Download Accelerators

I was wondering if anyone can suggest a good download accelerator? I'm on dial-up (average connection speed is 48.0 kbps). Most downloads don't take too long, but some do (i.e. Windows XP SP2!).

Thanx a bunch

 

I expect that this thread'll get moved over to General Software pretty soon but, here goes:

I use DownloadExpress from Metaproducts (here). Simple, works well and, best of all, FREE!

 

Thanx for the suggestion

No problem if it's moved.

 

As dangitall suspected, yep - thread moved from General Topics to GeneralSoftware & Services forum.

Regards,

snap

 

If you download this, you will receive the full, paid version as a trial for thirty days. After the trial period expires, the free version remains, with no loss of functionality.

 

You may want to check out this link to ratings done on download managers by Patrick Kolla (creator of Spybot) http://www.safer-networking.org/en/articles/download-managers.html

I am currently using his top pick Leechget (free version), but i'm now looking into this also free download manager (i first saw it posted on dslreports) it looks like another winner, but i have not yet tried it. Everyone who did at dslreports said it was very good though. http://www.freedownloadmanager.org

Hth.

 

i used FreshDownload and its good. you can get it from www.freshdevices.com contains no spywares no adwares or artificial flavour.

 

I doubt that download accelerators would do much for someone with a dialup connection.

 

Actually my quite good ISP likes them. They've got a smallish FTP "library" for members, and are currently playing with several accelerators with an eye to adding one or more to the collection.

 

When I was using dial-up:

NAV update w/o DownloadExpress ... approx. 20 minutes
NAV update w/ DownloadExpress ... approx. 10 minutes

 

Well, i'm still on dialup and i just tested my download manager. First i tried downloading a 5mb program (eScan anti-virus toolkit utility) with just Firefox, and it took slightly over 20 mins. Then i tried with my download manager Leechget 2004 and it took 20 mins. There may have been 1 minute max difference in download time, the download manager being approx 1 minute faster, but that's pushing it a bit.

I think i'll install Download Express and possibly Star Downloader and see if there is any difference. But somehow i doubt there will be.

 

recommended as clean and safe .. DOWNLOAD ACCELERATOR PLUS - www.downloadaccelerator.com - it can speed up ur downloads up to 300% for certain file types. check it out.

 

I use Star Downloader free.

Does it make a lot of difference?
I have had mixed results on dialup.

Star Downloader does work very well with Opera and Firefox for me.
Fresh Download didn't integrate with both of these browsers as well.

 

some sites, i read somewhere, do not permit downloads using an accelerator - something to do with bandwidth.

 

One point worth mentioning - many accelerators work by using multiple connections. While this can be of benefit in some cases (like where a specific server is congested), each connection has a communications overhead (so using too many may make things slower overall for dialup users) and some sites (like Home of the Underdogs, detailed in their FAQ) will ban IP addresses attempting multiple connections (each connection consumes resources on their server).

In other words, avoid download managers that always use this feature without giving you the chance to disable it.

 

the main advantage of download manager is the ability to resume the download from the point it was disconnected. this comes very handy when you are stuck with a dial-up.

 

But the problem with the resume function is it will only work on certain sites, And i have tested many, with no success.

I have tested resuming a broken download with Firefox, IE, and Leeechget without any success so far.

IMHO there is really not much difference between doing a download with IE/firefox, and a download manager. Using a download manager MAY help sometimes, but i have yet to encounter a situtation where it really made any difference.

So without any significant difference in download times, and rarely if ever any ability to resume a broken download, leads me to the conclusion that download managers are nearly a complete waste of time to use.

I would say if more sites had the resume download ability, then that alone would make a download manager worth using (for dial up users), but where are all these sites, i haven't found many yet.

 

From the publisher:
This software is ad-supported and may install components that use your Internet connection to serve ads or track your Web-surfing habits.

I used this one for a while when I wasnt connected with DSL but on dialup, it even slows then my downloads.

 

Looks like my policy for these is sound avoid them like moldie bread or you might get sick. Your machine sure could.

 

Can someone list some good sites that support the resume download function in download managers. Majorgeeks.com (one of my favorite download sites) and download.com don't. Know any other similar (trustable and safe) types of sites that do? Thanks.

 

they didnt do any good for me.

 

When I used dialup I tried several download accelerators and didn't notice any difference in download speed. at the time my connection speed was 50kbs.

 

which download manager/s can you use at the-underdogs?

 

They mention GetRight but any download manager that (a) handles referrers properly and (b) does not attempt segmented downloads by default should work.

 

Hi everyone

I haven't been here in awhile since I haven't had any problems lately(thank goodness!) I have finally upgraded my internet connection to DSL, which gives me a better experience than dial-up. Although my downloads are much faster, they still take a little too long for my taste. I'm not looking for "instant" downloads, mind you, but I'm just looking for a little boost.

I have tried many download managers :

*Download Accelerator Plus
*LeechGet
*Lightning Download
*Internet Download Manager
I found that IDM is better than the others that I have tried, but I was wondering if there may be better programs out there.

I was thinking about trying DownloadStudio, or perhaps FreshDownload.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks