download question -- maybe I need to give direct links?

I have been having some issues with a number of cutomers regarding downloads.

I have some downloads up to 48 MB in size.

I had the files above my wwwroot folder and had redirect off and streaming on.

However, still had these issues (about 1 in 6 having issues so far).

I have tried everything I could think of. Changing the execution time_out duration, and so forth.

SO, I figured I would set it up so that they get a direct link to the file.

I moved the download folder back into the shop folder, and everything looks okay, but when they click on the Download now button, it is still giving them links like

http://myStoreURL/index.php?main_page=download&order=xxx&id=xxx

(the xxx being the numbers of the order and the product number id)

I was under the impression that it would be giving a direct link. The above still appears to be going through the PHP processor (which means it can still time out on my customers).

How do I get it so that it does give them a direct link to the file without going through the PHP processor?