Cannot find any multi-thread/high speed download manager that works(!???!)

Hi, I have a prospective convert to Linux but he has asked about the Linux alternative to "Internet Downoad Manager" because it allows multi-thread downloads for FAST download of media files.

I know what he means because such power was in the 'Slimjet' browser which I loved in terms of UI, speed and power. Unfortunately, Slimjet also has a built in ad-blocker and that prevents something like 50% of websites even loading up because they detect the EXISTENCE of the ad blocker, even in another browser, and that's it. Had to uninstall and go back to Chromium which is now, alas, the de facto world standard (sans Chrome itself) which is slow, I hate the interface and it is a RAM hog. Oh joy. But I'm stuck with it because the world's extensions are all written for Chrome and nowt else these days!

I have since tried to get back to multi-threaded downloads and I can find NOTHING that works. No extensions in any browser nor any download apps. I have tried:

persepolis
xdm
kget
uget

plus a plethora of Chrome extensions.

They either do not work at all or just download the index page and do not detect/download any media!!

Even Youtube-DLG has stopped working recently!

It's as if the way media is being handled online has changed and nothing in Linux can detect it (although the ant video downloader in Palemoon still works which is odd because it is ancient and does not work in Firefox!)

So I have nothing that equals multi-threaded downloading for my friend and, thus, Linux falls over on his number 1 test.

Doesn't look good so I have gone quiet on the subject of trying Linux.
I am running KDE Neon which is basically Kubuntu with less cruft (though more set up I grant!)

Any help, suggestions? This is the sort of thing Linux should be really good at so I am rather at a loss.

Many thanks in advance.

I don't really understand, the download speed depends on the network mainly, not on the OS.

As I understand it having multiple download "threads" (downloading a file in several parts in parallel) can give speed improvements, partly because some firewalls restrict each "thread" to some limit and partly because of various possible packet delays.

I'd be surprised if it made any difference on a slow connection, so I stick with (single-threaded) wget, but I gather there are multi-threaded wget "upgrades" available.

I recently went looking for Android download managers and "multithreaded" seemed to be a standard feature in most of them, so I expect there will be others for GNU/.

I never used it, but Axel (man page) seems to do it.

Originally Posted by lougavulin I never used it, but Axel (man page) seems to do it.

Many thanks for the response. I've tried that too! All these apps do is download the index page. I get no images, no media files, just text if they detect anything at all.

No proxy, no VPN, nothing weird and decent internet connection. Slimjet worked under PCLinuxOS (running on a beyond feeble atom n455 netbook) but, as I say, then I can't see any weba=pages because of the built in adblocker that webpages detect even when using another browser!!

It seems these apps work for others so where am I going wrong? How do I get media detected to download? Browser extensions work but all single thread and. as I say, I have a potential convert to whom this is a show stopper. Besides, it would be of use to me as I use media material - including anime oddly enough - for teaching purposes in my business.

Since nothing seems to work now, including Youtube-dlg, I sense a library has recently broken.

Hmmm.... I will run up PCLinuxOS on the netbook and try these apps on that OS and see if they make a difference.
It's gone so busy, so crazy I am not thinking straight, I grant and no time to look at the netbook right now.
[It should not be this busy. Not now.

So, thanks again for response. I suspect a key library has got broken and I should check these apps in PCLinuxOS next.

It will be a while as I have had a mass of emergencies hit me since my post! Dunno why as this is the quiet period just after mid-semester exams and students results were A1 and yet... it's gone crazy.

Will put fires out, check out PCLinuxOS and report back later.
Much later alas.

Originally Posted by atom6502 Many thanks for the response. I've tried that too! All these apps do is download the index page.

well then you're doing something wrong.
and which "apps"?

No proxy, no VPN, nothing weird and decent internet connection. Slimjet worked under PCLinuxOS (running on a beyond feeble atom n455 netbook) but, as I say, then I can't see any weba=pages because of the built in adblocker that webpages detect even when using another browser!! It seems these apps work for others so where am I going wrong? How do I get media detected to download? Browser extensions work but all single thread and. as I say, I have a potential convert to whom this is a show stopper. Besides, it would be of use to me as I use media material - including anime oddly enough - for teaching purposes in my business. Since nothing seems to work now, including Youtube-dlg, I sense a library has recently broken.

youtube-dl certainly works here.
instead of "sensing" things you should troubleshoot, and give us some real infromation:
commands, output etc.
do a test download of some file with wget, on 2 different machines, on 2 different networks?
same for a speedtest?

speaking of files, you always say "media" - what exactly are you talking about?
example link?

these so-called hi-speed multi whatever fancy buzzword download managers only make sense to circumvent limitations on download speed from the provider's side.
i.e., usually from sites like mediafire etc.

maybe also the above mentioned firewall restrictions.
but since i own my firewall, i would rather fix that.

so, prove to us that your whole inetrnet connection is slow, or something else.

