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.

Avatar for Username

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

Wannan tattunawa ta zama daɗaɗɗiya. Yi sabuwar tambaya idan ka na bukatar taimako.

Prevent Firefox from deleting ".part" files after failure

  • 2 amsoshi
  • 1 yana da wannan matsala
  • 30 views
  • Amsa ta ƙarshe daga TheFish1

TheFish1
TheFish1
more options

When you download a file - let's say it is a video file - and you start watching before the download has finished, Firefox will not be able to rename the ".part" as supposed when the download is complete. This is expected behavior, because the file is locked by another application.

However, Firefox seems to think that the *download* has failed, not the *rename*. Problem is that Firefox will delete the absolutely correctly downloaded ".part" file on the next start, which is pretty annying.

Question: Can we prevent firefox from deleting ".part" files? Firefox should never delete a ".part" file.

Irrespectively if this is possible or not, FiIrefox should distinct between "failed download" and "failed rename". In the latter case, Firefox should only try to rename the file again on next startup (instead of re-downloading, which will kill the .part file).

Regards, Till

When you download a file - let's say it is a video file - and you start watching before the download has finished, Firefox will not be able to rename the ".part" as supposed when the download is complete. This is expected behavior, because the file is locked by another application. However, Firefox seems to think that the *download* has failed, not the *rename*. Problem is that Firefox will delete the absolutely correctly downloaded ".part" file on the next start, which is pretty annying. Question: Can we prevent firefox from deleting ".part" files? Firefox should never delete a ".part" file. Irrespectively if this is possible or not, FiIrefox should distinct between "failed download" and "failed rename". In the latter case, Firefox should only try to rename the file again on next startup (instead of re-downloading, which will kill the .part file). Regards, Till

All Replies (2)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
more options

Hi Till, the problem that comes to mind is that Firefox may not have a way to determine whether the .part file is complete at startup; I don't know whether enough contextual information is retained (for example, whether all the bytes promised by the server were received).

You can submit your suggestion in a number of ways, including:

TheFish1
TheFish1 Mai mallakar tambaya
more options

I've filed a bug report. Firefox should remember the kind of the error together with downloaded files so that it can handle more sensible on next start.

Regarding my main question: Is it possible to prevent ".part" file erasure using a setting? Couldn't find anything in about:config but maybe there is something?