Slow Connection Speed (Full Version)

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Nicole -> Slow Connection Speed (10/16/2005 20:51:09)

My ADSL connection is running rather slow, instead of the advertised 1.5mb/s it was down around 480kbps and 266kbps when I last checked over the weekend. Come to think of it some other programs are running kind of slower than usual, and Google Earth is almost not worth looking at.

Before contacting my ISP and asking them to “please explain”, I’d like to be reassured that I’ve not caused this by having too many things open or not clearing the cache etc. So here’s what I do on my computer and how often:

1. Update and run AdAware, Spyware Guard, Spybot Search & Destroy & Spyware Blaster at least once every other day.
2. Clear History, Temporary Internet Files about once every other day.
3. Run McAfee Anti-Virus (which updates automatically) about twice a week.
4. Free up space and Defrag about every day (Defrag tells me that I’m only using about 12% of available disk space)

I also like to look at Google Earth a bit, and listen to overseas radio stations while I’m working which can be up to about 8 hours a day, yet even when I’m not listening the internet/computer is running slow.

My ISP shouldn’t have started “shaping” my connection speed as each month I’m using about 7gb out of my allocated 20gb of downloads.

So I’d just like to be sure that none of the things listed above are the cause of this slow connection speed before I contact them. Can anybody please confirm this for me?

Thanks

Nicole



BobbyDouglas -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (10/16/2005 21:54:38)

When I had a similar problem, it was casued by my 4 year old cable modem. Has someone been out to check the hardware?

I had multiple computers to test on, so I pretty much narrowed it down to that hardware issue.



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (10/22/2005 19:46:31)

Just an update:

I also wondered whether my 110mb of Webshots images may be slowing the PC down, but I've just discovered something strange.

I have 2 computers connected to this router, I'd gotten myself into the habit of turning the other PC and monitor off when I wasn't using them (which is most of the time). Yesterday I had to load something on the other computer so it was turned on, and my connection speed seemed to be fine during the time that other computer was turned on.

I've just turned it on again and checked my connection speed and it's 952kbps (still well short of 1.5mbps), but far improved from the other speed tests which I ran during the week which were 480, 260 and 160kbps.

Is this strange? Or is there something obvious here that I'm not aware of?

Nicole



Brandon -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (10/25/2005 10:23:50)

I would call your ISP, see if they are doing any work in the area.



rdouglass -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (10/25/2005 11:06:55)

quote:

down around 480kbps and 266kbps


Funny how we get used to speed. I can remember not too long ago that it was:

"mymodem dropped to 2400 baud!"

As to your issue, you have 2 PC's. When both are on the one is faster?

I would confirm that both computers have the default gateway (in IP address settings) as the router. Also, make sure both machines do *not* have IP forwarding on.

Do they have more than 1 IP configuration or NIC?

Which OS?



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/6/2005 21:16:18)

Further to posting this a while ago, My connection speed today is VERY slow. I've just checked with that online connection speed test and it was at 508mb/sec as opposed to the 1.5mb/sec I'm paying for.

I'm at my wits end, this box to type my post in took almost 15 seconds to load, but most pages I look at including any page at Outfront are taking between 30 seconds and a minute to load.

I can't stress enough just how much I check my computers for virus' and spyware, I've just done this again, I also clear cache all the time and delete temp files etc many times a day. I have 88% of disk space available when defragging too.

Things I do often during the day which do slow the computer down I know, but I'm not sure if they're storing hidden files anywhere (just checked and deleted only 75 hidden files) are:

Google Earth
Listen to Radio Stations

Do they create hidden files anywhere? Or do they just slow a computer down while they're actually on?

It's also really hot here today! 36 degrees C outside and 30 degrees in the office, does that make any difference?

Anyone?



BobbyDouglas -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 0:04:47)

quote:

508mb/sec

- And you don't have to pay extra? 508 mb per sec is SCREAMING fast.



