Question RE Resuming Downloads

[GrumyOldMan]

I have a 56k modem that connects at 44k on the best of days. Does having a premium membership and using the servers for premium members permit downloads to be resumed at a later date? With my ISP I can only stay connected for 5 hours without them breaking my connection. If I'm connected longer than that they claim I'm trying to use it as a dedicated connection to the internet. Some mods are so big there is no way I can download them in 5 hours when my highest throughput during that time frame is 60 megabytes. If resuming downloads is supported, what software has been demonstrated/reported by users to be the most compatible? I'm getting a premium membership whether it supports resuming or not because I think this NEXUS site is good for gaming, is well organized and the community is pretty dagnab good. I have tried using the computers at the county library. Sometimes their software sees the site as a "porn" site and blocks it and sometimes it doesn't. I have yet to determine if it is because of the way I'm sitting on the chair, if it is weather related or due to some other phenomenon.

 

Thank you,

[Dark0ne]

The most recommended software would be DownThemAll! plugin for Fire Fox. This plugin works with the sites, Premium or not. Now I have no idea whether it would let you download for 5 hours straight, then disconnect for 24 hours, then come back and carry on downloading from where you left off, but you can give it a try. If you do try, please come back and report on your findings!

[GrumyOldMan]

The most recommended software would be DownThemAll! plugin for Fire Fox. This plugin works with the sites, Premium or not. Now I have no idea whether it would let you download for 5 hours straight, then disconnect for 24 hours, then come back and carry on downloading from where you left off, but you can give it a try. If you do try, please come back and report on your findings!

 

 

Thanks for the info. I do use FireFox and I will get the plugin and start testing tomorrow. I don't have to log off for 24 hours but I do have to log off for at least an hour. I will do tests of varying times and post the results. Usually I log on for 1 or 2 hours, log off for 1/2 hour or so, log back on for a couple hours etc.

[GrumyOldMan]

I installed DownThemAll for Firefox. Tried to download a file through normal membership with it and got an error every time I tried. I do not know why, perhaps the way the servers are set up and files are "prepared" for download.

 

I then upgraded to premium membership. The only servers presented to me for downloading were premium member servers. I picked a relatively small file that I could download in one session and had no problems downloading it with DownThemAll.

 

I then picked a larger file. It started a good download with DownTehmAll. I downloaded about 10 megabytes then paused the download. I logged off the internet for about 1/2 an hour, logged back and and when I clicked the resume download button in DownThemAll it resumed the download. I repeated this process later with this file. It once again resumed the download. During the download, the connection dropped without my being aware of it. I logged back onto the internet and I was able to resume the download. It appears that DownloadThemAll will automatically make resume points as it downloads in case something like this happens. After downloading was complete the file successfully unzipped with 7z.

 

I am now in the process of downloading another large file. This time I started the download shortly before going to bed. I paused the download when I was ready to hit the sack and logged off the internet. The file successfully resumed downloading the next morning after being paused and logged off the internet for a minimum of 8 hours. The file has not completed downloading so I cannot say it will be a successful download until I verify that I can successfullly unzip it as well. Once it is complete, I will check to see if it successfully downloaded with the large delay time of being paused and offline. I currently have no reason to believe it won't be, but in the words of Louis Tiant when asked to deescribe the game of baseball in two words responded with, You never know.

 

Joe Viera

GrumyOldMan who can't spell Grumpy right

[GrumyOldMan]

My last test mentioned in my previous post where I started a large download, logged off for a minimum of 8 hours and then resumed the download was a successful download.

 

The last test I did was to simulate a power outage (especially for those who use a desktop and have no uninterruptible power supply attached). I removed the battery from my laptop, started a 3 megabyte download and half way through the download I pulled the power cord out of the wall. I waited a couple of minutes, plugged it back in, turned the laptop back on, logged back onto the internet, restarted Firefox, went to tools, down to DTA (DownThemAll), over to the download manager for DTA and DTA had already resumed the download of the file that was being downloaded when I pulled the plug out of the wall. The file successfully completed downloading and successfully unzipped.

[Dark0ne]

Well I'm glad that your (extensive, thank you!) tests were a success. I'm not sure why it wouldn't work for non-premium users but none-the-less I'm glad it seems to be working well for you :thumbsup: