Firefox Download Window Bug
If you are experiencing Firefox download problem, in which case the Download window no longer shows up when performing download and "Save Page As" is no longer saving any web pages, your Firefox configuration file might have been corrupted.
I had this problem for almost three months now. I have tried almost anything that I can think of: clean install, messing around settings in Options, removing themes and extensions. None of which have worked. Problem persists until recently I ran into a site which is trying to solve exactly the same problem. It turns out my Firefox download configuration file, downloads.rdf, is corrupted.
The Solution
The solution is really easy:
Just delete the file downloads.rdf and restart Firefox. A new downloads.rdf will be generated.
The location to donwload.rdf is:
C:\Documents and Settings\YourUserName\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxx\
Remark:
- xxxxxx is the folder that holds your Firefox personal files. There might be more than one, you have to find yours.
- The Documents and Settings folder might locate at a different hard drive other than C:.
- If you can't find Application Data folder, you might need to enable "Show hidden files and folders" for your explorer.
Afterthought
I have been searching the solution for this problem for the past three months, on and off, mindlessly. Thought the solution is remarkable simple, finding it is what killing me. I want to help to increase the exposure of this solution. For this reason, voilà , I wrote this post.
Links
The Firefox Download Window Has Disappeared!
Unable to save or download files
What's Next
More interesting posts ...
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where can i download firefox3?
the stable version is not available at this moment, but you can get alpha version at
http://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/granparadiso/alpha1/
Many thanks! I had this problem for about 3 days now... when reinstalling didn't resolve the issue, I thought it might be my profiles. I didn't know enough about Firefox to begin to remove the profile though (I thought uninstalling would kill the profiles).
This certainly has eased my mind. FF is so awesome... thanks again!
hi i just got this error today however i cannot find the downloads.rdf file.. what should i do
In that case, you might want to do a search under your
Documents and Settingsfolder. Press Ctrl+F and make sure Search hidden files and folders option is checked.Another thing you might consider is if you have a dual boot system, make sure you are at the hard drive/partition where your OS is located.
Found this post today. Pure genious.
Was afraid I'd have to waste hours figuring out what was causing it so I REALLY appreciate the "I want to help to increase the exposure of this solution. For this reason, voilà , I wrote this post."
Thanks a lot!
fucking right man, thank you
It is the second time I have problems with firefox + downloads.
The first time I was able to delete the "downloads.rtf" file and things worked properly afterwards, but the second time (right now) I deleted the file again, and strangely enough, Firefox didn't generate a new "downloads.rtf" file.
So, right now I don't have the file and I can't make any downloads on Firefox. Any suggestions?
Nevermind the previous comment, I finally got it to work properly :)
Awesome stuff. Thank you for the info.
Yes I have had this problem for months and it stopped almost 90% of my income workflow. I did everything but at the end I had to install a fresh copy of entire windows to fix it. Thanks to you I might be able to fix it it ever happen again.
Tnx, already had this issue in past but this time i've founf the same solution on your blog! ;)
Awesome! Thanks!!
Thanks! It works!
I dont even have a Mozilla folder under C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data . Have a bunch of other directorys, but not for firefox. I even did a search on my computer, couldnt even find downloads.rdf
What now?
Try to type this in your explorer's address bar:
%AppData%YOU ARE MY SAVIOR!!! Are you a prophet?
Thanks for the fix!
thanks, had this exact problem :( the window would come up when i opened it, all blank tho !
I don't have a downloads.rdf file to delete. I can't download, and the dialog box is empty. I've tried reinstalling it too.
bless you--this plague has been affecting me for WAY too long; i don't remember when it actually started.
Thanks for posting this seemingly simple and elegant solution. This problem drove me crazy and had me delete and reinstall the program several times.
Thanks again
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! This has driven me crazy for months now and really slows down my work. I appreciate your solution -- fixed it in just minutes!!!
OMg so nice ************
Wow thanks for this info!
By the way, Firefox 3.0 beta now uses a "downloads.sqlite" file instead..
Thanks again! :D
EXCELLENTE !!! It works fine
Thanks a lot !!!!
I had this problem to. No downloads would appear in the download manager. Thanks to you its working perfectly now :)
This Worked like a charm. I was frustrated out of my mind.
YOU FREAKING ROCK!!!
BTW...
For MAC users like myself this is the path to the file:
Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/a7fa2kow.default
Awesome, thanks man! You were the top page on my search result... problem solved.
Wow...I've been dealing with this issue for months now and nothing I've done has worked.
Thanks so much for sharing this.
I'm almost embarrassed that the solution was this easy.
yes, yes, yes! almost a year on and your post is still saving people. i thank you too, my friend!
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much thanks! genious!
It didn't work for me. I can still download, but no window and it didn't replace the file.
well i gotta say thanks man! ive had this problem for like 6 months now never did find the solution till i see this site!
[...] around, I came across a widely acclaimed solution, which was to delete the xml file which stores the information I was supposed to be seeing; supposing it was corrupted. [...]
This solution worked great. I had exactly the same problem and thought it was related to a Firefox upgrade or add-on. Deleting the downloads.rdf fixed the problem. Thank you very much for your help.
I tried deleting downloads.sqlite (by the way there were 2 folders with that file), and now it got worse... nothing happens when i click "save as". One of the files doesn't regenerate... dunno what to do, any ideas?
Excellent solution. It didn't quite solve the problem for my Mac running 2.0.0.16, but I took an additional step (found on another bug site), and the two steps together solved the problem.
1) Quit Firefox and delete the "downloads.rtf" file.
2) Restart Firefox and in "Preferences" choose another download location.
When I performed only step 1, the "Downloads" window came up, but would not display a test download. When I added step 2 the "Downloads" window came up and showed BOTH test files I had downloaded.
Thank you again!