Corrupted File Downloads

Corrupted File Downloads - The "Fix" Occassionaly, when you have downloaded a file and try to run it, you will receive a warning message that the file is corrupted. This is generally the result of not having downloaded the entire file. For me, this seems to be happening more often since upgrading to Windows XP. In my case, it appears that something in the file (being downloaded) is triggering an End-Of-File notification to Windows (before the file has been completely downloaded) which results in the "Corrupt File" message. The only way to fix the problem is to download the file again ... BUT there is a Right and Wrong way to re-download the file. The problem is your Web Browser's Disk Cache. When a file is downloaded a copy of that file is usually placed on your PC (in your Temporary Internet files section) to make future downloads (or Web Page viewing) happen faster. This is good for viewing web content but bad for actual files that will be executed like the WTS update or setup files. Note: The same holds true if you are using what's commonly referred to as an "accelerator".  An "accelerator" is also disk caching software promoted by many ISP's as a way to speed up Web Surfing for dial up users. If you're using an accelerator, you can save yourself some agravation (in the event of a corrupt file) if you turn if off when downloading files. (Thanks for reminder Carl) Basically, what happens is that if your initial file was not completely downloaded, THAT file will remain in cache and be downloaded from your PC instead of the web sever on subsequent tries. That means if the first download was bad, all subsequent downloads of the same file will also be bad. To insure a FRESH copy of the file, you need to clear your Disk Cache FIRST. Here's How: 1. Clear Disk Cache - VERY important since, as noted above, if you don't, once you've downloaded a file, all subsequent downloads of that file will come from YOUR PC instead of the web server. If the download was "bad" then you'll keep getting "bad" downloads. In Internet Explorer, here's how to do it ... with Internet Explorer running: Select Tools (from the top menu bar) Select Internet Options Select General Tab Under Temporary Internet Files: Click the Delete Files Button then, when the popup menu appears click the block to delete all offline content as well. then ... 2 - Right-Click the download file link and us the Save-As option which will permit you to store the file where you want it. 3. When the download completes, select Run to install it. That should do it! I hope this helps. Best Regards and Happy DXing, Eric Force December 4, 2005