Firefox.

Result: It worked! Left-clicking on download links now works! I even updated the version 3.0.5 to 3.0.8 and it still works.

If I'm not wrong, this constitutes as a bug in the installation file of the version 3.0.8 Firefox but I'm not sure how to report this. If you know how, and you're reading this, please report this bug.

 

WAIT!!! It's not the Firefox that is the problem!!! (Ahh...can't believe I made this stupid mistake)

I found this out when the problem came up again after a restart of my laptop. To say the least, I was shocked. I then reasoned that the only thing that changed was that when I opened Firefox after the restart, a new add-on, namely the DigitalPersona Extension that comes from the fingerprint software of my HP DV5T laptop, was installed. Once I disabled that, the download pop-up appears again!

As you might have figured out by now, the reason the problem didn't happen when I did the test as explained in my previous post was that I uninstalled all add-ons meaning that the new install of Firefox didn't have the fingerprint extension.

Maybe this is why the Firefox on your dv5z is not working! You probably have a fingerprint extension on your Firefox from the fingerprint software just like me!

I guess I have to eat the words I said earlier about there being a bug in Firefox. Sorry Firefox fans

 

I had an earlier issue with Firefox where it was slowing down to a crawl. i click a link and I get the "Waiting on www.url.ext" message and the progress bar would just sit there. I would then have to refresh and the page would finally reload. I copied my profile directory, uninstalled firefox and reinstalled. Problem solved.

 

I am having this problem with Firefox aswell. I am using Vista 64. I am gonna try to remove the digital persona extension to see if it cures it.

EDIT: Yep, DigitalPersona is the problem.