This article tells you what a CRDOWNLOAD file is and how it’s different from other files. It also tells you how to figure out which program is most likely to open it and what to do if you need to convert one.

What’s a CRDOWNLOAD File?

The Chrome web browser uses the CRDOWNLOAD file extension for temporary files. Chrome Partial Download files are files that have this extension. If you see one, it means that the file isn’t fully downloaded.

What do you do with a CRDOWNLOAD file?

Partial downloads happen when Chrome is still downloading the file or when the download process was interrupted, leaving only a partial, incomplete file.

If Chrome is actively downloading something and the CRDOWNLOAD file extension is being used, it will usually remove the “.crdownload” part once the download is done.

The format of a CRDOWNLOAD file is.. download or sometimes #>.crdownload. For example, if you’re downloading an MP3, it might say something like a sound file.mp3.crdownload or Unconfirmed 1433. download.

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How to Read a CRDOWNLOAD File

CRDOWNLOAD files can’t be opened in a program because they’re just a byproduct of Google’s Chrome web browser. A byproduct is something that the browser makes but doesn’t actually use.

But if Chrome is interrupted while downloading a file and the download stops, you might still be able to use part of the file by renaming the download. You can do this by taking “CRDOWNLOAD” out of the name of the file.

For example, if a file called sound file.mp3.crdownload has stopped downloading, you might still be able to play part of it if you rename it to soundfile.mp3.

Depending on how long the file will take to download (like if you’re downloading a large video file), you can open the CRDOWNLOAD file in the program that will eventually be used to open the file, even though the whole thing hasn’t yet been saved to your computer.

Say you’re downloading an AVI file as an example. You can open the CRDOWNLOAD file with the VLC media player whether it has just started downloading, is about halfway done, or is almost done. In this case, VLC will play whatever part of the file is currently being downloaded. This means you can start watching a video right after you start downloading it, and it will keep playing as long as Chrome keeps downloading the file.

With this setup, the video stream is basically going straight into VLC. But since VLC doesn’t recognize CRDOWNLOAD files as regular video or audio files, you have to drag and drop the CRDOWNLOAD file into the open VLC program for this to work.

How to Make a CRDOWNLOAD File Work

Since CRDOWNLOAD files are not yet complete, they can’t be changed to a different format. No matter what you’re downloading—a document, music file, video, etc.—if the file isn’t complete and the CRDOWNLOAD extension is added, there’s no point in trying to convert it.

This means that CRDOWNLOAD files can’t be changed to PDF, MP3, AVI, MP4, etc.

But remember what you’ve learned about changing the file extension to match one of the files you’re downloading. Once the file is saved with the right file extension, you might be able to use a free file converter to change the format.

For example, if that MP3 file you only partially downloaded can still be used, you might be able to plug it into an audio file converter and save it in a different format. But for this to work, you have to change the name of the *.MP3.CRDOWNLOAD file to *.MP3 if it’s an MP3 file.

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Find Out More About CRDOWNLOAD Files

When Chrome does a normal download, it adds this to the file. CRDOWNLOAD file extension to the filename, and then when the download is done, it usually takes it off automatically. This means you shouldn’t have to remove the extension by hand unless you’re trying to save a part of the file like what was said above.

Chrome won’t show you append. CRDOWNLOAD to the end of a file during the download, unless you’re looking at the file in the folder where it’s being saved. In other words, Chrome does not show in and of itself. CRDOWNLOAD at the bottom of the screen during a download. It shows the real file name and extension (e.g., ubuntu.iso, not ubuntu.iso.crdownload).

As more of a CRDOWNLOAD file is downloaded, its size grows. For example, if you’re downloading a 10 GB video, you’ll see that at first, it’s only a megabyte or two. As time goes on and Chrome saves more of the file, the size of the file will grow until it reaches 10 GB when it’s done.

If you try to delete a CRDOWNLOAD file, you may get a File In Use message that says something like “The action can’t be completed because this file is open in Google Chrome.” This means the file is locked because Chrome is still getting it. You can fix this by stopping the download in Chrome, assuming you don’t want to finish it.

If every file you download has the file extension.CRDOWNLOAD but none of them seem to download all the way, it could be because your version of Chrome has a problem or bug. Downloading the latest version of the browser from Google’s website is the best way to make sure it is fully up to date.

CRDOWNLOAD files are like XXXXXX, BC!, DOWNLOAD, and XLX files, which are used by other programs to use incomplete or part of a file. Even though all five file extensions are used for the same thing, you can’t just switch them around and use them as if they were the same file type.