Internet SLOW

[erucader]

I'm not sure if this goes here or in the networking forum, but anyways me ADSL internet is way too slow. I have Bell Sympatico High Speed connection with a Dlink router serving 2 computers. For about 6 months this setup has been fine. Recently I have found that I can barely go to any sites it is so slow. Pages that normally take 1-2 seconds to load are dragging on for minutes.

I don't think I changed any setting that would cause this, so I am stumped. Right now I'm trying to see what would cause this, and if anyone could help it would be great.

I know I'm not too specific here but I don't have details, could you just advise on where to start looking for problems.

thanks (alot)

edit: I forgot to mention that sometimes, it is a reasonable speed, but overall, slow

[SARGE]

http://www.dslreports.com/tools

Run the speed test and tweak test. That will rule those out. I run 3 behind a router and 2 are sluggish at times. They have all sorts of Kazaa and Grokster junk. When I empty the stuff using AdAware, clear the TIF's and do the basic maintenance, they resume their crispness.

[Reign of Chaos]

Did you check if all your micro filters are fully pluged into your phone jacks? I have Sympatico High Speed too and if a filter is'nt fully plug in the jack the connection is really slow.

[Redo40]

Have you tried cleaning out the temporary internet files and cookies?

[erucader]

thanks a lot for the advice, as for the computers I try to keep them fairly clean.
one is my dad's laptop that he uses at work on a Novell network. At home it is unnecessarily slow (considering it is 1.2gHz w/ 256 Mb Ram). Could this be because it has novell running?

[erucader]

I ran adaware, cleared out temp files and the like, then ran the speed test at the dslreports site. the connection is pretty good right now - ~460 down and 70 up.

Then I found out that

... speeds up to 960 Kbps downstream and up to 120 Kbps upstream.

which is interesting considering I was quite sure that I have 1024 / 250 advertised.

maybe its time for a faster computer

[SARGE]

New pc won't help. You say everything was fine before - did you change anything? Is the modem away from any appliances or other possible interences? Believe it or not, I've seen some modems perform sluggish even when stood on their end rather than laying flat. Your line may have some trash. So many possibles but I'd start ruling out some easy ones first. Try turning off router and modem for a few minutes and restarting. One guy fixed his problem by unplugging the other pc's from the router. Never did say what or how that fixed it.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/news,61

Hang around over here for awhile.

[erucader]

I'm working on tweaks from dslreports...

The computer is connected to the router by a fairly long wire (~30ft?) thru the walls. The router and modem are located near the phone mount (which is about 3 feet from the hydro panel). Would there be electrical interfernce from the power box?

also, can the modem create noise on the line even with filters on all the extensions?

[Kubie]

erucader,
Run the tweak test and see if you need to set the RWIN alittle higher. Sure helped me.
D/L DrTCP at dslreports and that makes the tweaks a piece of cake.
Carl

[erucader]

well the speed test just got me 542 / 109, which isn't too bad. The thing is, last night I wasn't getting anything at 542 kbps. Sometimes it just drags on loading pages, like even now when it is fast.

[glc]

It's possible Sympatico is oversubscribed in your area or is having routing problems - this is becoming common in a lot of places. It's true that with DSL you aren't sharing a pipe to the office, but once it leaves the office there's bound to be a bottleneck somewhere, kinda like the freeway at rush hour - your street may be moving well but once you get on the freeway........

[reboot]

Typical of Sympatico in Canada. GLC is correct. Each user has a private pipe to the office, but their connection to the backbone leaves a lot to be desired. Open a DOS box, and type: tracert www.pcmech.com
I'll bet the first 2 or three are really fast, and then it hits a snag (the freeway).
During peak times (evenings), it's gonna slow down, and when they say "1024 down and 256 up", it's more likely half to two thirds of that speed you'll really get.

[SARGE]

I used to know an easier way to post this but lost it. 'boot is right - is does get slower down the road:




C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>tracert pcmech.com

[erucader]

well, this really bugs me now. It was at a reasonable speed for a while, but last night my connection was so slow that I could not load a page. Right now it is fine though. I don't think this is anything I'm doing.

[glc]

It probably isn't. If it's fine *some* of the time your settings and infrastructure are probably fine.