Reference number: CH000839

Why does my download stop before it is finished?

Question:

Why does my download stop before it is finished?

Cause:

There are several causes to why a download may fail before it has completed download. Below is a list of some of the more common causes to why a download fails.

1. Lost Internet connection - If you loose connection to the Internet for any reason for any amount of time the download will fail.
2. Lost connection with the server - If your connection between your computer and the server where you're downloading the file from is interrupted or lost it will cause your download to fail. This is not a problem with your computer or Internet connection but a problem with the other computer or the connections in-between.
3. Connection times out - If the file is being sent at and/or received below the servers threshold the server will time out the file because it is taking to long. This could be caused because the server is overloaded, your Internet connection is slow, and/or overall Internet is slow.

Solution:

Below is a listing of several different solutions to help decrease or eliminate this issue from occurring on your computer.

Try the download again

As mentioned above if your computer looses connection with the server while a file is being downloaded it can fail. Sometimes simply trying to download the file again will allow it to complete.

Try the download again at a later time. If you're attempting to download a popular file or a file that has just been released it could be that the server is overloaded with people attempting to get the file at the same time.

Try a different server or mirror

Many popular files or sites that host hundreds of different files will have those files on multiple servers or mirror sites. If you're having difficulty downloading the file try getting the file from a different server.

Download manager

For users who commonly encounter this problem when downloading from any web page getting a third-party download manager that can monitor and if needed resume a download from where it stopped is also a good solution to this problem.

There are hundreds of download managers including many that are free. Click here to open a search for these programs.

Upgrade to broadband

Finally, if all the above recommendations do not help with resolving this issue and you're not connected to the Internet using a broadband connection it may be time to consider upgrading to a broadband connection.

Additional information:

• See our download dictionary definition for additional information about this term and related terms.
• See document CH000505 for additional information about how to download files on the Internet.