Welcome to Techspot Downloads Basic Help and Information page
Our downloads section is home to over 3000 of the latest utilities and drivers. To find the driver you need
simply enter your product name or manufacturer in the search box found on most
of the driver section pages. If you are unable to find your driver or believe
that your driver is not listed on our site please post the driver in our forums.
If you keep having trouble downloading any file after following our directions below or ultimately found it's
due to a broken link please MAIL US so we can take care of the problem as soon as possible.
Downloading tips
Once you have found the program you
seek, you can click its name, read more about it on its description page, and
then choose a download option to save a copy of the program to your computer.
When you click the "Download now" link on the program's description page, your
browser will load a new page and the file will begin downloading automatically.
Most downloadable programs are compressed to save you online
time when you download them. Usually, PC files that have been compressed have a
".zip" extension. If you
download a compressed program, you must follow three steps in order to use it:
- Copy it into an empty directory
- Decompress it
- Install it
The following is a brief listing of common problems and
solutions.
Download link expired
Problem: You cannot
begin downloading a file.
Solution: Most likely the download is not broken, all
you need to do is return to the original download page and hit "Download Now" link again and your file download
will start properly.
FTP access denied
Problem: You cannot
gain access to the FTP site.
Solution: The site may be busy. Wait a few seconds
and try
again.
Specific error messages
Problem: You
receive the message "The handle is invalid" or "The server returned extended
information..." from your copy of Microsoft Internet Explorer. These are known
bugs with Internet Explorer.
Solution: Microsoft recommends that you
right-click on the download link and choose "Save Target As." You'll get
a dialog box prompting you to choose a folder on your hard drive where you would
like the file saved. After you choose this directory, press OK, and the file
will be transferred to your hard drive.
"Directory not found" error
Problem: The
site might have relocated the directory in which the file was stored.
Solution: Try another site. If you're positive
the
site has relocated the directory, please let us know at our support
forum.
"File not found" error
Problem: The site
does not store that file.
Solution: Some sites do not store complete
archives.
Connection problems
Problem: Your
connection breaks during the download.
Solution: This may be a problem with your Internet
connection. Try again. If it happens all the time, find out whether your network
provider allows FTP transfers. You can also enlist the aid of a download manager
to help restart interrupted downloads.
Password required
Problem: You get
prompted for a username and password when you try to download a file.
Solution: Normally, your Web browser should pass a
username and password to the FTP site transparently so that you do not have to
enter it manually, but some browsers (most notably the AOL browser) do not
always do this. Remember that this prompt is not asking for your access
provider username and password. Instead, it is the FTP site asking for a
standard username and password for people wanting to download its files. Enter
the word anonymous for username and enter your email address for the
password.
Entering a username and password each time can get annoying, so
try to configure your browser software so that it knows your email address. If
you have no luck configuring it yourself, ask your browser company's support
team how to configure your browser so that it can handle anonymous FTP sessions.
Missing DLL files
Problem: After
downloading and installing a new program, you receive an error message saying
that you are missing a DLL file.
Solution: In many
cases this problem will be solved by downloading DirectX Drivers or the Visual
Basic Runtime Module, which
may contain the DLL file your program needs.
Corrupt files
Problem:
After downloading, you double-click the file to install it and you receive a
message saying that the file is corrupt.
Solution: The file may have been corrupted during
the download process. Unfortunately, you will have to try downloading and
installing again.
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