What is a .crdownload File and How to Open It?

Have you been finding it difficult to open a .crdownload file on your computer or laptop? Or have you been wondering what the .crdownload file means in the first place? Well, if you have then continue reading this article because I am going to show you what a .crdownload file is and to open it.

Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers in the world. Developed by the developers of the biggest search engine in the world, it is no surprise that most devices come with the Google Chrome browser already installed on them.

Most of you who have Google Chrome or Microsoft installed on your devices might have come across a file with the .crdownload file extension after downloading a video, documents, music, image, or any other file on your computer. But unlike the other file extensions, not every software can open a .crdownload file on your computer; there is some specific software you can use to open a .crdownload file.

What is a .crdownload File?

When the browser starts to download a file, Chrome or Microsoft Edge automatically adds the .crdownload file extension to the name of the file and once the download is complete, the .crdownload file extension name is removed and replaced with the appropriate extension.

A .crdownload file is an incomplete or partial file which is commonly known as Chrome partial download files. Thus, any file which has the .crdownload file extension is a file that is incomplete or partially downloaded, and as such, not all the contents on the file can be viewed on your device.

Some of the reasons why a file will have this type of file extension could be as a result of poor internet connection, or some unintended interruption from you or the server. Not every browser has this type of file extension, it is specific to Chromium-based browsers like Google Chrome – and even Microsoft Edge Chromium browser.

Chromium according to Wikipedia is a free and open-source codebase for a web browser, principally developed and maintained by Google. Simply put, it is a free open-source code used for several web browsers, mainly Google Chrome and some other browsers including Microsoft Edge, Samsung Internet, Opera, etc.

How To Open .crdownload Files?

Crdownload files are incompletely downloaded files and so, if you want to get access to the complete file you will have to re-download it or resume the download (if it has been paused). You can resume the download using the method below

1. Open your browser and go to the download page
2. Locate the file you have paused downloading
3. Click on the resume icon to resume your download or the retry icon to start the download all over again

Also, if you prefer to open the .crdownload file like that then below is a step-by-step method of how you can go about it.

1. First of all, make sure you have VLC installed on your device
2. Open the folder containing the file with the .crdownload extension
3. Right-click on the file and then select Rename to change the name of the file
4. At the last part of the name remove the .crdownload from the file. For example, if a file is called audio.mp4.crdownload, rename it audio2021.mp4 and press the ENTER key afterward
5. Right-click on the renamed file and select Open With
6. Next, select VLC from the available files to open the file

Conclusion

Normally, the browser will automatically remove the .crdownload name attached to the file once the download is complete. In cases where the download was interrupted or incomplete then you must rename the file to access to open the incomplete file.

The size of a .crdownload file depends on the size of the actual file that was being downloaded. For example, a 50GB video might have a .crdownload file as big as 40GB but that is not the complete file. Therefore, you cannot just look at the size of the file and use that as a means of saying the file is complete.

Once the file has a .crdownload file extension, then it means the file is partial or it is incomplete. The size of the file has nothing to do with it being complete or otherwise.