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 0:17:36)

Never satisfied am I?

I meant kb, but even though that's still pretty fast, the fact that pages at this site were taking 30 seconds or more to download is slow even for dial-up.



Kitka -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 1:03:03)

Churn your account to Internode. They are consistently the best, and their customer support is second to none.

We've had a few clients who insisted on initially connecting to Telstra or Optus ADSL, who some months down the track are delighted to move to Internode and get rid of their problems.



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 1:53:46)

Hi Kitka,

On your last recommendation I looked into Internode when changing ISP's about 5 months ago. They certainly seemed to be a decent option.

I know I do a fair bit of whinging on here about ISP's, I left Ihug (iiNet) in June this year as they'd been taken over and taken over other smaller ISP's and had become a big enough entity to start treating thier clients poorly. I ended up going with TPG because they were comparible in price with Internode, my hosting is with TPG and I do like (perhaps foolishly) all my accounts to be with the one company. Internode were way more expensive though for their web hosting, otherwise I'd have gone with them.

Initially my connection through TPG was consistent and fast, but after about 2 months I started to experience drop-outs at least weekly sometimes daily, I failed to post the solution here, but it seems that since I've changed the channel the cordless phone uses, i've only suffered drop-outs when TPG acknowledge on their website that they're undertaking scheduled maintenance or are suffering problems themselves.

But I'd really like to make sure that it's not something I've done that's causing this rather than running to a new ISP each time I experience problems.

Nicole



Kitka -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 2:12:58)

quote:

But I'd really like to make sure that it's not something I've done that's causing this rather than running to a new ISP each time I experience problems.


Fair enough... it was only a suggestion. In our experience, customer service at TPG is pretty awful. They tend to deny that the problem is their end and often it is later proven that it was.

Also they do not assist you with configuring your computer or modem correctly especially when it is likely the problem is at your end. Internode is very helpful in this regard, walking you through the settings and being with you till the problem is solved.

One useful thing to check might be the Whirlpool TPG forum, to see if anyone else is experiencing problems, and maybe ask for help or advice:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=90

<edited for clarity>



Kitka -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 3:15:37)

Looks like you are not the only person having problems with TPG:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=438484

Also, meant to say in my last post that we no longer host most of our websites on Australian servers because it is far too expensive. We have a reseller account with MD Webhosting (an Australian company) and the server we are on is located in the USA.

Previously we were with AussieHosts, but they failed us in a number of important ways and we bailed out about 12 months ago. We have had no notable problems with MD Webhosting.

We never even considered using Internode for hosting.

HTH.

<edited for grammar and clarity>



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 3:36:31)

Thanks Kitka,

I've joined that forum and have posted in that thread, sure hope it doesn't get me into trouble but I didn't see a need to hold back!

When it boils down to it, changing to another ISP while you're still "under contract" with TPG shouldn't matter as they've broken the contract already by not providing the service they advertise.




Kitka -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 3:54:36)

I don't know anything about breaking contracts, but at a wild guess I'd say that the onus of proof is on you and it might be very difficult to document and subsequently defend when they pull out the big guns. [&:]

I wish you the very best of luck in getting some satisfaction.



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 4:11:19)

Just quickly,

Checking the thread titles of TPG and iiNet they're all negative aren't they? I looked at the Internode thread titles and they're all positive!

Hmmmm



Kitka -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 4:16:15)

Well, you know what they say, about leading horses to water... [;)]



Kitka -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 14:05:45)

quote:

I looked at the Internode thread titles and they're all positive!


We have signed up most of our clients to Internode, and as far as I know, not even one has churned to another company. But the few who absolutely insisted on going with Telstra or Optus initially, have almost all changed over to Internode.

I've never even heard of that isolation test mentioned on Whirlpool. The only thing I have ever needed to do when my connection has become slow is reboot the modem/router. And that is a pretty rare event.



rdouglass -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 14:11:55)

I know it may seem strange but I solved a client's problem just like this recently. My fix was to use one of those Registry cleaner/optimizers. Cannot remember specifically which one but it was like getting a new connection / computer. Very dramatic performance change indeed.

