How to Resume Chrome Downloads Which Were Paused or Interrupted

Have you ever been in a situation where you have been downloading a file for a few hours, and suddenly it can not be downloaded for various reasons? That sounds really annoying, does not it? But what if I tell you that you can still fix the “Google Chrome download interrupted” error flawlessly? Sounds helpful, right?

Over the years, Google has constantly been working to make Google Chrome better for its users, and in this process, the search giant has added the ability to resume file download in Chrome quickly.

Okay, this is a welcome new feature from Google, but how do you even use it? Let us take a look.

Method 1. Resume Chrome Downloads Using Chrome Download Manager

The best way to resume an interrupted Chrome download is to use the Chrome download manager.

1. Launch the download manager by either pressing the Ctrl+J keyboard shortcut or choosing Downloads from the options menu on Google Chrome.
   

   

   

2. Here, simply click on the resume option below the interrupted downloaded file, and the download should resume effortlessly if the server you are downloading from supports ‘resume download’ feature.

Sometimes, the resume button does not work and starts the download process all over again. This is where some third-party tools come into the picture. Let us have a look.

Method 2. Use Wget to Resume Interrupted Chrome Downloads

Wget is an excellent free tool to resume an interrupted download, but it is not as simple as downloading the file and installing it on your PC. The procedure for setting up and using Wget is a little different, so let us take a look.

i. Setting up Wget

1. After downloading and installing Wget on your PC, navigate to the Settings app on your Windows PC.
2. Here, click on System and scroll down till you see the About section. Open the about section and select the Advanced system settings option.
   

   

   

3. Look for the Environment variables option in the System Properties window and click on it.
   
4. Once done, select the Path variable under the System variables tab.
5. Select Edit and add the following path to the wget bin directory.

ii. Renaming File

Before using Wget, we need to make a few tweaks to the interrupted file.

1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to the download manager. Now, right-click on the interrupted download file and select the Copy link address option.
2. Once done, launch the Downloads folder from the file manager. All the interrupted download files have .crdownload as the file extension.
3. Now, we need to remove the .crdownload extension and rename the file to its original name. For doing so, copy the original file name from the URL you used to download the file.
   For example, if the URL is https://www.win-rar.com/fileadmin/winrar-versions/winrar/winrar-x64-610.exe then the file name would be WinRAR-x64-610.exe.
4. Return to the file manager after copying the file name and rename the interrupted download file to the original file name without the .crdownload extension.
5. If you receive any pop-up error or disclaimer, hit the Yes option. (Note: During the entire process, do not close the active Chrome window, or the downloaded file will get deleted)
6. Right-click on the newly renamed download file and select the Copy as path option.
   

iii. Using Wget

1. Launch the Start menu on your Windows after adding Wget to the environmental path and renaming the interrupted download file.
2. Now, search for CMD and run it as an Administrator.
3. After the Command Prompt window pops up, enter the following command:

   "wget -c -O "[file-path-of-the-target-download-file]""[website-URL]"
   
   Example for Winrar:
   
   wget -c -0 "C:\Users\shrey\Downloads\winrar-x64-610.exe" 
   "https://www.win-rar.com/fileadmin/winrar-versions/winrar/winrar-x64-610.exe"

4. And finally, it will resume your interrupted Chrome download file.

Download Wget

3. Resume Interrupted Chrome Downloads Using Third-Party Download Managers

If you do not want to go through the trouble of Wget and Chrome’s default download manager does not work for you, then you should use a third-party download manager.

But which Chrome download manager is the best? Let us find out.

i. Internet Download Manager

Our recommendation for an excellent download manager to resume Chrome downloads is an internet download manager. In fact, the app was also featured in our best apps list for Windows 11.

However, as the saying goes, all good things come at a price, which also applies to Internet Download Manager (IDM). Initially, the app is free to install and use, but later on, you will have to purchase a lifetime subscription for $25. In our opinion, the subscription is worth it if you download a lot of files from a PC and do not want any interruptions in between.

With the IDM recovery feature, you can easily resume interrupted downloads despite network problems or unexpected power outages.

Download: IDM

ii. Free Download Manager

As the name suggests, Free Download Manager (FDM) is a free alternative to the Internet Download Manager. The app splits files into small pieces at a time and downloads them to speed up the download process. Once the download is complete, all the files are merged seamlessly.

You can easily pause or resume your downloads as you wish with the app.

Download: Free Download Manager

Related Read: 10 Best Image Downloader Chrome Extensions

Fix the Chrome Download Interrupted Error Easily

Use any of the troubleshooting methods described above. You should be able to easily resume interrupted download files in Chrome and not have to worry about losing download progress during power cuts or internet issues.

Let us know in the comments below if you found this article helpful and successfully resumed interrupted files.

FAQs on Resuming Interrupted Chrome Downloads