Terri, that's where they are installed, not downloaded. You don't really get a "download" install program from them, just a stub (which I let it handle itself) and the installed program. You are supposed to be able to re-download in case of a problem.

At least they give you a choice. I had real problems with REAL and they said when you upgraded their manager, you would get a choice - I didn't. They said I was stuck now since even an uninstall/re-install wouldn't fix it. That told me where to look and I did re-direct it ---- in the Registry. I did a regedit and CAREFULLY changed the one record!

I found out today that with BFG you can specify where you want your games to download to if you change the options settings in your Game Manager. It amazes me that they don't make this information public until you've had numerous problems and finally get to the correct Customer Support person who tells you about it.

http://unlockforus.blogspot.com/2008/07/vistaxp-ie-how-to-show-file-download.html

[Vista/XP-IE] How to Show the File Download Window after "Always ask before opening this type of file" was Unchecked

If Internet Explorer (IE7 or maybe IE8)

Yeah, that could be a variation of what I was talking about. The BFG downloader is, obviously, taking control of the situation and may be installing the actual game remotely from the site. Or it may be happening on your machine and BFG just doesn't want to give you control over the install, in other words the ability to install without going through the downloader. I've never tried, so I couldn't say.

I paid more attention today when I downloaded a BFG game. The Run/Save option only appears on the first screen which is actually for the BFG downloader. The second screen which is for the game itself does not give me a Save option, only a Run option, so there is nothing I can do about it. I've never had a problem figuring out where BFG is installing, it's just some of the other sites.

You're quite welcome, Terri. It's possible the file might actually be in temporary storage. But since you searched, and since you, hopefully, can download it again and save it, it's probably not worth looking in the two mostly likely locations for it. In any case, glad you stuck with it. A lot of people get understandably frustrated. But, with a little patience, more problems are solvable than a lot of people think.

But, like I said, if a run operation fails the file isn't assigned a permanent storage place and probably isn't registered at all. The way Run is supposed to work is that the file is Run remotely. It isn't exactly that way, but you could say the install is being done from the place your downloading from, rather than internally on your computer. In fact, a lot of people feel that Run isn't really safe. They feel you have a lot more control against bad stuff if you run installs from your machine. It's a debatable point.

Terri: Ta daaaa! That's your answer.. never click 'run'.. always click 'save' and then you tell it where you want to save it. Like I said before.. I save to desktop so I can find it.

I usually hit run because it's the first button LOL. I'll try save next time. You've answered my question though "any file where the install doesn't work - or is blocked by something like Zone Alarm - will be immediately cleared out of memory". I just wanted to make sure it wasn't on my hard drive somewhere.

Thanks.

Terri, what are you hitting after you get that box saying Run, Save, or Cancel? Are you hitting Run instead of Save? For most of us with IE7, we hit save and then it gives us a dialog box AFTER that asks us where we want to save it. If you hit Run, IE downloads it to temporary storage and immediately launches the installer. I don't know of any way to shut off the Save dialog box, so if you're hitting the Save button and you're not getting one, something's likely wrong. Unless someone can come up with a setting or other repair for you, you may have to do a "repair" reinstall - which is NOT a full reinstall - on IE7 to fix that. But, if you've been hitting Run, you won't get an option on where to store it. And, if Windows is working properly on that - which it doesn't always - any file where the install doesn't work - or is blocked by something like Zone Alarm - will be immediately cleared out of memory. That would explain why you can't find it. I could tell you where to check for the program if you're hitting Run instead of Save, but it's plain old a lot easier just to hit Save, if you're not already.

In short - for clarification, though I suspect you're already well aware of this - if you ever want to keep a file, don't hit run.

search your hd for part or all of the filename with wildcards if needed.

The box I get only asks if I want to run, save or cancel. It doesn't give me the option of picking out a location. As someone else said, it may be that the games' websites override that.

Terry,

As to setting a download location in IE7:
When you do a download, you get a dialog box that shows you the
current default download location. You can accept it as it is, or change it to
something else,even create a folder with a fancy name if you want to and select that one,
like watcher13 already told you.

Now if you change it, IE7 will remember this and this location will become the new
default in the future.

