Why won't firefox won't download videos
Firefox has stopped in allowing me to download any videos from any site but especially YouTube. I use Video Download Helper and it won't work now. I also use YouTube MP3 Podcaster which quit working as well. What is wrong?
All Replies (9)
Hi, what operating system are you running?
I installed Download Helper and it works fine in my Firefox. You should maybe try refreshing Firefox.
You can use sites like KeepVid to download YouTube videos, in addition to add-ons.
Ilungisiwe ngu mattcamp
A user in another thread reported that YouTube has stopped making Flash-format media available. Any add-on which could only grab media directed to the Flash player may not work until it is fixed. However, I suggest checking the user comments and support pages for those add-ons for specific information.
This sounds as if it may be a specific case of a similar problem I am having.
I've been running Firefox in Comodo Internet Security's 'Virtual Desktop' sandbox environment for months and downloaded .ofx files from my bank every week. But 2 weekends ago this suddenly stopped working. I contacted my bank, and their first response was, 'Are you using Firefox? Try Chrome instead.' So I did, and it worked! Further testing showed that it had become impossible to download the majority of file types: pdfs, mp3, etc., etc... (In fact, the only thing I did manage to download was a simple copy of a web page.)
The symptoms are that, when I click the Download arrow in the menu bar, the download dialog opens: but as soon as I select the 'Save' option, irrespective of what default directory has been set, a yellow spot appears beside the Download arrow in the menu bar, and clicking the arrow displays the download as 'Failed'.
The downloads still work fine when Firefox is run outside the sandbox: but I then I lose my security protection. Chrome works fine inside or outside the sandbox; so it looks as if the problem is down to some kind of adverse interaction between CIS and Firefox resulting from a recent program update.
As of today, I have the latest updates to CIS, plus the latest release versions of Firefox (54.0.1) and Windows 10 Home (64 bit). Any suggestions?
Hi kevinthekingsson, your issue sounds totally unrelated to a video downloading extension not working, so please start a new question.
As a note to provide more context: when you click a link or button that triggers a download, Firefox starts downloading the file to the Windows TEMP folder. After you specify a save location Firefox will move it there once the download is complete. On the other hand, if you choose an application to open the file, the file will remain in the TEMP folder. If neither of those work in your sandbox, check with Comodo on whether any configuration changes are needed. If only the file move is a problem, I'm not sure what's causing the new incompatibility: Firefox has done it that way for years.
jscher2000 said
Hi kevinthekingsson, your issue sounds totally unrelated to a video downloading extension not working, so please start a new question. As a note to provide more context: when you click a link or button that triggers a download, Firefox starts downloading the file to the Windows TEMP folder. After you specify a save location Firefox will move it there once the download is complete. On the other hand, if you choose an application to open the file, the file will remain in the TEMP folder. If neither of those work in your sandbox, check with Comodo on whether any configuration changes are needed. If only the file move is a problem, I'm not sure what's causing the new incompatibility: Firefox has done it that way for years.
"I'm not sure what's causing the new incompatibility: Firefox has done it that way for years."
Not any more. The latest version of Firefox has made Video Download Helper incompatible by design. Why? Who knows, But it would be nice to know.
honeybadger said
The latest version of Firefox has made Video Download Helper incompatible by design. Why? Who knows, But it would be nice to know.
What version of Firefox are you using? As a Legacy extension, unless updated by its author, it will stop working in Firefox 57 (currently "Nightly").
When I look at the reviews, there are no indications of a general problem yet: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/reviews/
In case your VDH hasn't been updating, try reinstalling from the Add-ons site.
honeybadger said
"I'm not sure what's causing the new incompatibility: Firefox has done it that way for years." Not any more. The latest version of Firefox has made Video Download Helper incompatible by design. Why? Who knows, But it would be nice to know.
Help, is there a solution to this problem?
Hi debbs, the current release of the extension only supports Firefox up to version 56:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/versions/
You recently posted that you're using Firefox Beta -- which is Firefox 57. A version for Firefox 57 is not ready yet: