Internet Explorer, even in its latest
avatar, has the ability to run just two
simultaneous downloads. Waiting for
one file to download before starting the
other can be quite annoying,
especially
when you want to download several
files from a particular website. Also,
downloading several files one-by-one is
also an inefficient way to work.

There are two registry values
to change the number of simultaneous
download. First start the registry editor
and navigate your way to the ‘HKEY_
CURRENT_USER\ Software\Microsoft\
Windows\Current Version\Internet
Settings’ key. Now look for the DWORD
value ‘MaxConnectionsPer1_0 Server’
on the right hand side of the window. If
this key is not present, create it with ‘Edit
| New | DWORD value’. Double-click on
it to edit it. Enter the maximum number
of parallel downloads you want—‘8’ for
instance—and conirm with ‘OK’.

In the same way, also check DWORD value
‘MaxConnections PerServer’ in the same
key and change it to a higher value. Close
the registry and restart the browser.
note: Adjusting both these values is
essential since they individually limit the
number of parallel links for the HTTP1.0
and HTTP1.1 protocols. This obviously
does not increase the downloading speed
but it makes more efficient use of your
existing bandwidth by running a greater
number of downloads in parallel.