Computer peeps??

Funkster · Posted: Apr 21, 2003 9:09 pm Post subject: Computer peeps??

Alrigth here is my prob,I switched from dial up to "high speed" dsl. It was really fast for the first week,now it is slower than dial up.What is wrong?? Is there anything I can do without going through the hassel of having someone come out and see what is going wrong??? Any help would be great,thanks in advance!!

Mister C · Posted: Apr 21, 2003 9:12 pm Post subject:

Well who did you buy your DSL from? Also, are you on a router or anything like that?

BillJ · Posted: Apr 21, 2003 10:40 pm Post subject:

Run a test to see what speed you're getting. Click on this link http://speedtest.dslreports.com/ and then click one of the two speed tests. If you aren't getting the speed you expect, which will depend on how far you are from the phone company central office ( CO ), then call up and complain.

If the report shows that you are getting good performance then maybe it's your PC that is having the performance issue. Try basic maintenance like defragmenting your hard drive, make sure you have enough memory, etc. Probably not one of those but you need to eliminate the obvious and easy problems.

toothpick · Posted: Apr 21, 2003 11:26 pm Post subject:

Okay, there are a number of things that could cause that. One thing you should do for sure is run a program called Ad Aware. It finds and lets you delete any files called spyware and adware that can take up your bandwidth. You can find that program at Download.com. Just search for Ad Aware, it should be the first one that comes up.

Also, you can't really trust the results from dslreports.com. All that tests is simply YOUR connection to THEIR website...that's all. I work doing tech support for an ISP, and I've talked to people who use that site all the time. I've seen it jump over 200kb/sec on two tests within just a couple minutes.

The best way I've seen to test downloads, is to go to download.com, search for some files that are decent sized, and download two or three at the same time. This should max out your bandwidth and if you add all of the speeds together and multiply them by 8, that will give you the kilobits you are getting (or close to it, You multiply by 8, because ISPs give you speed numbers in bits, the download speeds show you bytes and one byte = 8 bits...it's all marketing).

You also want to make sure that you have a filter on ANY devices that use that same DSL line i.e. phones, faxes, security systems, dish television, etc...

Usually slow speeds won't come from phone line problems. Line problems would cause your modem to not sync up, or not even come online. You should also check your computer for a virus, that could do it too.

And last, but maybe most obvious, is if you have any filesharing programs running, close them if your speed is slow, these will take up tons of bandwidth if you don't have the settings right.

moblsv · Outlaw Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 228

unless you're with qwest, you should have customer service. They should be able to see if your configurations are correct and see how much bandwidth you are actually using. You should also have a router and firewall to stop unwanted programs from using your bandwidth.

BillJ · Posted: Apr 22, 2003 2:49 pm Post subject:

toothpick - if you go to the speedtest page on dslreports you'll see that they offer two different test sites that you can use (actually 3 if you sign up). I agree that running a report once won't give you a solid number, but running the report a couple of times and using both sites should give you a reasonably solid report. And in this case he's saying that his performance is slower than dial-up, which will obviously show up no matter what report he runs.

I agree with your advice about checking for adware, spyware, and file sharing software. All of those will impact your bandwidth.

Funkster · Posted: Apr 22, 2003 8:01 pm Post subject:

Ok thanks for all your help,but non of this is helping..haha!! I tried all of this except for the speed test,it just would not work. I waited for about 20 min before I said screw it!!! I disconnected kazza,deleted all my shared files and still,I got the same slow connection!! I guess Iam gonna have to call for "back up"..haha,O'well thanks for all your help!!

otiswunguy · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 871 City: Sammamish

is it slow all the time or are some sites faster? if only some sites are slow then it might not be your connection as much as who or what site you are connected to. how is the boat im dieing to hit that huge wake again.

Mister C · Posted: Apr 22, 2003 9:28 pm Post subject:

Maybe you have a virus and its messing everything up. If not, I would still check with your dsl provider, and ask them what the hell is going on.

Funkster · Posted: Apr 22, 2003 9:37 pm Post subject:

Mr c,I did a virus search via my virus protector and it came up blank!! But thanks for the info.

Otis,its slow all the time!! Iam pickin up the beast tomorrow!! I cant wait to hit the wake either. I bought 3 550 sacs so it should be even bigger than before. Iam going to take it out to lk.meridian tomorrow and see if everything works ok and just maybe, I might get my dad to give me a quick pull(first in 5 months).BTW,I got perfect pass as well,I will be hooking that up some time before the weekend. You ready to ride??? Iam planning on putting some surious hrs on the waterways of washington,hit me up!!!

jumalian · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 7625 City: san diego

Otiswunguy, if you're not too pissed with me, I wanna ride with you, man! Smile

Really, Funk gets the boat tomorrow. I won't get to ride until the weekend, due to new job, but let's hook up! I promise...I won't talk smack about Seattle! Smile

otiswunguy · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 871 City: Sammamish

you will have to stay on your side of the boat. j\k. you guys seen my dockcam @ www.lksamm.com yet.for those early morning butta shots.

Funkster · Posted: Apr 23, 2003 7:48 am Post subject:

Thats sweet bro!! Do they pay you for that?? Yeah bro,we gotta hook up and hit the water,its been 5 long months for me. We should be out there this weekend and you and bonnie are welcome to ride if you want.

otiswunguy · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 871 City: Sammamish

i don't get paid. no need. its just so the homies can check the conditions before the drive out here. also nice for whoever is keeping their boats at my dock this year. they can check on them whenever and nothing will get stolen out of them.