Well, the title says it all, it is a Free Download Manager. A friend recommended me this download manager about 2 weeks ago and I'm loving it. Forget about FlashGet the so called best free download manager which is full of spywares. Free Download Manager does not have spywares or adware, it's stable, loads up fast and it's free. Unfortunately, this freeware is for Windows XP and Vista users only, and no support for Linux or Mac OS. I'm not sure if this is a review or maybe just a guide for you to get started.
Installation
I decided to download the FDM Lite Version as I won't be needing the Bittorrent plug-in, Uploads plug-in and Languages pack.
During installation, the first window will ask you whether you want to enable FDM community options. I don't see any need to enable this function so I left it unticked. Don't need to load FDM on windows startup, so untick that also.
For Firefox users : FDM will automatically install a plug-in for Firefox. If FDM did not detect download clicks on Firefox, goto Options>Download options>Monitoring . Make sure you tick 'Firefox'.
Setup/Preference
I didn't like the 'Drop Box' and 'Downloads window progress' because it makes my desktop look cluttered. I wanted FDM to work silently, so start FDM and right click on the FDM icon in the system tray. Untick 'Show downloads info while in progress' and 'Drop Box'.
Download YouTube videos
FDM added the 'download YouTube feature' just recently. I find this really useful and easy. Here's how you do it.
Start FDM, click on the 'Flash video downloads' tab. At the menu, goto Flash video downloads>Create flash video download. A window will popup, and paste the YouTube video link in the URL box. FDM will save your video in .FLV extension by default. If you need to convert to another format before saving, just press the 'Customize' button. ( Note: If you have the FDM Lite Version, you have to get Video Conversion plug-in first )
Alternatively, if you do not have FDM or do not intend to install FDM anytime soon, you can try Zamzar and Keepvid.com for saving your YouTube videos. I have Zamzar guide and Keepvid.com guide here.
*Update: 20 October 2009
My favorite download manager has been replaced with JDownloader and Orbit Download Manager. I'd recommend those two instead of FDM.
*Update: 20 October 2009
My favorite download manager has been replaced with JDownloader and Orbit Download Manager. I'd recommend those two instead of FDM.
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