Removing the IE Restriction on Concurrent Downloads A Simple Registry Hack for IE Ron Pacchiano
Increase the number of Internet Explorer's simultaneous downloads with this simple registry hack. Plus, how to make Universal Plug and Play work for you.
If you're like me, you spend a lot of time downloading files from the Internet. Throughout the course of a day I could be downloading new software to review, install patches and updates, view PDF files, play MP3s files, download Bittorrents [define], or even watch the latest videos of my favorite TV shows (anyone else watch the new Battlestar Galactica?).
I like to multitask and, as a result, I usually try to download files from various sites simultaneously. Many of these downloads take place using Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, Internet Explorer has a limitation built into it that allows for only two simultaneous downloads. If you attempt a third, it will just sit there waiting for either of the first two to finish before beginning.
The files I am downloading are often very large, and they can sometimes take a considerable amount of time to finish. At times this can really slow my productivity.
I'm sure that at one point or another we have all come across this situation. Originally, I had thought that this two-download limitation was implemented by the sites I was downloading from in an attempt to limit the amount of bandwidth being used. As I researched it, I discovered that this limitation was, in fact, built into Internet Explorer and is part of the browser's normal operation. This was done in order for IE to comply with a mandate issued by the Internet Standards Committee.
However, today, as connection speeds continue to increase, the two-connection limit may be a bit too restrictive for you. Fortunately, there is an easy way to circumvent this limitation, but doing so is not recommended by Microsoft and constitutes a violation of Internet standards, so you should use this workaround at your own discretion.
To accomplish this, all you need to do is make a small change to your system registry. Before making any changes to your system, though, make a backup of your system registry first, because if the registry becomes damaged or corrupted, it could disable your system. There's a detailed description with step-by-step instructions for backing up your registry in multiple Windows operating systems here:
Take a minute to follow these directions before proceeding any further. Once your registry has been backed up we can begin.
As with most modifications, you should make sure that no other applications are running, especially Internet Explorer. Now, by following the simple procedure outlined below, you'll be able to increase your number of simultaneous downloads from 2 to 10.
Click on the Start button and select Run
On the Run line type Regedt32.exe and hit Enter. This will launch the Registry Editor
Click on the Internet Settings Key. Now go to the Edit menu, point to NEW, and click DWORD Value
Type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server for the name of this DWORD Value
Double-click on the MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server key you just created and enter the following information:
Value data: 10.
Base: Decimal.
When finished press OK
Repeat steps 4 and 5. This time name the key MaxConnectionsPerServer and assign it the same values as indicated in Steps 6
Close the Registry Editor
That's all there is to it! If you modified your registry settings correctly, you should now have the capability to download up to 10 files simultaneously.
