The Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 is a 16.7 megabyte file; if you have a 56K modem with typical download speeds, it will take anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes to download over a dialup connection. The updates Reader needs will take another 10 to 15 minutes each. You can take a few steps to speed the process along and reduce your frustration.

Turn Off Call Waiting

Enter "*70" before the telephone number you dial at for your local Internet service provider to disable call waiting. Call waiting sends a tone when another call comes in; that tone will reset most modem connections. If you can never seem to get a download to complete, this may solve your problem.

Use A Download Manager

Adobe.com has a download manager for all Adobe player and reader programs; this will automatically check for new updates on the software you have installed, and it supports the resumption of downloads. Download resumption means if you get disconnected, the next time you connect, the download manager knows where in the download process you were, and picks up the download from there. You can also find third-party download managers such as GetIt and Download Pro that will do this for you for other programs.

Use A Download Speed Enhancer

A lot of dial-up Internet connection providers (and even some broadband connection providers) provide "Speed Burst" style features. These systems cache commonly accessed files at the ISP and compress them further (and uncompress them on your end) to speed up the download process. For Acrobat Reader, this can reduce the download time by 10 percent or so, according to Comcast Cable, and by 15 percent, according to NetZero. If your ISP has this feature, it can save you time.

Source:

Adobe.com - Download Manager

Dial-up Download Speed Enhancers

More Information:

GetIt Download Manager