Also, I'd check to see if you have more than 1 gateway setup in your IP configuration. If you have more than 1 and the first one listed is down or unavailable, that will affect your performance significantly.



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 14:51:51)

Kitka: I've got about a month to go on the TPG contract, Internode is $10 per month dearer and they shape their speeds, but as I'm using nowhere near the monthly limit that's not an issue. I'll look at transfering to Internode in the new year, I'm sure they'll have a special offer still going then.

Roger: I'm not a very technical person as you can probably work out. But can you let me know how to do part 2 of your response plrease?

Thanks

Nicole

p.s. It did reach 40 degrees here yesterday, heat doesn't have anything to do with a computer's performance does it?




rdouglass -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 15:13:27)

If your TCPIP settings look like this, you don't have to be concerned with it. If they have items other than "automatic", can you post a screen shot?

[image]local://upfiles/2412/A8EB45735FE44B618F1BF0497BEDA0D9.jpg[/image]



bobby -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 15:18:46)

There are sites you can go to download tweaks and patches for XP to make it faster on the Net. I used to frequent one when I first signed up to Comcast but I can't remember it any more. Google for broadband speed tweaks should bring up a ton of links... just read all the warnings ahead of time [;)]

I've been pretty happy on cable modem.

4mb/s up and down. I'm usually at the mercy of the server more than my bandwidth [:D]

Occasionally I drop down sub 300kb/s download speeds, when the rest of the neighborhood is on at the same time. Most of the time it's double that.

There's nothing like grabbing a 650MB ISO torrent in under 15 minutes [:D]



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 15:25:27)

Thanks Roger,

This is what that dialogue box looks like on my computer:



[image]local://upfiles/12879/E0531E80C49C4308A45C56DD30567990.jpg[/image]



rdouglass -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 15:27:33)

quote:

This is what that dialogue box looks like on my computer


Well my #2 guess is out then. [8|]

Have you considered the registry cleaner idea?

As always, backup first. [;)]



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 15:31:05)

I really don't know what I'm doing with technical things like that. Given that according to that forum that Kitka posted that lots of others are complaining about the same thing, I think I'll look into changing over to Internode next year.

Thanks for all your help



Kitka -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 15:37:56)

quote:

Internode is $10 per month dearer and they shape their speeds


I'm not sure which plan you are on at TPG, but they seem very similar to me:

TPG Premium 1500, $69.95, 1500/256k, Unlimited Download, Throttled after 25GB

Internode HOME-1500-Value $69.95 1500k/256k, 20 GB Download, Shaped (after the 20GB)

(Throttling and Shaping mean the same thing)

While they have expressed the details differently, TPG shape you after 25G and Internode shape after 20G for the same price. But given that you mentioned in another thread you are using only ~4G per month it is non-issue. Plus, you could easily drop down to the Internode starter plan and save $10/month!

HOME-1500-Starter $59.95, 1500k / 256k, 10 GB, Shaped (after the 10GB)



Nicole -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 15:53:35)

Maybe I signed up under a special deal, I'm paying $49.95 for the plan that you've quoted being $69.95! Plus I'm getting them to deduct $1.67 for each day within the month that I lose connection to the internet which hasn't happened for about a month now.

I'll change to Internode in the new year, wear the $39 churn fee and hopefully all of these problems will go away.

One thing I did notice is that internode offer a connection speed test on their site whereas TPG doesn't, perhaps this is because they don't want people to check!



Kitka -> RE: Slow Connection Speed (12/7/2005 16:01:02)

quote:

wear the $39 churn fee


They are offering a churn for free at the moment, so hopefully it won't change before your contract runs out.

quote:

perhaps this is because they don't want people to check!


LOL! You could easily be right.



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