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

( categories: teknoids )
Submitted by gary.p.moore on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 8:55am.

Sorry guys, that was meant to go to Ken.  Time for more caffeine. Oh well. 
 
Gary>>> On 12/19/2008 at 9:44 AM, in message <494B6CF6.4962.006C.0@hofstra.edu>, "Gary Moore" <Gary.P.Moore@hofstra.edu> wrote:

Hey Ken
 
Hope all is well at Cincinatti and that you are liking the new job.  Just to give you a heads up, but you may already know, I didn't get the job at Duke.  I thought it was an honor to be one of three finalists out of 112 that applied and I gave the best interview I possibly could.  Things are going very well here at Hofstra and we are doing a lot of good things,  so I can't complain. :-)
 
Just wanted to say thanks for the help and any good word you provided.  Have a great holiday season!
 
Gary
 
Gary Moore, CISSPAssistant Dean for Information SystemsHofstra University School of LawGary.P.Moore@hofstra.edu(516) 463-6067>>> On 12/19/2008 at 9:36 AM, in message <4DEA66FECAF51547840CE95566B4C46D0108906785@UCMAILBE3.ad.uc.edu>, "Hirsh, Kenneth (hirshkh)" <hirshkh@ucmail.uc.edu> wrote:
Ron,Is there any chance that you downloaded the latest OS X update from Apple?  10.5.6 is reportedly causing significant problems according to some news articles.As to getting another browser, go to you command line ftp client and open ftp.mozilla.org.  Look in /pub/firefox/releases.  Pick a version directory and have at it.Ken Hirsh-----Original Message-----From: teknoids-bounces@ruckus.law.cornell.edu [mailto:teknoids-bounces@ruckus.law.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Ronald HuttnerSent: Friday, December 19, 2008 8:17 AMTo: TeknoidsSubject: Re: [teknoids] Total Inability To Download Anything At All From The Internet - Thanks !Paul,That's a fantastic response and I am very grateful indeed.I'm in a Catch-22 though, because I can't at present download areplacement browser.I strongly suspect that it is my Safari that is the problem.However I am perfectly able to browse the web with it.And my email is working.I think I may have to go in to Apple on Monday and ask them to put acopy of Safari and/or Firefox on a disk for me.By the way I NEVER go in for automatic software updates.I always like to wait and see what others have to say first !!!Thanks once again for your very full and helpful reply.Ronald HuttnerOn 20/12/2008, at 12:06 AM, marbux wrote:> On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 2:22 AM, Ronald Huttner <rshutt@netspace.net.au> > 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> <http:www.universal-interop-council.org>> _______________________________________________> You are currently subscribed to teknoids as: rshutt@netspace.net.au.> To unsubscribe send a blank email to teknoids-leave@ruckus.law.cornell.edu> --> See the web interface at http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/teknoids>  to get your list password, unsubscribe, and view your list settings._______________________________________________You are currently subscribed to teknoids as: hirshkh@ucmail.uc.edu.To unsubscribe send a blank email to teknoids-leave@ruckus.law.cornell.edu--See the web interface at http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/teknoids to get your list password, unsubscribe, and view your list settings._______________________________________________You are currently subscribed to teknoids as: gary.p.moore@hofstra.edu.To unsubscribe send a blank email to teknoids-leave@ruckus.law.cornell.edu--See the web interface at http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/teknoids to get your list password, unsubscribe, and view your list settings.