Can't download LibreOffice from its website on Windows 10 Pro

PaddyLandau · September 29, 2021, 12:25pm

I am 100% certain that this is the fault not of LibreOffice but of Windows. However, I’ve asked for help on the Windows forum and I’ve searched for ages on the internet, both without a solution, so I’m hoping that someone here will have experienced and solved this!

On my machine (Windows 10 Home), I can download LibreOffice from its website without a problem.

However, on my father’s machine (Windows 10 Pro), there’s always a problem downloading the latest version.

Using Chrome, the download silently fails; there’s no error message, nothing happens (as if I hadn’t pressed the Download button at all), and the attempted download isn’t listed in the download history.

Using Edge, I get the message, “LibreOffice_7.1.6_Win_x64.msi can’t be downloaded securely” (replace 7.1.6 with whatever the latest version happens to be). In the past, I downloaded it onto my machine and then transferred it to my father, but this time I realised that Edge has an option to download it anyway.

Both my and my father’s machines have roughly the same setup; we both use the default Windows Defender; we don’t have third-party anti-malware; and, as far as I can tell, our security settings in Windows Defender, Windows Security, Edge and Chrome are identical.

Yet, he has these problems, and I have no problem. This makes me suspect that Windows 10 Pro (my father’s machine) has some security setting that Windows 10 Home (my machine) doesn’t.

I wonder if you can advise what I can do to let my father download LibreOffice without having to use Edge or go through the rigmarole?

There’s lots more information and diagnosis on my question on the Microsoft forum.

Thank you

Hrbrgr · September 29, 2021, 1:25pm

Here are a few general tips that may be useful:

General Installation Issues (Windows)

PaddyLandau · September 29, 2021, 4:08pm

Thank you for your reply, @Hrbrgr. Unfortunately, that link is for problems installing the downloaded file, not for trying to download the file in the first place.

Hrbrgr · September 29, 2021, 4:48pm

Very well, you are right. It was meant as a hint to check the Windows system (updates, etc.).
I myself use the Firefox browser and have never had problems with a download.

To be on the safe side, here is some more information about downloading:
Download LibreOffice - Feel free

EarnestAl · September 29, 2021, 7:46pm

I’m on my phone but let’s see if I can do this from memory. The computer is probably set to only get apps from the Microsoft app store.
Click start menu - Settings - Apps - Apps & Features under Choose where to get apps from select anywhere.
Don’t forget to follow the instructions in the link provided by @Hrbrgr
Cheers, Al

EarnestAl · September 29, 2021, 9:39pm

OK. Now at computer and I see the trail I gave is correct.
I haven’t used Internet Explorer for years nor Edge (except accidentally) but going back to windows 95 days there was a setting in Control Panel > Internet Options > Security > Trusted Sites to add sites to a trusted list. I see that ancient dialogue is still there, it could be worth adding LibreOffice.org to that and seeing if it makes a difference. Cheers, Al

PaddyLandau · September 30, 2021, 12:50pm

Thanks for your input, @EarnestAl

“Choose where to get apps from” was already set to “Anywhere”.

The Internet Options from the Control Panel are, I believe, for the deprecated Internet Explorer. I tried it anyway, but with the expected result that it still didn’t work.

I think that this is something to do with some security setting in Windows 10 Pro (which is what my father has — the salesman sold him Pro when he really only needed Home), and I wouldn’t know where to find such settings.

Thanks again, also to @Hrbrgr, for your input. I’ll just remember to use Edge in future when my father asks for help. I can’t imagine how the average user copes with Windows. Well, I do, really — they call on people like me to help!

EarnestAl · September 30, 2021, 8:24pm

Have a look at the laptop manufacturers bloatware. My wife got a new HP laptop recently (Win 10 Pro) and it has HP Sure Click installed. From the website:

File Download Protection
If you download files in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox, those files will be protected by HP Sure Click. The file icon will show an additional blue shield to indicate that it is protected. Supported file types will open in a Micro-VM (virtual machine) which acts as a container to prevent malware from infecting your computer. Unsupported file types will prompt you to remove protection if you trust the source of the file.

Could there be something similar on your father’s computer?

PaddyLandau · October 1, 2021, 7:06am

Thanks for the idea, @EarnestAl

I haven’t spotted anything like that, although if that were the case, surely there’d be some sort of indicator as with your wife’s laptop? Still, I’ll double check next time I check my father’s computer, which is a Lenovo.

I would be interested to know if your wife is able to download the LibreOffice package?
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/

EarnestAl · October 1, 2021, 9:19am

She can download the help file no problem.
I did install LibreOffice when she got the computer and I did change some settings. There is a lot to set set up on a Windows computer if you don’t want to log on to your own computer using a Microsoft account, so I really can’t remember every setting I changed.

Wanderer · October 3, 2021, 3:48pm

There are some differences for example since when bitlocker was availabe, mut mostly it is better tools for administration.
I have several Lenovo Laptops with Win10 pro and none shows your noted behaviour.

But I remember Win10 asking often to enable “better” protection - wich I usually deny and switch of the “alert”.

Things to try:

Can you download other files, for example Calc or zip-Files from this site?
Can you change the folder, where Chrome downloads to? There should also an option “always ask”. Then try your (fathers) Documents folder.
As I know of similiar(?) cases where AOO was not allowed to write in Documents folder, it may be necessary to allow Chrome to save data, before you can do downloads.

I try to check the App-protection, but as I never used it and are on a different locale I won’t promise anything. Also all my Laptops got a Win10-Install by me in the Last years, so I don’t use much of the funny lenovo-Stuff…

My best guess: Either some SRP or your fathers laptop is in S Mode, but I never heard of this for Pro-Version, while it is now a common option fore Home-Laptops.