Originally Posted by ondoho well then you're doing something wrong.

Great. Please tell me what. Give me a clue where to start!

and which "apps"?

I gave a list in the first post!

youtube-dl certainly works here.

Great! Help me make youtube-dlg work! As I say, it WAS working up until two weeks ago and I dunno what changed!
[quote]
instead of "sensing" things you should troubleshoot, and give us some real infromation:
commands, output etc.
[quote] I gave the list of apps. There were GUIs but more data follows.

do a test download of some file with wget, on 2 different machines, on 2 different networks?

Tried two different machines with two different distros but I only have access to one network. I am so busy I can barely get out the house! [I work from home.] Only run an initial test but results the same so far. DOn;t get it

same for a speedtest?

speed is fine. I run a private tuition business. Had no less than six cheapo laptops all running simulatanously today with kids watching videos on and all this morning - we give the poor, overworked kids breaks - and no troubles. That's a real world speed test and if the video glitches, the kids scream! Even the n455 was in use today as the mothers dropped the kids in en masse this morning.

speaking of files, you always say "media" - what exactly are you talking about?

MP3s, MP4's. I am thinking more of the needs of my friend but I know he likes to watch and download anime.

example link?

See data below where I try and answer all questions.

these so-called hi-speed multi whatever fancy buzzword download managers only make sense to circumvent limitations on download speed from the provider's side. i.e., usually from sites like mediafire etc.

dunno what oyu mena here but slimjet downloaded FAST once upon a time and still does... except 60% of sites will not display now if an adblocker is detected and so Slimjet had to be uninstalled. BUt know multithread downloaded has worked here before under Slimjet!

so, prove to us that your whole inetrnet connection is slow, or something else.

Have a heart mate! I've given data and I stated my internet connection is FAST. I stated Slimjet works. I stated youtube-dlg worked... up until last week. I stated there is no VPN or proxy, etc, etc.

I grant I am unable to be neck deep in IT now as my work often swamps me - there are none so obsessive as Enthnic Chinese mothers in SE Asia in regards to the test results of their children (upon which huge amount sof 'Face' depend] but I did spend 15 years in IT before heading out East and I have tried to eliminate the most obvious. I do not even know how to run diagnostcs further at this oint especially with no other network to use.

Still, I try and make everything clear here:

1) I'm not really using CLI but GUI apps so it's pretty much all GUI though I have tried ariac2 under Neon and PCLinuxOS - this mornign, in fact, just before students flooded in!
2) I have tried Kget, uget, wget, persopolis and youtube-dlg (the one download app that worked until about two weeks ago when it started reporting 'error' on every download attemp. Been using 'ant video downloader' in Palemoon as a workaround.
I find a webpage with pics, maybe a video... EVERYTHING results in an 'error' or just download of index.html. I would have thought GUI apps would be more intelligent (not saying CLI apps are dumb just that GUI tend to flick the switches by default.)
3) I have no proxy, no firewall (crazy, I know but I'm eliminating anything that could be in the way,) no VPN and my internet connection is GOOD! When I used Slimjet a twenty minute, 80MB anime episode would download in about 2 minutes. But, as I say, adblocker makes Slimjet impossible for general surfing now. I had to uninstall.
I am in Indonesia... but that should not make any difference especially since youtube.dlg worked until about two weeks ago. That's why I'm so confused. Nothing changed.
4) I have tried aria2c in Neon and PCLinuxOs on just default - literally just aria2c <link> and ... it downloads index.html. That's it. I have not got into command options yet... I'm flooded - unexpectedly. It SHOULD be quiet now but it isn't!!!
4) I can save the html of a webpage via 'save as' in Chromium or Palemoon but, of course, that does not include audio files or video. I can also print webpages to PDF which I do a lot.
5) I can download media files - MP3's and videos via the likes of 'Video download professional' in Chromium but I can't do anything via a native Linux app.
6) I have no access to any other internet connection, I can barely get out the house/business at all!!

In terms of links... at random... here's a short video of "Love, Chunibiyo and other delusions" that should be able to be downloaded via an app.
https://www1.9anime.to/watch/love-ch...ts.jw73/k6om0r
[Anime and K-drama are popular here.]
But all I get is 'error - never specified - or the app - ANY/ALL of them - downloads 'index.html.' Applies to any and all websites using any and all Linux apps whether CLI or GUI - kget, uget, wget, aria, etc, etc!! I don't get it!


If I have to configure application switches please let me know what to switch but I've had a brief look and - as I say, whenever I think I have time it's snatched away from me! (Planning a break at the start of October before I go mad! Might be abe ot test using hotel wifi then!)

The thing that gets me is that youtube-dlg was working!!! Until two weeks ago. Then I try and find a replacement for 'Internet download manager' in Linux and no Linux app works so I figure a library has got out of date somewhere.

Hope to look at PCLinuxOS more closely but I swear, I'm being bombarded with work and other crises when I did not expect it! I thought I would have time to go through this but even as I typed my first email I was interrupted by five times by various emergencies and it's been constant since. Classes rest of today and sleep required straight after!

