TOPDOWNLOADS HELP AND GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING PAGE
 

Table of contents   Introduction Navigation and Search Reporting Broken Links Troubleshooting Download Problems (Important!) Topdownloads Secure Downloads Software Submission Online Help Desk Find Help By...... Software Help Software FAQ MSN FAQ   Desktop Enhancement Desktop Themes FAQ Screensavers FAQ Wallpapers FAQ Games Help Games FAQ   Macintosh Help Mac FAQ   Login/Boot screens Boot Screens FAQ Logon Screens FAQ Online Games Online Games FAQ   Support Desk Support Desk Skins Help Skins FAQ Other Software Download FAQ

Introduction Topdownloads is a library of over 380,000 free and free-to-try software programs for Windows and Mac,games and drivers. We review and categorize these products in order to allow the visitor/user to find the exact product they and their system needs. We strive to deliver only the best products to the visitor/user together with self-made evaluation and review notes. We add more than 100 items on our sites every day. All our services are FREE of charge for the visitors/users. There is a membership system, but it does not require a payed subscription, although it offers a series of advantages for the registered user.

Topdownloads is composed of the following sections, each one with a specific purpose:

The WINDOWS
section lists a wide range of freeware, shareware, trial, and demo software products for the Windows OS.
The GAMES
section provides gamers with the latest demos, freegames, onlinegames, information on upcoming release and so on.
The DRIVERS
section helps you find the latest drivers for your hardware, for all versions of the Windows Operating System.
The MAC
section lists a wide range of freeware, shareware, trial, and demo software products for Macintosh Systems.
The MOBILE Wallpapers
section is designed for mobile phone enthusiasts and people interested in communication industry news.
The SKINS section is updated daily with the latest skins for ICQ Winamp Yahoo.

Navigation and Search The Navigation Menu is located in the header and is composed of six buttons, one for each Topdownloads section: Windows, Games, Drivers, Mac, Mobile and Skins.

The TopdownloadsSearch Engine has one mode

Quick Mode performs a quick search using a search term provided by the user, without imposing any restrictions on the returned results

Sometimes the number of programs in a category is very large, so they are listed on multiple pages, 30 on each page. The program listing format is similar to that of the index listing. An additional option is that users can sort the programs list by some criteria as: Last Update, Number of Downloads and Rating. Reporting Broken Links When accessing the download page associated to each product we present on our sites, you have the option to report a broken link. However, you should not abuse this, and preferably manually check if the producer's homepage is still online.

The comercialware products do not have a downloadable version available on the internet, so they cannot be downloaded from our sites, there are no mirrors available.

Troubleshooting Download Problems

In the following guide we will try to help users which have problems related to downloading files. We will list here solutions to the most common problems that may arise, for problems not solved here, please send us a message using the feedback page.

1. I clicked on download but nothing happens. I see only a popup with some text and banners.
Among the text you are seeing in the download popup, there is the mirror list (the list of locations where the file you are trying to download is available). Normally, the download should start automatically after 3 seconds using the first online mirror, and the browser (Internet Explorer, Opera, ...) should prompt you to open or save the file. If the download did not start automatically, just left click on one of the mirrors, and choose "Save" when prompted.

2. I'm using a download manager and it asks for a password when using topdownloads.net mirror (download.topdownloads.net).
You are probably using DAP (Download Accelerator Plus) or some other download manager that does not send some information needed to start the download from our download page. The solution is to use another mirror or switch to a download manager that manages properly the referer.

3. I am still asked for a password while downloading files, even if I'm using other download managers or none at all.
Some firewall programs block the information that download managers send in order to make the download possible (this information is called "referer" and is basically the URL of the page from where you are starting the download). Zone Alarm firewall is known to block the referer but other similar products may behave in the same way. The solution is to change, if possible, the settings of the firewall program in order to allow the passing of the referer to the download server. It that is not possible, temporarily disabling the firewall will do the job.

4. While trying to download I get a page that says something about "Offsite linking". I'm not using a download manager.
You are either using a firewall program that blocks the referer, or you are downloading by Right Click + Save As... Simply left click on the link, and close firewalls that block the referer (or change settings).

5. I receive "timeout" errors or the download stops before it is complete. Why?
Usually this is because the connection between the server and your computer has been lost. This is caused by a network congestion. You should try again at non-peak hours, or use a download manager to avoid redownloading the whole file. Here is a list of download managers you can choose from. Alternatively, this may be caused by a temporary connectivity problem between your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and the website hosting the file. Try again later.

6. I downloaded the file. What should I do with it?
If the file you just transferred has an .exe extension (the last three letters of the filename), then just double-click it to launch the installation process (follow the on-screen instructions). Otherwise, in most of the cases it is a .zip file (a compressed file which contains one or more files). You will to uncompress the archive to access the installation program. To do so, you need to have installed an archiver (program that handles compressed files) unless you are using Windows2000 or WindowsXP which have builtin .zip support. To get an archiver program, go here.

7. I receive errors saying that the zip file is corrupted. What should I do?
Most likely, in the download process, an error has occured, and that lead to the corruption of the file. The solution is to re-download the file, and if you are not yet using a download manager, it is high time to do so. Here is a list of download managers you can choose from. Topdownloads Secure Downloads Download links marked with the text "Topdownloads Secure Download" depict download sources located on servers owned and controlled by Topdownloads. All files available from those mirrors have been thoroughly tested for viruses and other malware. Moreover, these files will always be available, you will not encounter errors such as "bandwidth exceeded" or "file not found", our servers are reliable and secure. Software Submission Software Producers can submit their products directly to us by filling in the form available on the "Submit Program" page which can be reached using the link in the site's menubar. Here is a shortcut.

You have 2 options for submitting products. One is to fill the entire form, the other is to provide a PAD-file (more details about PAD-files here). The second options is much better, both for the producer and for us. The producer submits only once the PAD-file URL and from that moment, the new versions of the product will be published in a very short time on our sites thanks to a proprietary automated system of monitoring coupled with a PAD-file database. To submit a PAD use the link in the Submit Program page

Note: Before submitting a product, please check by searching if it is not already listed on our sites.