I have a problem remembering what so many of the programs are, so I made folders on the desk top called: Games to play, Games I'm stuck on, Spyware/Utility programs, Photo & Video, Music Converting Programs, Unused Desktop, etc. Then (depending on what I need), I can more easily find them. When I install something new, if it hasn't made a desktop icon, I make a shortcut to the .exe command. Then slide that into the appropriate folder. I've gotten a lot from Ashampoo, so put that folder on desktop.
When I'm playing a game I slide the shortcut to the desktop to find easily, then when I finish the game, I use Revo Uninstaller to totally delete it and the shortcut so it's not taking up space.

Watcher, last night I j(once again) cloned the working C: drive to my F: drive and now need to see if I switch them, if the clone boots OK, even if it IS slow .. at least then I'll have 2 working HD's.

If you download a file It's good to look and see ware it may go and note the name so you may find it, All so look in Recent Folder, And History, Firefox & Opera you can pick where you like to down or ask me.

Terry, as you were speaking about the "desktop" I had just the desktop in mind, but you may of course create a folder wherever you want.
My often used folders have a number in front of the name.
Like: C:\Users\myName\ 0 GAMES\NEVER_Ball-Putt
or: C:\ 0 TUT
This folders stay in front of the long list - nice, as I'm too lazy to scroll down.
I'm sure everyone has their own tricks.

Either/or on the Active Games folder. One icon isn't going to make that much difference on the desktop so suit yourself.

I don't remember, that may be a setting in Word about creating backup copies. It's possible you have a feature called Personal Storage Folders selected in either Office of Microsoft Outlook. There's a setting that will send backup copies to these folders. (They're actually master files that sort of simulate folders and have the extension .pst. Technically, they're called Personal Storage Tables.) If you ever want to know where anything in recent documents is stored, just right click on it and select properties. Yeah, each different one would show up in recent documents so it kinda depends on how you want to use your recent documents menu and how you want to backup files in Office.

Or you might have what's call the incremental feature in your regular Microsoft Backup set. Don't know it those will show up in recent documents.

Do you mean create an "Active Games" folder on the hard drive or on the desktop?

And while we're on the subject of cleaning out files - I noticed recently that in the Recent Documents folder there were multiple (and I do mean multiple) copies of the same Word and Excel files. It looked like it created a back-up every time I saved a new version. I deleted all but the most recent version of each. Do I have to do that on a regular basis?

Terry, don't copy the .exe files to any other place. Create your "Active Games" folder and put the shortcuts / icons of your games into that folder. Or just put them into Quick-Launch. There you could put the shortcuts to your windows tools too.
Another way to find them (I know what you are speaking about - LOL) is Revo. In the Revo menue you'll find "Tools" and under "Tools" there you'll find "Windows Tools" with all the programmes you need.

My desktop isn't pretty anymore LOL.

I had icons on there that came with the computer and I didn't know what they were for but I was afraid to get rid of them in case I ever needed them. I moved them all onto my C drive in a folder I created and called "From Desktop". My problem is that not only am I lazy, but a lot of times I can't remember where things like Disc Defrag and Disc Cleanup are without a shortcut on the desktop.

Not the shortcut icons, Terri, although they're really only for convenience. Everything, of course, is also in your program menu. XP has a feature in it's cleanup utility that will delete any icons you haven't used in a long time. And you can hand delete icons you know you're never going to use.

But actually I was talking about copmom's strategy of actually placing her downloads right on the desktop. And a lot of people place frequently used files on their desktops. (Although, if you open a file practically every day, it will also appear in your recent documents menu.) What I was saying is that if your not using a file or downloaded program all the time, it could save you memory and boot up time in a smaller system if you just download and store things in a regular folder.

Edit: no folder other than the desktop will effect your RAM usage. Thanks for the generous offer on the thread, but I don't want to put a moderator into a bad position since it's supposed to be one topic per thread. Copmom and I can always go back to the old thread we started talking about this in, anyway.

No I am more than happy to share "my thread". One person's problem is every person's problem.

I just thought of something - if I create a folder called "Active Games" and copy the exe files of the games to that folder, will that work or will that significantly decrease by usuable memory?

Actually, copmom, I think that link hits the nail on the head. Terri, I'd check that out, and, if you need more help doing that, post or PM us. I forgot about that option under File Types. I can't directly play with that, 'cause it's different in Vista. Also, it could be the "don't show me this again thing mentioned in the article, which is a Windows thing that can cause problems if you're not aware of it.

