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.exe files downloaded with Firefox not valid executables

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Lately with Firefox any executables I download from all my normal sites will NOT run after downloading with the Firefox downloader. I can open the same links in Internet Explorer and run the downloaded files without any problem.

Get "blah.. is not a valid win32 application"

Using Firefox 22.

Also got an error telling me to look in Windows event log to do with SideBySide and i found this error event:

Activation context generation failed for "F:\Downloads\Firefox\mkvtoolnix_unicode_6_3_0_1_setup.exe".Error in manifest or policy file "F:\Downloads\Firefox\mkvtoolnix_unicode_6_3_0_1_setup.exe" on line 0. Invalid Xml syntax.

Does this mean anything to the developers???

Lately with Firefox any executables I download from all my normal sites will NOT run after downloading with the Firefox downloader. I can open the same links in Internet Explorer and run the downloaded files without any problem. Get "blah.. is not a valid win32 application" Using Firefox 22. Also got an error telling me to look in Windows event log to do with SideBySide and i found this error event: Activation context generation failed for "F:\Downloads\Firefox\mkvtoolnix_unicode_6_3_0_1_setup.exe".Error in manifest or policy file "F:\Downloads\Firefox\mkvtoolnix_unicode_6_3_0_1_setup.exe" on line 0. Invalid Xml syntax. Does this mean anything to the developers???

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Hello,

Try Firefox Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode, which disables most add-ons.

(If you're not using it, switch to the Default theme.)

  • You can open Firefox 4.0+ in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • Or open the Help menu and click on the Restart with Add-ons Disabled... menu item while Firefox is running.

Once you get the pop-up, just select "'Start in Safe Mode"

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, and you need to figure out which one. Please follow the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for that.

To exit the Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help other users who have the same problem.

Thank you.

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It is possible that anti-virus software is corrupting downloaded files or is interfering otherwise.

Try to disable the real-time (live) scanning of files in your anti-virus software temporarily to see if that makes downloading work.

See: