Total Inability To Download Anything At All From The Internet

Submitted by rshutt on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 4:26am.

I fully appreciate that this request for assistance may not be 100% within Teknoids' jurisdiction, but I am desperate. For some reason completely unknown, my iMac G5 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (running OSX 10.5.6) has very recently suddenly ceased being able to download anything whatsoever from the internet. I can access the web OK, send and receive email OK etc, but all attempts to download anything at all fail. Nothing whatsoever happens when I click on any "Download" link anywhere on the internet. No spinning wheel, nothing happening in the "Download Activity" window. Absolutely nothing. Can any helpful person suggest a possible reason for this ? Are there any files that I should specifically be checking on my Hard Drive  -  i.e. files that are essential for downloading to work ? If so, please advise and I shall see whether they are missing, corrupted or whatever. ANY help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. I am at a loss at present !!Thanks !!Ron Huttner LL.B (Hons)(Retired) Barrister, Solicitor, Law Lecturer and Legal ResearcherMelbourneVictoriaAustralia

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Total Inability To Download Anything At All From The Internet
Submitted by marbux on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 7:11am.

On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 2:22 AM, Ronald Huttner wrote:

Hi, Ron,

I'm assuming that mouse clicks are still working in other apps. Have
you tried with different web browsers or is this all with one browser?
If the latter, I'd hazard a guess that your browser's code has been
corrupted and that uninstalling then reinstalling the browser might
cure the problem. But if you can't download, that would require that
you have the installer for some browser at hand. Note that some
browsers' installers will overwrite existing files safely (won't wipe
out your bookmarks, etc. and that I've never run across a browser
whose uninstaller removes critical files like bookmarks, passwords,
etc.)

Another conceivable explanation is that you have an automatic update
enabled for the browser, an automatic update was applied, and it has a
bug that clashes with your system. If so, reverting to an earlier
build of the browser might cure the problem.

If you do not have a browser installer on hand, you might research
what files make up the installed version and check to make sure
they're all there. Most major browser vendors have documentation
online for the file list when installed.

Armed with that information, you might also try restoring those files
from your most recent backup before the misbehavior started.

I have assisted several people who had the same problem, albeit not on
a Mac. In each case, it was either a corrupted browser or an update
with a bug that collided with a particular hardware brand and model.
That doesn't rule out other possibilities such as newly installed
software that creates a conflict, but I'd start with the browser as
the suspect miscreant.

I guess the wisdom here is:

[i] it's good to have at least two different browsers installed and an
archived copy of at least one browser's installer;

[ii] automatic software updates are an evil to be avoided,
particularly for apps that you depend on mightily; and

[iii] it's good to wait and check on the Web whether a software update
causes problems before applying updates. Not infrequently, software
updates cause problems because the test systems were configured
differently from your own.

Best regards,

Paul

--
Universal Interoperability Council

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