Copmom, do you mean you tried Last Good Configuration and it wouldn't let you do it? If not, try it. I realize that it's tied into System Restore, but you should be able to do a System Restore. The fact that you can't, of course, indicates that something's corrupted. I was thinking, however, that going through boot options might be far enough down in Windows that you might get in through the back door. In other words, that it might activate, even though Restore isn't working properly when you're fully booted. How about error-checking?

In any case, I don't want to hijack the thread from Terri's problem - my fault. If you want to discuss it anymore, PM me, although I'm assuming you're on top of it, and don't need me to pester you.

Is there any other place to store the shortcut icons or will that take up the same amount of RAM? I guess I can start the games via Windows Explorer and the two extra clicks won't kill me. Let's face I'm usually only playing 2 or 3 at any given time and once I finish them I don't play them again for ages (if ever). Also when I create a shortcut and then send it to my Desktop it seems as if the shortcut is still in the original directory. Does that mean there are 2 shortcuts? Every little bit helps.

Watcher.. as I was reading your detailed explanation about icons, I couldn't help but wonder if that were part of my problem, except that the 8 min. delay has to do with the start button and task bar to show, and once they do the icons come up immediately, but it's a good idea not to have that many on the desktop.
When I download, I also have a pop up box asking 'where to save', etc. In Firefox under options/main tab, it gives the options for saving downloads, and where to, etc. Couldn't find where that is in IE, and went to Windows help searching for info., but no luck there.
I did find this link: http://www.infopackets.com/news/software/windows_tips/2005/20051201_internet_explorer_doesnt_ask_where_to_save_files.htm
Hope this helps!

Next: Regarding repair utilities.. the SFC didn't do anything .. tried that. And can't do last known good config. because it won't let me do a system restore.

Copmom, very sorry about your loss. I'm a dog lover myself. Haven't kept one in a long time; I don't think single people should keep dogs unless they keep regular hours and I don't. Also, I'm in a no pets rental now, anyway. I've lost one in my life, though, so I know it hurts. And a torn muscle to boot! Morton Salt was apparently right. "When it rains, it pours". :(

Edit:
Terri, I apologize, I just don't know the right setting. When I save any download in IE7 I ALWAYS get a save window so I can select location and change the file name if I want to. Maybe somebody else can explain why you don't. Maybe it's the way you do it, though I'm not sure how. It might be because I'm not downloading anything from the game sites and their process may be overriding the game Window. But, like I say, I always get a save window.

I don't see anything wrong with dropping downloads to your desktop, though most experts recommend you do something with them, test then keep or delete, or store them soon. Since the desktop is always active, icon links are loaded into memory, so it adds a little to your RAM overhead. Anything that you can see, or even something hidden behind an open window, takes up memory. A slightly bigger impact is on your startup speed. Your computer has to load a link to every desktop item and then your video card has to create them. In addition, since they're all linked into RAM, your antivirus sometimes treats them like active processes and screens them to be sure they're safe. That's another reason they always warn you to be careful how much junk loads into memory at startup. Especially in a low RAM system like Terri's, that can take some significant boot time. (And in a low RAM system, even a little extra RAM usage can be significant.) Also, the more stuff on the desktop, the bigger a chance it will get corrupted, which means you'd have to restart the computer, or at least Windows Explorer.

The way to decide is to watch the time it takes to create your desktop. If everything pops up in a few seconds, it might not be something you want to worry about. But, if you have to watch your desktop labor to create each icon.... Of course, sometimes that's the sign of another problem, but cleaning out seldom used icons might, at least, can help. One quick way to test is to log into another account. You may not have a 2nd account in XP, you always do in Vista, but they're really easy to create.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/winxp/accounts.mspx

Icons that you store in one account shouldn't be on the desktop in the other, just program icons, so your new desktop should be a lot cleaner. Check to see if it boots up a lot faster and if it uses significantly less RAM. If it does, I'd clean the desktop. If you don't want to go through the hassle of selecting an account when you're booting up, you can delete the 2nd account, but I'd keep it. Your initial account can get corrupted and cause real problems, so I believe in having a backup account. That's something you can try, Lauri, to see if your damaged machine will boot faster. Probably wont, but it's an easy thing to try.

