When adding a download, first a "Add download" dialog is shown, that waits until some data is fetched from server, and then is automatically replaced with "New file" dialog with more information. That allows for more responsive UI (with fetch happening in the background).

Both dialogs present "Cancel" and "Download" buttons, but have different dimensions. This leads to surprises when I am trying to click a button on the former dialog, and click ~simultaneously with dialogs change, thus actually clicking to wrong place.

Please make those dialogs the same size to avoid such mis-clicks.

I also attempted to open a support ticket, but since I have yet to ever receive a reply on a ticket, I'm posting here as well.

This is another pretty darn serious issue that is easily reproducible. I have also included a screenshot below.

The issue:

I have painstakingly gone back to all my old downloaded FDM installers I could dig up (so far), and eariler this year (2017) when I go back to all files downloaded using FDM vs browser (Chrome x64 on Win7x64 DEV branch), I have reproduced here that FDM code was changed/updated to begin to write it's files as SPARSE attribute files. As a developer myself, I fully understand why there could be possible benefits on large files, and particularly a chunked file such as a torrent. However, I also see absolutely no reason why in any case, sparse files are required with FDM, and are actually causing very significant issues as a result of this change.

I have recently uncovered and reported a bug to MS that is also in line with a couple other commercial file sync/cloud sync providers that simply do not even handle/sync/touch files with the added SPARSEFILE attribute - AT ALL. Now, some of that is certainly on those companies, but I can also come up with MANY other issues over the years I have seen first hand with Sparse files, mainly because if you are running Windows Vista to Windows 8.1 (have not confirmed if 10 is any different now), it is IMPOSSIBLE to remove the SPARSEFILE attribute using fsutil. You can still ENABLE sparse flag on a file, but you cannot clear it. In fact, the ONLY way around it is to copy EVERY SINGLE FILE a second time to wind up with non-sparse, "normal" files. Not only is re-copying every FDM-downloaded file a second time on the same disk a pain, but it is frankly just absurd especially when I gain absolutely nothing by even using a sparse file flag before, during, or after the download occurs.

Since all a sparse file really is, is a file that is typically large and mostly filled with zeros but mapped in ranges of where actual data sits outside of those zeros, and when any FDM download is complete, every single file should have NO ZERO FILLING and be 100% filled with data matching the source, then again I challenge anyone to argue a valid reason for leaving us with these sparse files. If they cannot be easily programatically cleared of that attribute (and I can confirm it is in fact NOT easy), then if I was on the dev team I would have to have a very compelling reason to use a one-way, permanent attribute like this. I mean, I literally have thousands of permanently DAMAGED, UNUSABLE data files that I cannot sync to the cloud and have a bad attribute I cannot clear - unless I now go back and take substantial time to begin making copies of each and every file, which could then potentially lose the created/modified date/time if I am not careful - all just because of the download manager I've used.

Here is a screen capture I just took using latest FDM 5.1.32 and a simple text based reg file. As you can clearly see, the right-click direct download using Chrome bypassing FDM results in a normal file. The FDM download performed immediately after results in an IDENTICAL file (screenshot of both file hashes also attached below), however it is set as a SPARSE file which now cannot be cleared, synced using cloud sync, etc.

This is truly the first absolute show-stopper I have come across with FDM that will result (for me, and as others become privy to this behavior I am guessing many more) having to simply stop using FDM after all these years and find a replacement download manager. Hopefully you FDM developers that have done such a good job starting to move v5 forward can see the light on this before it's too late and consider rolling back to old FDM 2016 behavior on this, or at the very least quickly adding a boolean option as to whether or not to globally disable ALL sparse file support in the app, even if that means for some reason having to pre-allocate 100% for each download (which is the default on many DM's, anyway).

Screenshot #1 - File explorer comparison:


Screenshot #2 - File hash comparison:

CollinChaffin wrote:I also attempted to open a support ticket, but since I have yet to ever receive a reply on a ticket, I'm posting here as well.

<snip>

This SPARSEFiLE bug attribute has been around for a long time. I use a 3rd party file manager called Xplorer^2 (squared, as this BBS system doesn't have an easily available code for superscript) and I am able to remove them using the method listed in this Superuser post: https://superuser.com/a/823130.

Although the post does say to use Windows Explorer specifically, as I mentioned, I can use it with Xplorer@ as well.

It is a bit tedious in that you have to drag and drop files individually, but other than that it works.

HTH

Re: SPARSE files

It's unclear why the sparse files are required in the first place. They neither guarantee that a filesystem has necessary free space, nor guard against fragmentation, so what is their purpose here?

