Problems with MediaFire file downloads ??
 

The last couple of days has been really frustrating as every time I try to download a file linked from the forum I get caught in an endless loop of failed downloads that never start, don't get repaired or re-started, and whenever I hit the download button I get a pop-up trying to get me to download some media player.

Anyone else having a similar problem?

First I've heard of this, can you elaborate further please?

Any specific files you are having problems with?

Thanks

JimC64.....as requested....The first file I tried to download was one stickied by Cambio dealing with training on the use of the JRL SDD IDS WDS software that's making the rounds. The problem reoccurred with every other file however, so it's not just the file type or size.


When I click the link in our download section the file opens up and I'm offered the choice to download it. So far so good. When I click on that pages download link I'm taken to MediaFire's download section which is surrounded by ads for all sorts of crap. On that page the file name is listed along with it's size and just to the right of that info appear two buttons. One to view the file and the other one to download the file. When I click the download button I get a pop-up (even though my browser is set to block pop-ups) that wants me to download a MediaFire media player that will cure all my ills and balance the budget in one move. I don't want or need another media player so I decline the offer and close the pop-up.


That leads to the initial page reloading itself once again and I have to go through the entire process again...including the pop-up. If I wait long enough it will sometimes show one of two possible messages like 'download not starting?' Repair or restart to which it responds "Oops we're sorry we're having difficulty blah, blah and your download will restart in X seconds. It then returns to the initial download page and goes back through the same loop time after time until you give up.


I'm running Win 7 Pro X64 always updated on a quad core AMD CPU running at up to 4GHz depending upon what I'm doing (it's an unlocked core) and up until now I've never had this kind of problem with them.


So far I've disabled my anti-virus, deleted any and all TEMP files and CACHES, swept my registry, etc., etc., etc. I've even tried to download the same files from an entirely different computer (I am currently running three desktops on a network plus up to three various laptops/netbooks on their own separate connections) and had the exact same problem.

I messaged MediaFire's support 3 days ago but so far no response.


I'm stumped and as I have the British Diagnostics JRL software loaded on one of my laptops I could really use the training download so I can use it to it's best capabilities instead of flying blind like I am presently. So far I've avoided any stupid mistakes but I'm only playing with the obvious stuff and it's taking me forever to learn. With two different model Jags in the garage I have my work cut out for me<G>

Robert,

This is the content of the forum MediaFire IDS SDD Manuals and Training Documents download folder:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...p;d=1414870645

Please identify the specific documents you are trying to download so I can try to replicate the problem using the same Win 7 Pro X64 platform as you.

Graham

IDS-SDD-JLR Manual 02_02_12.pdf
IDS Training.pdf


I also tried to download a couple of the Newsletters to see if file size had anything to do with it.

I was able to download this file but that was a fluke....... IDS to SDD Transition Guide v2.5.pdf


I'm very familiar with computers, downloads, basically the whole enchilada NOT including coding and this has had me stumped. That's why I tried a different computer running a slightly different Win 7 X64 install with a different CPU, etc., thinking it might be some obscure setting on my system that snuck in their recently. Nope, the result was exactly the same.

I went after the file from two locations on our forum. The first few tries were from post #164 as posted by H20Boy back in 2012. https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...-66558/page16/


When that got me nowhere I switched over to the forums download section with the same frustrating result

Robert,

I get direct to the download from both the link in the post #164 and the forum download section on four different PC's running XP Pro 32bit, Win7 32 32bit, Win7 64bit and Win8.1 64bit.

Attachment 99730

The only way I can get 'nag' screens from MediaFire is to go direct to their website:

www.mediafire.com/

This portal wants me to sign up or install various downloads and could be the screens you are seeing?

I've put the large Training Guide on my personal MediaFire account so we can determine if your downloading issues are only with the forum account. Please try downloading from this link:

http://www.mediafire.com/view/56brvl...l_02_02_12.pdf

It should open directly to the read or download screen for you.

Graham

Graham...thanks for the help but even that doesn't work. It's not likely to be an OS problem as that would be worldwide in scope. It has to almost certainly be something buried in my system or on my network that's causing the problem.


The URL of your link when I click on it and it opens to the read or download screen is as follows ( http://www.mediafire.com/?56brvlz1nqamnj4 ) and is correct. Yet it will not connect to the server it's aimed at when I click on the download button. It just times out after about a minute with the standard "can't connect" message and makes some suggestions as to what to check. I've checked those items and tried it several different ways with me logged into my MediaFire account account and with me not logged in and the result is always the same.

The only thing different from my previous days attempts is that it bypasses the normal MediaFire download screen with the ads and pop-up. Very strange. I'm going to take yet another look at the security settings in my browser as well as my router and triple check my anti-virus even though I've had no trouble with other download sites or any security warnings that might tell me if those were blocking some sort of access.

Graham..just so you'll understand...I hope<G><G>
 

Graham, below are 8 screen captures I took while trying to access the files on MediaFire from the forum as opposed to your private acct. there.

#1 is where I started from post #164 but the results were the same even from the other links within the forum.


