IBM Support

IBM Software Download Tips: Three Easy Steps to Make Download Director Work Again

How To


Summary

This document and video describe the three main tasks customers need to complete to be able to download PTFs and software from IBM websites that use Download Director technology.

Steps

Over the past few years, customers who have relied on Download Director to let them download PTFs and software from IBM often report that it has stopped working. The primary reason for this is that Download Director relies on Java Web Start (javaws) technology which has been removed in the more recent versions of Java.
 

The steps that customers need to follow to make sure that Download Director will work for them are:
 

  1. Make sure that IBM Java 8, 11, or 17 is installed. We recommend that customers install IBM Semeru Java.
  2. Install IcedTea-Web to get Java Web Start (javaws) technology that has been removed from Java distributions.
    Note: As of June 2025, we are more often recommending the install of OpenWebStart instead of IcedTea-Web. Lately more customers and IBM developers have had good luck with that implementation of Java Web Start. In either case, make sure that your operating system is configured to launch .jnlp files using the Java Web Start tool you have installed.
  3. Install the Download Director software.
 
The video that follows demonstrates this process and the successful use of Download Director.
 
 
If you follow these steps and still have trouble, check the Download Director FAQ.
 
 
Note: New documentation on using OpenWebStart with Download Director is available:

Additional Information

Aside from the above three main concerns, we will use this space to highlight other issues with Download Director we have seen:
 
Files with a .JNLP extension must be associated with Java Web Start
In order for Download Director (DD) to work, the .JNLP files you download (like from Step 3 above and later from sites like IBM FixCentral) must be associated with Java Web Start. If you download the .jnlp file to install DD from step 3 above, and right clicking on it does not start the installation, right click on the .jnlp file and check the "Open With" option. This should point to Java Web Start, javaws, or something similar. If it points to your Web browser, change that setting.
 
Data Collection
If this document does not resolve your issue, you'll need to gather data to help IBM development determine next steps. As Download Director is not an IBM i application, the data you would need to collect would be on the PC/client side, not the IBM i. Start by making sure that OpenWebStart is setup to show the Log Console so that you can copy data from there (java errors usually) which are helpful.

Also make sure OpenWebStart configuration is set for increased logging to files. After a failure, navigate to the log folder shown in the config, and gather the log files. At a minimum, we usually ask clients to collect the ows-settings.log and ows-stage1.log files.


OIpenWebStart Settings Panel showing logging options and file location.
 
 
One more file which is often helpful if you are on Windows is the output from systeminfo which contains general system environment information. You can open up a Windows command prompt and run: systeminfo > sysinfo.txt and upload the text file which is created along with your other information.

More information on OpenWebStart logging can be found here:
https://openwebstart.com/docs/OWSGuide.html

Document Location

Worldwide

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Document Information

Modified date:
09 April 2026

UID

ibm17181432

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