Clive Sorensson wrote:

MELERIX wrote:hi, there is a bug with the download speed when you try to download software from Adobe, for example...

from here: ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/wi ... 701220093/

or when you try to download the new Adobe Flash Player from the following links:

http://fpdownload.adobe.com/get/flashpl ... player.exe
http://fpdownload.adobe.com/get/flashpl ... yer_ax.exe
http://fpdownload.adobe.com/get/flashpl ... _ppapi.exe
http://download.macromedia.com/get/flas ... player.exe

and this bug happens in Windows 7 with Microsoft Security Essentials or Windows 8.X & 10 with Windows Defender, and when the bug occurs, it causes the process MsMpEng.exe to use a lot of resources, specially HDD usage, and probably that is what is causing slow download speed.

so probably is a incompatibility between FDM and MSE/WD.

Dear User!

Why do you think that the consumption of resources of MsMpEng.exe is caused by FDM?

Regards,
Clive

because only happens when downloading these files with FDM.

v5.1.32 build 6573

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_7LVmLUdvo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GmsFSNUnFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDGwdYXF8nM

Parsing failure: Failed to initialize deciphering context

Youtube programmers have changed website code. You may have problems also using other video downloaders. For example, SaveFrom.net helper cannot download any of the 3 videos you have linked here.

Usher wrote:Youtube programmers have changed website code. You may have problems also using other video downloaders. For example, SaveFrom.net helper cannot download any of the 3 videos you have linked here.

Funny, youtube-dl and a couple others I just tried work just fine. In fact, I can't remember the last time (in many YEARS) that youtube-dl has lost basic youtube DL functionality for even a full day.

FDM has not even had a beta update in quite some time and not even been responding to bugs/issues.

They should open-source this 5.x code put it on Github and allow us, the DEVs in the community, to help move it up to and far past where the v3 codebase was (that they lost the sourcecode to - hence 5x being a literal start-from-scratch effort and missing most the features).

johnlgalt wrote:

CollinChaffin wrote:I also attempted to open a support ticket, but since I have yet to ever receive a reply on a ticket, I'm posting here as well.

<snip>

This SPARSEFiLE bug attribute has been around for a long time. I use a 3rd party file manager called Xplorer^2 (squared, as this BBS system doesn't have an easily available code for superscript) and I am able to remove them using the method listed in this Superuser post: https://superuser.com/a/823130.

Although the post does say to use Windows Explorer specifically, as I mentioned, I can use it with Xplorer@ as well.

It is a bit tedious in that you have to drag and drop files individually, but other than that it works.

HTH

FYI, that method if you read it closely, does NOT work on Windows 7 or anything older than Windows 10 because that flag does not exist. In fact, I have gone as far as to drill down to the underlying WIN32 API, and anyone who says it is possible in anything older than WIN10/Server2016 is simply full of it since the needed API flags are not even in the OS code. A full COPY of each and every SPARSE file attributed file created by FDM is the ONLY WAY to convert it to a non-sparse file. It's a far bigger deal than most realize considering Onedrive and most other cloud providers DO have issues (some even DETECTING) files with the SPARSE attribute, not to mention all the other "typical" ISO/etc. more common issues.

Guest wrote:v5.1.32 build 6573

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_7LVmLUdvo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GmsFSNUnFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDGwdYXF8nM

Parsing failure: Failed to initialize deciphering context

I have latest FDM 5 Stable & can parse & download all the above mentioned 3 files.

What Devs say on the above mentioned "Sparse" files?

Guest wrote:

Guest wrote:Parsing failure: Failed to initialize deciphering context

I have latest FDM 5 Stable & can parse & download all the above mentioned 3 files.

It seems that Youtube programmers fixed the website code. SaveFrom.net also works now.
FDM 3.9.7 still shows well known picture with zero sizes, see here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17341&p=41657#p41657

Guest wrote:What Devs say on the above mentioned "Sparse" files?

There should be at least an option to set minimal sparse file size, for example
-1: don't use sparse files at all,
0: use sparse files for all downloads
1G: use sparse files for 1GB+ size.
There may be also separate option for torrents.

Note that using sparse file for very large downloads allow to start them immediately, otherwise start may take even a few minutes.

v5.1.33 [build 6791, Oct 27, 2017] STABLE
- [Win] Fixed issues when FDM couldn't seed due to Windows Firewall.
- [Win] Fixed issues when FDM could be causing lags on Wi-Fi networks.
- [MacOS] Fixed random crashes when downloading torrents.
- Added Firefox 57+ support.
- General bug fixes and improvements.

using v5.1.33 and if you try to download a version of AdwCleaner from here: https://toolslib.net/downloads/viewdown ... ner/files/ you only get a corrupted exe file, instead of the right file.