Best I can do now. I''ll take any suggestions, any diagnostics to be run. I could understand if, say, browser addons did not work- then I would suspect connection but... they do.

I grant I may have to come back to this later anyway. I am way busier than I expected and no chance to get this guy running up Linux for a good long. I'm overloaded... when I shouldn't be. For all I know, in a couple of week there will be an update of (say) curl and things will right themselves. I dunno. But I will take suggestions if people have them. If download apps work for others then I grant there is something odd at my end but I can't see what at this stage.

um.
there's a lot of misconception in that last post.
of course wget only downloads what URL you give it; it will not automatically downlaod all links embedded in the page.
there are options to do that ('man wget'), but it won't work with anything javascript.
i cannot watch anything from the link you gave, not even with youtube-dl (btw, why do you keep calling it youtube-dlg?).
everything points to a browser issue from what i can see.
i suspect you need to set up a profile, or separate browser, that a) does not block ads or javascript, and b) spoofs its useragent to look like chrome for windows or some such.

Originally Posted by ondoho um. there's a lot of misconception in that last post. of course wget only downloads what URL you give it; it will not automatically downlaod all links embedded in the page. there are options to do that ('man wget'), but it won't work with anything javascript.

OK, but surely there is an app that can scan for media type material and allow me to select - a la 'download them all' but multi-thread?

As I say, less for me, more for a convert.

i cannot watch anything from the link you gave, not even with youtube-dl (btw, why do you keep calling it youtube-dlg?).

Because that's the GUI rendering! youtube-dl is the CLI rendering but there is a GUI front end now.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=youtube-dl...be-DLG_005.png
Some distros include it as standard in the repos others do not. I think I had to ppa it. I can't remember right now. I think I found it in PCLInuxOS and then ppa'd for Neon.
Anyway, what I don't get is it used to work and now it doesn't. Yes, tried the CLI rendering as well.

And when you say you want watch - you mean you can't see the video? It's pretty clear once you get past the usual ads on any website these days - even the news! I can also download the video using anti video downloader in palemoon!

everything points to a browser issue from what i can see.

OK, but how can this be when I am using non-browser apps like kget et all? Indeed, the irony is that if I use browser add on I can download from them!
It's the Linux apps that do not work.
Unless you are saying that the URLS I am passing to the apps by copy and paste are not working - that the browser is returning the WRONG URL and hence nothing is found?
As an aside I am a KDE fan and rather like KDE apps and from what I read kget should do what I want except... it never downloads anything, same as the rest.

i suspect you need to set up a profile, or separate browser, that a) does not block ads or javascript,

I'm not blocking ads. I am using either palemoon or Chromium and NOT slimjet! Javescript enabled... or I would not be able to see anything. Javascript, cookies and ads = the internet these days.

and b) spoofs its useragent to look like chrome for windows or some such.

Chromium does not count. How would this impact Linux apps? Why would spoofing Windows solve the download problems?
I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't understand. Why would spoofing Windows impact a Linux browser in Linux with downloads attempted via a Linux app. I don't get it. I'll happily grant you would know more than me on this so I am happy to be enlightened.

As I say, the mystery for me is that a Linux download app - youtube-dlg worked!!! Then it stopped but I have changed nothing on my end.

If it will solve my problems and let me download meda via multithread va whatever app, tell me how!

Unless your friend's computer is very weak, he could use 'internet download manager' in virtualbox. It would be useful also for his transitioning to linux.

Also, have you tried using it in wine?

If you haven't yet, check https://alternativeto.net/software/i...nload-manager/
It seems there are multithreaded download managers for linux.

Also, although you use Neon, you could try another distribution for your friend.
Linux deepin is very geared towards ex-windows users and made in China.

Originally Posted by atom6502 I think I had to ppa it. I can't remember right now.

sounds fishy.
probably outdated already - youtube-dl needs constant updating because the providers (mostly googlevideo aka youtube) constantly change their apis.
and i still don't see a link to the software itself (just some screenshots).

you could post some terminal commands where you're trying to see problematic content with youtube-dl, that would give us something to work with.

Originally Posted by ondoho sounds fishy. probably outdated already - youtube-dl needs constant updating because the providers (mostly googlevideo aka youtube) constantly change their apis. and i still don't see a link to the software itself (just some screenshots). you could post some terminal commands where you're trying to see problematic content with youtube-dl, that would give us something to work with.

Thanks mate but I'm flooded. The work is stacking faster than I can handle it.
I can't do diagnostics or anything on this now. My friend is gonna have to wait. I have emergencies that are overwhelming me. I thought this was going to be a quiet time but I was completely wrong.

I do not think I am going to have proper time under Christmas holidays. I am DROWNING!

I'll wait and see and do diagnostics when I get real, quality time. Like I say, I thought I had it but I'm going under.