This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

PDF Download

  • 9 ŋuɖoɖowo
  • 1 masɔmasɔ sia le esi
  • 1 view
  • Nuɖoɖo mlɔetɔ jonzn4SUSE

more options

Running Firefox 102.0 in Win 10. When I try to download a PDF file, I get (1) a dialog box saying the download failed, (2) two 0 byte files in the download directory with the name of the PDF file I'm trying to download, and sometimes (3) a PDF file with a filename of 8 random characters that appears to be the file I'm trying to download. How do I fix this?

Running Firefox 102.0 in Win 10. When I try to download a PDF file, I get (1) a dialog box saying the download failed, (2) two 0 byte files in the download directory with the name of the PDF file I'm trying to download, and sometimes (3) a PDF file with a filename of 8 random characters that appears to be the file I'm trying to download. How do I fix this?

All Replies (9)

more options

Download a pdf from this site and post a screenshot of the issue. https://www.irs.gov/downloads/irs-pdf

It works for me. see screenshot If possible, provide a link to what you're downloading so that we can try to replicate the issue.

more options
more options

Update...  ;-)) Thanks for the full browser screenshot. It makes this process easier. Can you try the same steps with Firefox in Safe Mode? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/diagnose-firefox-issues-using-troubleshoot-mode

jonzn4SUSE trɔe

more options

Thank you for your efforts to help. I tried downloading a PDF from that IRS page in Firefox safe mode with exactly the same result. I should add that I have no problem downloading PDFs using Chrome or Edge. I'd prefer to stay with Firefox but I may have to switch.

more options

What security software are you running? i assume you already cleared your browser cache. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/clear-cookies-and-site-data-firefox#w_clear-all-cookies-site-data-and-cache

Do you have the same issue under another Windows account? Also, try downloading another version of Firefox Dev, Beta, or Nightly. Just to test and see if you have the same issue. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/#product-desktop-release

more options

What version of Windows are you running? Home or Pro?

more options

Windows 10 Pro. I've cleared the cache many times since this started. I don't have another Windows account to try. I usually run with Avast Premium. I sometimes run Defender. I also usually have AdBlocker Ultimate running. As I said, I don't have a problem with Chrome or Edge on the same computer with the same version of Windows and the same security software.

more options

We understand there are no issues in the other browser. Disable Avast, reboot and try again. You can also try Windows sandbox which is something good to have for testing issues like this. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/shows/it-ops-talk/how-to-configure-windows-sandbox

Also, good to have another account on the computer https://www.webucator.com/article/how-to-create-a-second-user-account-in-windows-10/

jonzn4SUSE trɔe

more options

You can also boot Windows into Safe Mode with Networking to test the same process. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=winddows+10+safe+mode