Again, Lauri, in your case, I'd try, in this order:

1. Get Returnil. If you don't use it now, you can use it later to test repair solutions, software, or to screen Windows Updates. In fact, I'd go to manual updating and, say, weekly, apply everything with Retrunil on to see if it breaks your machine.
2. Uninstall those updates, again.
3. Try Last Known Good Configuration. It's a shot in the dark, but it might work.
4. Try booting into Safe. It won't fix it, but it will give you useful info. on how bad the damage is.
5. Run your repair utilities - error checking (chkdsk) and SFC - System File Checker. Very good chance it will help, very unlikely it will hurt, and, if you're not sure, run them in Returnil.
6. B**ch at MS. (Last two are interchangeable. :) )

Good luck!

Copmom, I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles.

Thanks guys for the suggestions but my IE7 doesn't have any download preferences option anywhere I can see. The video shows you how to set up a folder but not how to tell the download where to go. When I download a game demo there is usually no way (that I know of) to tell it where to put it on my computer. I know how to move it but I have to be able to find it before I can move it.

Terri.. I don't have any special "folder" for my downloads.. that method sounded like too much work! I just clicked "desktop" when I used Firefox for my download preferences!

Watcher.. Still keep your fingers crossed, and your toes, and your eyes, ! Still NOT fixed, still 8 minute boot up. Robert was kind enough to do some research on it, and had me download some different 'solution' files to hopefully fix things, but to no avail! As long as this is going on with my C: drive as master, I don't dare ghost it to my F: drive as a backup because that's still got the same problem since I had ghosted this drive after that major Security Update fiasco! So I have two HD's that do the same thing! I must admit, other than that BSOD (blue screen of death), my computer is working just fine with everything else.

Off topic: Hadn't had much time to think of fixing since a week ago Friday when our 10 year old red bone hound suddenly got ill, took her to the vet 3 times, bloodwork, x-rays, pills, etc. and yet we still had to have her put down late last Friday. This all happened SO fast, spent all my time trying to coax her to eat, she wouldn't, she did drink water. Then her red blood cells shut down, so she couldn't even get oxygen. She had no pain, just laid there like she was waiting to die! Now she's with all our other dogs in doggie heaven, waiting for us at Rainbow Bridge!
This was compounded by trying to lift her rear into the back of the car, she got her front paws up, then something gave, and I could barely stand up.. my lower back. Went to Dr. yesterday for x-rays and shows no disc problem, no fractures, nothing broken, just torn muscle which will eventually heal but egads does it hurt!

Hey, Terri, let me just add to what judydog said by giving you a couple of videos (yay videos!):

http://www.ehow.com/video_4941853_setting-up-windows-xp-downloads.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4941854_using-windows-xp-downloads-folder.html

It's a Firefox thing. In IE, it always ask you where to put any download, so you always know where it's going. But in Firefox, there's already a default folder set. You can find this out and maybe change it, like judydog said, and it's covered in the second video. The truth for me is that I put my downloads in sooo many different places, that I use the other option that you can see if you go, like judydog says, to Tools>Options>Main tab and halfway down to the downloads section. You can either set the folder you want, like judydog and the video say, or you can use the option I use, which is "Always ask me where to save files". That's why I got confused on where your downloads where going, because mine asks me everytime. And I don't find the extra mouse click or folder closing that much of hassle. The only right answer here is "whatever suits you".

Off topic to copmom: Lauri, are you fixed? Or is it still an 8 minute boot up. I've got my fingers crossed for you.

Hi terri,depends on what browser you use,firefox just goto tools then options and under main are the download options,just choose browse to choose where to put your downloads,No idea for Internet explorer never use It,What I do Is make a newfolder,right click on your desktop and choose new folder,then rename that folder to downloads(right click on new folder and choose rename)then I double click the downloads folder,should be empty at this point,then I make another 26 folders and rename them A,B,C,D...... etc when i have done that i open firefox up goto tools then options browse my computer till i find the new downloads folder i have just made and tell firefox to place all my downloads in there,when you download something just goto your download folder and place it into the correct lettered folder,keeps things nice and tidy and easy to find.

Great idea. How do I set that preference?