Safari Download links not working, opening new page

Question

Safari Download links not working, opening new page

Hi, I am not to happy with the latest version of Safari, and it has made one problem worse. When I click on a download link, more often than not, instead of getting a file to download, it opens a new page and appears to be loading the file as raw code. I will see in the location bar at the top something like:

download.php or FileName.zip, and it cycles a while until the full file is loaded but does not show anything by a blank page... Before this version I could right click and choose save linked file As and it would usually work, but now that doesn't work.

Anyone else seeing this problem or have a solution?

I have speed downloader but I have it turned off for sites that were problematic, but Safari doesn' seem to use it anyway, because when it works, it opens a Safari download window, not SD

Thanks

Jeff

2 x 2.8 Ghz Quad-Core & MacBook i7, Mac OS X (10.6.5), ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT, 6 gigs RAM

Posted on Aug 12, 2011 3:12 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 13, 2011 8:09 PM in response to Jefferis Peterson

Also, hitting back page often makes the links un-clickable... Odd behavior.

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Aug 13, 2011 8:20 PM in response to Jefferis Peterson

Please boot in safe mode and test. Same problem?

Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode

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Answer 3

Aug 14, 2011 6:24 AM in response to Linc Davis

Safe Boot, NO fix. Problem still exists. Here is one link example that loads into a page:

http://get.adobe.com/reader/

clicking download button opens a new tab and loads into a window instead of downloading.

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Answer 4

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Aug 14, 2011 6:39 AM in response to Jefferis Peterson

Reboot as usual (not in safe mode) if you haven't done so already. Enable guest logins and log in as Guest. Launch Safari and test. Same problem?

Creating a guest user account

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Answer 5

Aug 14, 2011 12:02 PM in response to Linc Davis

Guest Login download works as expected (Fixes problem), whether triggering Speed Download or using native download. However, turning Speed Download Safari Integration ON in my normal Login Account does not cause Speed Download to activate, so I suspect there is a plist file that is messed? Turning off all extensions in Safari did not fix the problem either in my account.

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Answer 6

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Aug 14, 2011 12:53 PM in response to Jefferis Peterson

Quit Safari if it's running. Move the file

Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist

in your home folder to the Desktop. Test again. If downloading now works as expected, then that's where the problem lies. Otherwise, it's still somewhere in your Safari settings, but I wouldn't know where. You'd have to ask the "Speed Downloader" developer what to do next.

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Answer 7

Aug 14, 2011 1:22 PM in response to Linc Davis

Okay, it appears that the problem is/was related to Safari 5.1x starting in 32 bit mode. Once I went to Get Info, and turned it OFF, things began to work normally.

Found this suggestion on a thread in the Speed Download forums.

'Thanks for the troubleshooting help.

Jeff

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