Download failed - can you help?

[julie]

Hello, my name is Julie, I'm a beginner and I need help to download Open Office onto my laptop.

Have dial-up internet connection so I downloaded Mozilla Firefox and then the download manager DownThemAll. So far so good. Then commenced downloading Open Office using Firefox (was this my mistake?) and after five hours received the message, C:\Users\julie\Downloads\OOo_3.1.1_Win32Intel_install_WJRE_en-US.exe.part could not be saved because the source file could not be read. Download failed. What do I do now?

Do I need to delete the partial download before trying again, and if so how do I do this? And do I download Open Office using Internet Explorer? I think I used Firefox last time because I thought I would need it for the download manager to work. And I'm not sure how to check the integrity of the file downloaded (as per instructions point 4), what is or are md5sums?

I'd be very grateful for your advice - in simplest language possible!

Thank you. Julie.

[TheGurkha]

Where did you try to download from? You shouldn't be downloading 3.1.1, the current version is 3.2.

Download form here: OpenOffice.org.

Firefox is fine, I only ever use/download Firefox.

You can also request that a CD be sent to you, if that would be easier.

[Hagar Delest]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Firefox is far better than IE IMHO. The problem doesn't come from FF but rather from the connection. For such long download, better use a fast internet access (use a friend or internet café machine and put it on a USB stick). Else, use a bittorrent (I use Vuze/Azureus), it's much faster than the standard download.

Note that you certainly have a Java version installed, so instead of the standard version, download the version without JRE.

Once downloaded, you can check the MD5sum according to the procedure linked on the download page. But personally, I've done that once or twice only, when there is a trouble and if the installer seems to be corrupted.

Thanks to add '[Solved]' at beginning of your first post title (edit button) if your issue has been fixed.

[floris v]

I'm not sure that you need DownThemAll for this - that's more an utility to download items from a page, for instance photos from a photo gallery. FF has an inbuilt download manager for downloading things like OOo. I suggest that you go to your local library (if they have an internet service there) to download it, or you can download it at a friend's who has a fast connection? If you pay per minute, buying a CD is probably less expensive than downloading it, and it's less stress.

[Maxami]

Firefox works just fine for Open Office downloading. Far better than IExploder! Agreed, that it is your connection (too slow).

[julie]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and help. Yes downloading to a USB using high-speed internet connection seems a good idea. A few questions:

What size USB? Would 2GB be sufficient?
About how long would it take? More than an hour? (Library bookings one hour long.) If so, can it be done in stages?
Once I have Open Office on my USB, can I edit documents on my other USB which are in Microsoft 2003 and 2007?
Thank you in anticipation. Julie.

[julie]

Thank you everyone who replied to my "Download failed - can you help?" request for assistance. Much appreciated.

Yes downloading to a USB using high-speed internet connection seems a good idea. A few questions:

What size USB? Would 2GB suffice?
About how long would it take? More than an hour? (Library bookings one hour long.) If so, can it be done in stages?
Once I have Open Office on my USB can I edit documents on my other USB which are in Microsoft 2003 and 2007? Or do I start all over?

Please use simple language when replying. Many thanks! Julie.

[RoryOF]

Size is about 150MB, on a good link this should take about 15 minutes, depending on other traffic. If you want to install OOo on a USB you should download OOo Portable. About MS 2003/2007 documents; possibly, depending on the complexity of the documents.

[thomasjk]

Please don't multi-post. You been answered here http://user.services.openoffice.org/en/ ... =5&t=30869.

[vasa1]

If you use Firefox 3.6.3 or a download manager, you should be able to resume a download from where it stopped or from where you stopped it for whatever reason.

[Hagar Delest]

Topics merged.

Thanks to add '[Solved]' at beginning of your first post title (edit button) if your issue has been fixed.

[julie]

Thank you all for your all your ideas and replies. Much appreciated.

Thankyou Rory OF for the practical info about downloading to USB. thomasjk, no I won't multi-post again. Tried the link in your reply and was told the requested topic does not exist. Is it something I should read? vasa1, may try to resume the download onto my laptop where I left off - thank you for the advice. And thank you Hagar de l'Est for merging my topics. Am still working on it and shall certainly advise when the issue has been fixed.

Regards, Julie.

[thomasjk]

Julie. Hagar merged the posts so my link no longer exists.

[Lavarock7]

I've been trying to download oo 3.2 last night and this morning. I keep getting the error:
C:\Downloads\OOo_3.2.0_Win_x86_install-wJRE_en-US.exe could not be saved, because the source file could not be read.

Don't know if it is a timeout on my part. Note that I'm in the middle of the Pacific and "anything goes" out here with connections to the mainland.

Using Firefoxand downloading from the OO website.

[Hagar Delest]

Can you try with bitorrents? I used to download from the site in the past but torrents are much faster.

[thomasjk]

You may also want to try a download manager.
Edit:
Added mirror sites list:
Also try a mirror near you http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors/#mirrors.

[julie]

Thank you Hagar - what are bitorrents?

Thank you thomasjk. Installed DownThem All when I first tried. Shall look into the mirror sites idea.

May have easier access to high-speed internet through my local library's wireless connection. Shall try this soon.
Thank you for "hanging in there" with me!

[thomasjk]

See http://distribution.openoffice.org/p2p/ for an explanation of torrents. Free Download manager may be a better solution http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/.

[julie]

Thank you Tom K. Very helpful. Shall investigate this in a few days. Regards, Julie.

[julie]

dear friends, thank you for all your attention and help. I tried several times in as many ways possible and was still unable to complete a download. Have an immediate need for paid employment and need to be writing job applications so at a friend's suggestion I went to a computer swap-meet and purchased a disc of MS Office 2007 very reasonably priced. I may investigate Open Office again some time in the future but for now I have let it go. Best wishes to you all and perhaps Hagar you can delete this topic now? Sincerely, Julie.

[Hagar Delest]

Well, you could have download it by a friend and put it on an USB. Or there are CD-ROMs that can be purchased for not very much.

Anyway, you may have exactly the same problem when downloading other applications.