Why do download via SDM from dream spark stops periodically?

Question

I've been trying to download Windows 8.1 for a week.Every time i start a download, it stops at 15-20% and gives the following error:

"The download cannot be completed. If a location selection is available for this product, select another location. If no location selection is available, the download may fail to complete because no Internet connection was found, the Internet connection was lost or a firewall or proxy server exists between the client station and hosting location. Please try again later".

When I click on resume download after this error,it starts again but gives same error after some time but starts again by resuming.

When download finishes, it gives unpacking error and suggests to download the product again.
It has happened so many times (with some of my friends as well), I'm very frustrated, is there a solution to this problem?

Answer 1

DreamSpark Download Issues - Update 2/8/13

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/734791a6-ecd0-4c4d-9d98-45394f201ef5/dreamspark-download-issues-update-2813?forum=msdnfeedback

Answer 2

My suggestions may or may not provide an answer for @Ahmed, but they seem to work in resolving SecureDownloadManager download problems for me.

SecureDownloadManager needs admin privileges

I've found that when my download stalls, even after many restarts, it has been due to SecureDownloadManager not having admin privileges (which I often forget about at the time). When I've restarted SecureDownloadManager with the option to Run as Administrator it has managed to pick up where it left off and it completes the download process.

The following info is for Windows 8.1:

The problem is in finding SecureDownloadManager.exe. If you have a link in the start menu, right click on the tile and select Open file location. Then right click on the link and select Properties. You'll find the location of SecureDownloadManager in Start in: If you don't have a link you can find SecureDownloadManager in the registry by searching the keys for SecureDownloadManager and getting the execution path for it. In my case it was in,

C:\Users\raymond\AppData\Local\e-academy Inc\SecureDownloadManager

Of course you need to enable hidden folders to get to the AppData folder. When you find SecureDownloadManager.exe right click on it, select Properties, click on the Compatibility tab, check the box, Run this program as administrator, click Apply, then Ok.

This is a programming problem

As to why the problem with SecureDownloadManager has persisted for so long is anybody's guess. But I do know I've wasted a lot of hours on this problem and I know I'm not alone. It does, however, serve as a good example of how not to program, eh?

I have to disagree with @Dukeling. This question is on-topic in a programming forum because many, many computer programming students are wasting their time with failed downloads when they could be busy programming. If you can't get the tools you can't program.

My latest case was in downloading a copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 to install in a virtual instance to isolate testing of software in a particular environment. So downloading an os, at least in my case, qualifies as a programming task.

Answer 3

Guidance for Students with Software Download Manager Issues:

For students having issues with the SDM, please send an email to dreamspark@kivuto.com and be sure to enter “SDM issue” on the subject line of their message.

SDM Issue emails must include:

•Order No#

•A detailed description of the problem, including steps taken and error message.

•Ideally include any Screenshots are highly preferred.

DreamSpark Students having any other issue with the service need to get help from their Program Administrator.

Contact the Program Administrator by clicking the help link at the top of the student Webstore, and then scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking Contact Us.

Answer 4

The video, How to download dreamspark softwares directly without SDM (Secure Download Manager) and its description, did it for me.

Note: I followed a slightly different procedure, where instead of installing SDM, I downloaded the SDX file and edited it in Notepad to get the URL, which I then opened in Chrome. Also, right clicks were disabled on the URL, so I used the shortcut Ctrl+U to view page source. Rest of the steps were the same as shown in the video and mentioned in the description of the video.