FTP upload problems

December 8, 2005 7:04 AM

Problems uploading via FTP in Windows XP (SP2).

I upload using either CuteFTP or Filezilla and sometimes it works but most of the time it doesn't. Normally I'll start the upload ok but at some random percentage of the way through, the upload just stops. It appears to pause and eventually hang. Normally I'll exit, wait and try again later and sometimes it works. Could this be ISP (SBC) related? Is there a Windows service that FTP relies on? Any idea to assist me in figuring this out? Thanks in advance.

posted by KevinSkomsvold to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

I have no idea what it means, but I've found changing the transfer mode from active to passive or vice-versa often helps solve my FTP problems.
posted by bondcliff at 7:07 AM on December 8, 2005

Is "passive" the same as PASV mode? Thats one of the options I used in CuteFTP.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:12 AM on December 8, 2005

odinsdream: Problem is with any FTP server. I've tried a total of four different ones with the same (or nearly the same) results. It's so spotty. I'm inclined to believe there is an issue with the router configuration (using a Linksys Wireless) or a service that I've disabled. I do recall never having this problem on the same machine but I used FTP so infrequently that I can pin the problem to a particular event.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:39 AM on December 8, 2005

can't pin...
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:39 AM on December 8, 2005

FTP as a stand-alone protocol isn't very error-checking tolerant. You either have to rely on the underlying networking protocol (TCP/IP has some decent error-checking, but Windows XP's implementation has generations of bad decisions behind it, so I wouldn't put it past MS to be at the core of this issue).

In general, I get around any issues with FTP variance by using clients that have automatic restarting and retrying with partial downloads and uploads. WS_FTP does this very handily. For exclusively downloads, I also use Netleech due to its capability of splitting up the download to maximize bandwidth.
posted by thanotopsis at 8:20 AM on December 8, 2005

where do you change the transfer mode btw? Is this an FTP client thing or FTP server setting?
posted by freudianslipper at 8:37 AM on December 8, 2005

Thanks for the suggestion Thanotopsis. I'll try WS_FTP tonight.

where do you change the transfer mode btw? Is this an FTP client thing or FTP server setting?

This would be on the client side. CuteFTP and FileZilla both have this as an option to turn off and on.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:47 AM on December 8, 2005

WS_FTP is a hunk of shit. They haven't updated the free version in about 8 years. You're really better off sticking with Filezilla.

If you're convinced it's a router problem, install the Filezilla server and FTP a file to yourself (ftp to 127.0.0.1). That ought to tell you if it's a software problem - if you can't upload to your own computer (which shouldn't really go out through a router, you should be able to go to 127.0.0.1 without being networked) then it's software and not an external issue.

But I highly doubt it's Filezilla.
posted by caution live frogs at 9:57 AM on December 8, 2005

If you're willing to dig deep, Ethereal might help you figure out what's going on. Ethereal is a tool for analyzing network traffic.
posted by Mike C. at 1:06 PM on December 8, 2005

WS_FTP is a hunk of shit. They haven't updated the free version in about 8 years.

I guess that's where we differ. Long ago I felt it prudent to purchase the Pro version, as it wasn't an egregious amount of money, and the facilities of Pro were too good to pass up. I've carried that version through multiple installs of OS, and it's still worked like a pro.
posted by thanotopsis at 3:27 PM on December 9, 2005