Author Topic: Slow ass internet (Read 4223 times)

leonp1981 · « **on:** March 11, 2009, 08:27:57 PM »

Not sure which board this belongs on, so here it is.

My hard drive was getting full on my laptop (it's only a 30Gb, old machine) and was slowing down the computer, so I bought an external 250Gb harddrive. I transferred all my pics, My Documents, iTunes music files over to this.

Whether it's a coincidence or not, but now my internet has gone ridiculously slow. I'm on Broadband, which tells me I'm connected at 100Mbps, however I've been downloading some songs off iTunes, and getting some updates for stuff, and my download speed has dropped to 10Mbps? The last song I downloaded said 17kbps!

I bought Optimize from PCPitstop, and RegCure, but neither seems to have done anything, so do any GetBiggers have any good ideas before I pay any more money out to get it looked at.

What's going on?
Why's it so slow?
Does it have anything to do with the external harddrive?
And what can I do to speed it up?

240 is Back · « **Reply #1 on:** March 11, 2009, 08:31:02 PM »

go to ebay and get a new refurbished dell for $399.

jetpower · « **Reply #2 on:** March 11, 2009, 08:34:48 PM »

leonp1981 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 11, 2009, 08:47:32 PM »

Quote from: 240 is Back on March 11, 2009, 08:31:02 PM

go to ebay and get a new refurbished dell for $399.

I'm gonna get a new machine, but probably not for 6 months or so yet. I just want to get this one to keep going for a bit. Are there any settings anywhere I can play with to get better internet speed?

240 is Back · « **Reply #4 on:** March 11, 2009, 08:53:30 PM »

Quote from: leonp1981 on March 11, 2009, 08:47:32 PM

I'm gonna get a new machine, but probably not for 6 months or so yet. I just want to get this one to keep going for a bit. Are there any settings anywhere I can play with to get better internet speed?

you can do the usual stuff... delete stuff, uninstall, and all that... but today's computers (the cheap ones) suck. If youre gonna keep them cheap, as i do, ya gotta get new every now and then.

leonp1981 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 11, 2009, 08:57:48 PM »

Quote from: 240 is Back on March 11, 2009, 08:53:30 PM

you can do the usual stuff... delete stuff, uninstall, and all that... but today's computers (the cheap ones) suck. If youre gonna keep them cheap, as i do, ya gotta get new every now and then.

It's a 5 year old Samsung laptop, was pretty decent when I bought it, and I've never really had any problems with it until now. Just wish it would speed the hell up, I can't watch any vids on YouTube now either, it shows 2 seconds then takes 20 seconds to load the next bit!

TechnoViking · « **Reply #6 on:** March 11, 2009, 08:59:05 PM »

Switch to dial up with netzero...Super fucking fast

kiwiol · « **Reply #7 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:19:25 PM »

It could be spyware, it could be your system, it could be your connection or anything, really. Do an online speed test and see what sort of speed you are connecting at. Talk to your ISP.

leonp1981 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:21:34 PM »

Quote from: kiwiol on March 11, 2009, 09:19:25 PM

It could be spyware, it could be your system, it could be your connection or anything, really. Do an online speed test and see what sort of speed you are connecting at. Talk to your ISP.

I'm gonna ring the ISP tomorrow, but it's a call centre in Dubai, India so who knows what help they'll be. I've got AVG's anti spyware stuff, cos I had a problem with that in the past. I'll go find somewhere to check my speed.

leonp1981 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:25:51 PM »

Just checked it. I'm with BT, my test said:

Download - 0.16Mb ISP Average - 2.92Mb
Upload - 0.37Mb ISP Average - 0.44Mb

So, it's officially fooked!

I'll ring them tomorrow and see how far I get.

Thanks for the replies!

leonp1981 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:35:22 PM »

Quote from: disturbia on March 11, 2009, 09:30:25 PM

lol I know someone on here knows that place

Haha, yeah, I thought I'd stick that in there.

