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Firefox returns "file is damaged" message when trying to open large pdf files.

  • 3 replies
  • 53 have this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by genehammel

AnonymousUser
AnonymousUser
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On PCs (XP and 7 64-bit) using Firefox 3.6.3, when I attempt to download a large file (e.g., 155MB), Firefox returns the "file is damaged and cannot be repaired" message. I increased the Offline Storage cache to 500MB, but still receive the message. However, when I changed the Adobe Acrobat Document application from "Use Adobe Acrobat (in Firefox)" to "Use Adobe Reader 9.3 (default)" the file downloaded without problem. It also downloads without issue via Firefox on my Mac, IE on both PCs, and Safari on my Mac, so we know the file isn't really damaged. This could be a serious problem for us since we have worldwide customers downloading our material and we have no control over their browser configurations.

This happened

Every time Firefox opened

== Reported to us by customer this week.

On PCs (XP and 7 64-bit) using Firefox 3.6.3, when I attempt to download a large file (e.g., 155MB), Firefox returns the "file is damaged and cannot be repaired" message. I increased the Offline Storage cache to 500MB, but still receive the message. However, when I changed the Adobe Acrobat Document application from "Use Adobe Acrobat (in Firefox)" to "Use Adobe Reader 9.3 (default)" the file downloaded without problem. It also downloads without issue via Firefox on my Mac, IE on both PCs, and Safari on my Mac, so we know the file isn't really damaged. This could be a serious problem for us since we have worldwide customers downloading our material and we have no control over their browser configurations. == This happened == Every time Firefox opened == Reported to us by customer this week.

All Replies (3)

AnonymousUser
AnonymousUser Question owner
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Same problem with http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS113516

Modified Firefox as per the solution suggested and it loaded directly in Acrobat. However we are a University and requiring multiple procedures to load PDF documents would be confusing to our Users.

Does anyone know if the problem will be corrected in future releases?

Thanks,

George Boston Electronic Resources and Serials Librarian University Libraries Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5353 Email: george.boston@wmich.edu

lockhartt
lockhartt
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Other instances of this issue have reported that increasing the cache size for Firefox addresses the problem... simply set the cache size (Advanced > Network) to an amount greater than the largest PDF you are likely to open. Clearly this is not a fix for everyone, as your post indicated that you've already tried this approach.

Even if it had worked, this is annoying as cache size did not previously have any effect on the ability to view large PDFs in the plug in.

I can only suspect that recent changes in plug-ins and process handling have resulted in this unfortunate shortcoming. Hopefully there's a fix on the horizon,

Modified by lockhartt

genehammel
genehammel
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I have had the same problem, consistently. I can select "Print" and then "Save as PDF", and successfully save that file. Adobe Reader is the designated default application. If I attempt to open the saved pdf I get the reported error message, that the file is damaged and cannot be repaired. I do not have this problem in Safari or Explorer.