ok thanks for your help Jiaz

a few more questions for you -

(A) so no difference between java 6 update 33 or 34 at the moment? are they identical? one not better than the other? which one are you using at the moment?

(B) ) i just noticed in the jdownloader tutorial the recommended settings -
Max con = 2. This is useful for premium user, each file is downloaded with 2 connections.
Max dls = 2. Maximum simultaneous download

would these settings mean you can only download 2 separate files at the same time and if there was a third file in the list it would sit idle and wait for one of the two download spots to open up before downloading? if you changed this regularly depending on how many files you wanted to download at any time would that be OK so long it wasnt more than 10?

should this be the settings for everyone - having both as 2? i had those settings at 20(maximum value allowed) for both(but now i see recommended value for both is less than 10)...could that have potentially caused the shutdown? i will try with both having a value of 2...if it doesnt work i will try both with a value of 1 as suggested in the tutorial...or with trial and error attempt between 1 and 10 depending how many files i want to download at any given time

(C ) i also saw in the jdownloader tutorial to consider putting java.exe and javaw.exe into antivirus exceptions list - i am just wondering where exactly to type this into, and into what features of AVG Internet Security 2012 paid edition? just into the link scanner accepted or exception list or other AVG features and lists too? any risk in doing this?does it need a restart to take effect?

(D) how do i know exactly what my reconnect settings should be and how to know if I have static ip or other types of ip - is there such an ip type known as a sticky ip? how does your router and using wireless internet connection affect jdownloader performance?if i dont change or alter any reconnect settings at all and just go with the install default settings is this the safest way to avoid any problems with reconnction? also forgive my lack of knowledge but what exactly is the reconnection feature for...is it to help when your internet connection stalls, or if individual downloads pause for some reason, and then they automatically reconnect? this area i am really confused about and can selecting the wrong reconnect settings potentially cause shutdown or downloads stopping or any other issue?

(E) so jdupdate.jar will actually tell me wether or not all jdownloader files and folders were installed correctly? it will either say: all jdownloader files and folders installed correctly...or...will list any jdownloader file or folder not installed correctly, then give you the option to fix the problem and install those ones? eg if the 'downloads' folder was not installed in the original install, will double clicking jdupdate.jar create the 'downloads' folder into where it should be, as the default folder for jdownloader directory for downloads? is there a complete list that displays all the files and folders that should be on someones system who has installed jdownloader so you can compare files and folders to the list? i found it quite weird that the 'downloads' folder did not appear after installing the other day

(F) what is the oldest java 6 update you would recommmend for using jdownloader? update 19 or 20? or is that too old, too much of a security risk for viruses - maybe 26 is the oldest one that is considered ok? if you have several java 6 updates on the system, does double clicking any of them in the 'Sun' folder automatically roll back to that version, or would you have to go and redownload that particualr update? basically if you update to a newer update does that wipe the older update, or is it actually still there if you want to roll back to it quickly? would downloading the earlier update be a safer way to roll back to earlier java 6 updates?

(G) can you list the java 6 updates which contained the least amount of bugs/problems for use of jdownloader that you personally noticed during the period that java 6 JRE updates have been available? were there any that stood out as fairly problem free much moreso than other ones...and which java 6 JRE updates were the most problematic?

(H) are all official java 6 older JRE updates still available to download at the official java/sun/oracle sites or do they no longer offer them? if still available could you provide a link?

(I) when did you first notice the jdownloader shutdown problem occuring? do you remember if it was a particular java update when the problem first arose? i think it started for me when i went from update 24 to update 26

(J) are you saying to download the windows offline version of jdownloader? so that is the jdownloader zip file you mention that will not have the Giant Savings bundle? - please confirm...if thats correct thats really appreciated Jiaz...will this download link stay permanantly at that link so if I ever need to reinstall it will be the version without Giant Savings bundle? I will try installing that tonight

(K) good to know JD2 will be stable this year, fingers crossed the shutdown problem goes away...and thanks for considering putting the recommended current java update info on the site when you have the new homepage ready - i think alot of people will appreciate that

looking forward to hearing back from you on these points

i apreciate all the info very much Jiaz, thanks