#2 is the direct screen I got from clicking the link in post #164 that was for the IDS-SDD-JLR manual. So far everything appears normal.


#3 is the next screen I get when I click the 'Download' button shown in screen #2. AS you can see it's full of distracting ads but the file name and size appear prominently enough to the upper right along with the 'View" and 'Download' buttons. Again, so far everything appears normal.


#4 is the very next screen I get when I click the 'Download' button in #3 and as you can see it is DEFINITELY not normal as I'm presented with a pop-up trying to get me to download a media player. In the next screen shot you'll see the result of my next click.


#5 This screen needs a little explaining. Under the AVG. warning screen where you can't see them are two buttons that are to download the media player or to ask to be 'reminded later'. I clicked the 'remind me' button and the "Step 1" and "Step 2" boxes appear with a big green arrow pointing down to the crawl script below in orange asking me if I want to save or run the media player file even though I asked to be reminded LATER. That additional pop-up triggered AVG to warn me that the set-up.exe file had already been placed in my system and was a possible virus so what did I want to do with it.


Think of it as 4 screens layered one on top of the other is succession starting with my initial click of the file download button for the training manual. Now my system might have something weird in it but not something that would change the write-up language contained in a web page on the fly so as to make it do things it wasn't programed to do.


Screen shot #6 is where I'm returned to after I tell AVG to quarantine the set-up .exe file and cancel the player download and close it's pop-up screen. Look at the message next to the 'View" button this time and you'll see "Not downloading? Try again"


#7 is the screen that resulted from my clicking the 'Try again' button. Oops? That's all they have to say? There was a problem with my download !!! No shit<G> This leads to shot #7 and here we are back at the very place I started from.

#8 and around we go as if I were to again click the download button the whole thing would repeat itself with only minor differences.

As I posted earlier going through the link you supplied avoided ALL of the above...BUT.... the page would never open.


I feel like I'm in the "Twilight Zone".

Robert,

Check the association for the the PDF file extension.

Attachment 99830

Although other PDF readers are available, Adobe is the commonest. If the association is set to anything else, MediaFire will link you to Adobe to download the free reader.

Once installed, Adobe will automatically check the version and connect to Adobe to download the latest version unless you have specifically disabled this option.

Graham

Robert, the mediafire account has the following stats approx..

2.0 TB served
1000+ files
approx 200,000 downloads

This is the first such issue I'm aware of, again I say I believe the problem may be your end.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I also think it's a my end but as to just what I'm clueless. I even tried my latest laptop purchase which I bought to use with the JLR program and had the very same experience with it that I had on two of my other desktop systems. This laptop had a minimal load of programs, a different anti-virus, and nowhere near the internet exposure or even exposure across my own network as my other systems. Really quite baffling.


I've been fooling with Microsoft programs and PC systems (as opposed to Mac's) since the mid-80's and Windows 1.0 believe it or not and have never had this kind of problem before. No viruses or rootkit problems show up in any scans, and there's nothing that I can find in my firewall settings that I can think of that affect JUST MediaFire downloads and leave everything else undisturbed.

It's not something as simple as a missing file association as I've been using Adobe's Reader program since it was first released and I can't get any files to even download at all let alone open them after I've received them !!

I just wanted to see if anyone else in the forum was experiencing anything like this that might give me a clue as to what might have gotten into my systems. Whatever it is it isn't MediaFire but it could be an unreported virus or some sort of undetected hack that might have also happened to a few other members on the forum which is quite large and active.


If anyone stumbles into the same problem or hears of a similar occurrence I'd like to hear about it.


Thanks for the input.

Nope, it's not a file association problem as I've used Adobe's Reader since it was first released. In any case I can't get any files from MediaFire to even download let alone have one that won't open once I get it.


Thanks for the suggestion though.

I'm pretty sure you're hijacked with a BHO (Browser Helper Object, not B.H. Obama).
Turn off java, use a browser that can use a script killer like NoScript or such, completely clear your cache and try again.

Try this, and insert the URL (into the HOSTS file) of the server thats sponsoring the ad winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

Check here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/hjt/ for hijacks

I tried these as you pointed them out but no JOY. It did however eliminate the repeated pop-up for a different product each time I clicked the download button but it still refuses to actually start a download and dumps me back into the loop.

I know it has to be on my end but the specifics just evade me so far. I tried disabling my firewalls, my anti-virus, and cleared all my temp files, caches, and pre-fetch files, as well as history files but to no avail so far. I'm now going through the Hijack log file list of things it detected to see if there are any other anomalies that might be the problem as removing the only two unknown and unnamed BHO's didn't do it.

Whatever it is it's buried deep in the system and although I've run AVG, Anti-Malware, CCleaner, Spybot, and Lavasoft's Adaware I still haven't uncovered it. Mu current work around is to use a friends system on an entirely different server using DSL instead of the satellite system I'm burdened with.

Hi there, so sorry we don't seem to be able to help, as stated with no other reports and everything else checking out ok, it does seem to be at your end somewhere.

Is there anything else we can do to help?

Are there any specific files perhaps we could look at mailing them.

Please advise

Thanks