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Firefox deletes some downloads when closed

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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If I download a video and it fails and then I re-download and it is successful the second time, Firefox will delete the good download when you close the browser. This has happened over and over again. It easily repeatable. Today I was downloading a video and it was going very slow, so I cancelled it and then I downloaded it again. (I didn't pause or restart, I started a new download. It had the same name as the cancelled download.) Later, I closed the browser. I didn't think it would delete the downloaded file in this case, because I had just cancelled it and restarted. But I thought I should check, and sure enough...the successful download was gone.

The only way I know of to subvert this behavior is to delete the failed (and apparently cancelled) download from the download history and then re-download the file.

If I download a video and it fails and then I re-download and it is successful the second time, Firefox will delete the good download when you close the browser. This has happened over and over again. It easily repeatable. Today I was downloading a video and it was going very slow, so I cancelled it and then I downloaded it again. (I didn't pause or restart, I started a new download. It had the same name as the cancelled download.) Later, I closed the browser. I didn't think it would delete the downloaded file in this case, because I had just cancelled it and restarted. But I thought I should check, and sure enough...the successful download was gone. The only way I know of to subvert this behavior is to delete the failed (and apparently cancelled) download from the download history and then re-download the file.

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Suggestions: Before closing the browser, move/copy the file somewhere else.

If you have a failed download and want to try again, first, delete the bad file, or use a different name for the retry. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Firefox should not be deleting any files except its own.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?