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Resolved Question

Downloading math

Jun 23, 2016 8:21AM PDT

I have noticed that when downloading large files that the math shown ( amount downloaded, time remaining) is overly optimistic.
As I was downloading a 184MB file, 15 minutes after the download started 95 MB had been downloaded and the estimate of time remaining was 2:38. The actual amount of time it took was another 20 minutes.
I'm using Firefox but I'm assuming these computations and data are coming from a windows 10 API.
I'm using windows 10 home version 1511, build 10586.420.
Thanks

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mathcpat has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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Re: downloading
Jun 23, 2016 8:33AM PDT

I think the downloading estimates are done by the browser itself, not by Windows.

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Answer
This is so well known there's a comic strip about it.
Jun 23, 2016 8:28AM PDT
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PS. For your research.
Jun 23, 2016 8:58AM PDT
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Just for fun,
Jun 23, 2016 3:23PM PDT

have you try doing the calculation yourself? There are so many variable, I use that numbers just to give me some idea.

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speed is based on
Jun 24, 2016 1:35AM PDT

speed is based on the server the file is on, the traffic between you and them, and your computer. In addition, there will always be some sort of latency between the actual time and what you see since since everything mentioned is constantly changing.