It may surprise you sometimes that when you click a file to download it and nothing happens. There can be many reasons for this. Such as download window not prompted, download was not able to complete because download folder is corrupted or conflict with filename etc.
Here are a few steps we can try – in any order – to identify, troubleshoot and resolve the problem.
i. Check your Internet connection and make it sure that it is in working condition.
ii. Clear Temporary Files such as Internet Cache, Cookies, History, etc., you can use a disk Cleanup tool for this, or it can be done by the browser UI itself. Shortcut key for clearing history and cache for most of the browsers is ctrl+shift+del. Now restart the browser and check if it is working.
iii. sometimes the problem is because download folder is become corrupted or it is having some problems. So, you can try changing download location from the browser UI.
iv. Do not keep the default file name while saving the file. It is always better to rename the file so that you can easily reorganize it.
v. If we are using a Download Manager, then you should check if it works after disabling the download manager.
vi. If we are very sure that the file is safe, disable Firewall and or the antivirus or security software temporarily and see if the download works.
vii. Do you receive the message “your current security settings do not allow this file to be downloaded ” message Then ensure that File downloads are allowed.
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If none of the above methods worked then here are some other methods to fix the problem.
Method 1: By updating security settings
Run inetcpl.cpl this will open Internet Options now click the Security Tab. Select the Internet zone then click on the Custom level button.
Scroll down to Downloads in Security Settings, Enable file download if it is not enabled already. Scroll down a bit more and we will see Miscellaneous. Here check that “Launching applications and unsafe files” is set to Prompt (recommended). Now Click Apply/OK and Exit.
Note: If this is also not helping you then, go to security level tab and click on Reset all zones to default level.
Method 2: Changing advanced settings
Internet Explorer creates a temporary cache file to download files. In Internet Explorer, if a cache file is not created then download may fail with message Internet Explorer Cannot Download or File couldn’t be downloaded.
To resolve this uncheck “Do not save encrypted pages to disk” temporarily and see if it helps. You will find it under Internet Options > Advanced tab > Settings.
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Method 3: By editing registry
Sometimes auto scanning feature of our antivirus effects the download.you can disable scanning feature of your antivirus by making some changes to our registry. However, it is not recommended but if you trust the file you are downloading then you can disable auto scanning by the given procedure.
Step1: Open registry editor by pressing Windows+R key and type regedit into it. Press enter and this will open registry editor.
Step 2: Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesAttachments
** If We do not see the Attachments subkey, create it by right-clicking Policies > New > Key > Type Attachments as the key name. Next, right click Attachments > select New > DWORD (32-bit). Give Value Name as ScanWithAntiVirus and give it a value 1.
ScanWithAntiVirus registry key values are:
- 1: Will ‘Off’ or disable the scan
- 2: Optional scan
- 3: Will enable the virus scan right after you completely open or save the program or file.
Note: – While making any changes to the registries make sure to export the backup of the registries.
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That’s it Now you can download your favorite stuff from internet easily.