diff --git a/scripts/run_external_state_tests.sh b/scripts/run_external_state_tests.sh
index f08dc87..2ab13e1 100644
--- a/scripts/run_external_state_tests.sh
+++ b/scripts/run_external_state_tests.sh
@@ -79,19 +79,37 @@ case "$arch" in
   *) echo "Unsupported MinIO architecture: ${arch}" >&2; exit 1 ;;
 esac
 
-MINIO_BIN="${MINIO_BIN:-${WORK_DIR}/minio}"
-MC_BIN="${MC_BIN:-${WORK_DIR}/mc}"
+default_minio_bin="${WORK_DIR}/minio"
+default_mc_bin="${WORK_DIR}/mc"
+if command -v minio >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  default_minio_bin="$(command -v minio)"
+fi
+if command -v mc >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  default_mc_bin="$(command -v mc)"
+fi
+MINIO_BIN="${MINIO_BIN:-${default_minio_bin}}"
+MC_BIN="${MC_BIN:-${default_mc_bin}}"
+
+download_tool() {
+  local url=$1
+  local output=$2
+  local partial="${output}.part"
+  curl --fail --silent --show-error --location \
+    --retry 10 --retry-all-errors --retry-delay 2 --connect-timeout 20 \
+    --continue-at - --output "$partial" "$url"
+  mv "$partial" "$output"
+  chmod +x "$output"
+}
+
 if [[ ! -x "$MINIO_BIN" ]]; then
-  curl --fail --silent --show-error --location --retry 3 \
+  download_tool \
     "https://dl.min.io/server/minio/release/linux-${minio_arch}/minio" \
-    --output "$MINIO_BIN"
-  chmod +x "$MINIO_BIN"
+    "$MINIO_BIN"
 fi
 if [[ ! -x "$MC_BIN" ]]; then
-  curl --fail --silent --show-error --location --retry 3 \
+  download_tool \
     "https://dl.min.io/client/mc/release/linux-${minio_arch}/mc" \
-    --output "$MC_BIN"
-  chmod +x "$MC_BIN"
+    "$MC_BIN"
 fi
 
 export IMAGEFORGE_TEST_S3_ENDPOINT="${IMAGEFORGE_TEST_S3_ENDPOINT:-http://127.0.0.1:19000}"