How do i show my connection speed in XP

[kermit1986]

I remember when i had dial-up, when i connected there would be an icon in the system tray (if thats what the tray near the clock is called).

I have 1mb Broadband, and it connects as soon as Windows starts up. However i was wondering if there was anyway to put a little icon (the one with the 2 pc monitors that light up) so i can see what speed I have connected at.

I have a friend who has broadband who has to manually click connect (in his isp's given software), to get his broadband started after turning on his pc. I know he gets the icon thing i'm after so i'm thinking it is easily possible.

I had a look in Control Panel > network connections, and also in internet options, but i couldnt find anything.
I did see my LAN connection status in network connections showing up as 100.0 Mbps, but that looks to precise a number, and seems more like the speed of my ethernet card or something.

Also my motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2, and my modem is hooked upto my pc via the ethernet port thats built into the motherboard. If that helps.

[zelira]

Go into your properties for Local Area Network and select "Show icon in noticfication area when connected" that should give you the 2 pc monitors that light up. The network connections showing up as 100.0 Mbps is the speed that your computer is connected to your modem or router.

[kermit1986]

Ok i've done that and like i said before is shows up as 100.0Mbps.

But if like you said, it's the speed i'm connected to the router, then does that mean my motherboards onboard lan isn't fast enough for my 1mb broadband?...and that i can't get the full potential out of it.

I also have a lead to connect my usb modem to my pc via usb lead, but i remember when i had the modem connected to the ethernet port on my pc, then connecting it up via usb as well, i got a little error box saying there may be a problem with the network. (So i figured i only needed the ethernet connection and not both).

[zelira]

Till this day, I still can't figure out difference between megabits & megabytes. But I did find these calculator online. Maybe someone can check if it's accurate.

http://www.matisse.net/bitcalc/

http://www.speedguide.net/conversion.php

According to the calculator, your 1mb broadband is only using 8mbps out of your 100mbps connection.

EDIT: Had a typo

[kermit1986]

Ahh right so no worries about the speed of my on board LAN then.
Still though, is there a way to get a notification when connected as to what speed my broadband is connected at?
It sucks having to go to sites all the time to get a reading, when surely there's a way of viewing it without having to go to a website.

[peekaboo]

What that online converter lacks is the very basic equation (or standard) of: 1 Byte is made up of 8 Bits.
131072 Bytes are made up of 1048576 Bits.

I believe all internet traffic speed specifications are listed in Bits not Bytes.

[glc]

No, there is no way for the icon to display the actual broadband speed, it will only display the network adapter speed. Your broadband speed will always be the advertised speed because it's digital, it does not "train down" like analog dialup. Broadband speed is NOT the same as the speed you get from a speed test site, there are factors such as network congestion between the site and you that affect that.