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Downloading Problems in XP

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5 replies

by etherealraven

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I recently installed WinXP. I had WinME before this, very few problems.
I formatted, installed WinXP, and everything is fine, except one thing. I
cannot downloading anything. for instance, I go to http://www.aim.com , and
I try to DL AOL Instant Messenger. The dialog may or may not pop up, and
when it does, I select a folder to download to, and the Time Remaining stays
blank, Transfer Rate is blank, and the Progress Bar does not move. The file
doesn't download. One of my friends told me something about having an NTFS
system instead of FAT32. I dont know if this will fix it, but if there is
something easier, I'll take that instead. I have RoadRunner Cable, I Obtain
IP and DNS addresses automatically, and am through a router. I have released
and renewed my IPs twice. I did not have this problem before WinXP came
along. I'm not a computer newbie, so I have tried all the menial things,
like Virus Scanners, Cookies, IE options, etc.. I would greatly appreciate
help please!

Thanks,
Ryan

I also took a screenshot of what happens:

http://www.geocities.com/thejmclan/DL_Problem.GIF

5 replies

by mindcrazy

XP has a built in firewall for the internet. Check the settings or disable this feature. See if that helps your issue.

by etherealraven

The firewall is disabled, and I have disconnected my computer from my existing router/firewall and hooked it up to the cable modem, and the problem remained.

by lizzy

Having an NTFS or FAT32 partitioned drive should not affect whether or not you're able to download files from the internet. If you format a diskette on an NTFS XP PC and copy files to that, then you would probably not be able to read that diskette on an older system.

I would focus more on your internet connection. Can you do surfing as usual? If so, then answer # 1 is on the right track. Check your IE settings--most probable would be security settings.

Most likely cause of your problem isuser rights. If you are downloading as a regular user, you will not be able to do this in XP until you set it up that your user account has rights to do this. Only administrators have rights to download--I found this out purely by accident when my children tried to download AIM, so make sure that you're logged in as an administrator account. It would look like they are downloading or starting to download, but it would never happen.

Hope this helps.

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