They annoy the shit out of me at the call centre. They answer the phone with "Heeello, my name ees Peter..." and you're thinking "Bullshit, your name's Abdullah Mohammad Jafar Ahmad Nazeem Nasser Suleymane..." And then they haven't got a clue what you're talking about. Aargh, I'm getting pissed off just thinking about talking to them.

gordiano · « **Reply #11 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:37:39 PM »

Quote from: leonp1981 on March 11, 2009, 08:57:48 PM

It's a 5 year old Samsung laptop, was pretty decent when I bought it, and I've never really had any problems with it until now. Just wish it would speed the hell up, I can't watch any vids on YouTube now either, it shows 2 seconds then takes 20 seconds to load the next bit!

5 years? It's due for this type of thing, dude....sorry. $:-\$

leonp1981 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:47:42 PM »

Quote from: gordiano on March 11, 2009, 09:37:39 PM

5 years? It's due for this type of thing, dude....sorry. $:-\$

Yeah, I know it's getting on a bit.

It's just that it was fine a couple of days ago. From full speed ahead to dead in the water.

240 is Back · « **Reply #13 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:53:00 PM »

Quote from: leonp1981 on March 11, 2009, 09:47:42 PM

Yeah, I know it's getting on a bit.

It's just that it was fine a couple of days ago. From full speed ahead to dead in the water.

could be some part of the drive failed. did it get louder?

Krankenstein · « **Reply #14 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:55:01 PM »

Quote from: leonp1981 on March 11, 2009, 09:47:42 PM

Yeah, I know it's getting on a bit.

It's just that it was fine a couple of days ago. From full speed ahead to dead in the water.

Take your windows CD and use n-Lite to create a 'scaled down' version of the install disk. Make sure everything you want off of the damn thing is off of it (pics, music, etc). Wipe it the fook clean using the n-lite install CD you made. Look around for suggestions on what you need to make a scaled down install disk. Also, check to make sure you done have too many processes running at start up...(start>run>type msconfig.....go to start up tab and look to see for unnecessary start up items). Also...why buy shit? CCleaner, Malwarebytes, and AVG are free and do a damn good job at keeping computer safe.

You could also look to see how much a 60 - 100gb hard drive would be. Remember...windows is a read/write hog!!!

kiwiol · « **Reply #15 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:55:13 PM »

Quote from: leonp1981 on March 11, 2009, 09:47:42 PM

Yeah, I know it's getting on a bit.

It's just that it was fine a couple of days ago. From full speed ahead to dead in the water.

If you want to rule it out of the equation and prevent getting stalled for a couple of days by your ISP, take it to another place like a friend's house or a cyber cafe and see if you are getting full speed. If you do, then it's definitely something to do with the ISP. If it's slow there too, then it's a problem with the laptop. You can also try the same connection in your place with another PC or laptop if you have one.

leonp1981 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:56:28 PM »

Quote from: 240 is Back on March 11, 2009, 09:53:00 PM

could be some part of the drive failed. did it get louder?

Nope, nothing. The only thing that happened around the same time is this external harddrive. It's plugged into a USB1 port, so I expected it to be a bit slower downloading iTunes to it maybe, but everything else is still on the laptop's harddrive.

I'll have to talk to the dumbass's in India, I think. $:-\$

240 is Back · « **Reply #17 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:57:14 PM »

unplug that drive. see if it improves?

(if you're WRITING to a serial usb drive via I-tunes, that could be a major issue - usb is a slow. 12 mbps at best?

leonp1981 · « **Reply #18 on:** March 11, 2009, 09:59:51 PM »

Quote from: DrugFree4Life on March 11, 2009, 09:55:01 PM

Take your windows CD and use n-Lite to create a 'scaled down' version of the install disk. Make sure everything you want off of the damn thing is off of it (pics, music, etc). Wipe it the fook clean using the n-lite install CD you made. Look around for suggestions on what you need to make a scaled down install disk. Also, check to make sure you done have too many processes running at start up...(start>run>type msconfig.....go to start up tab and look to see for unnecessary start up items). Also...why buy shit? CCleaner, Malwarebytes, and AVG are free and do a damn good job at keeping computer safe.

You could also look to see how much a 60 - 100gb hard drive would be. Remember...windows is a read/write hog!!!

My brother-in-law said he'd do a full wipe and re-install when I see him next month, which I'm hoping will do something. I'll check the processes and see what's going on there. I've got AVG and I used CCleaner as well, I bought the other stuff to see if it made any difference, which it did, but only to my wallet.

I've got the external harddrive now, but the slowness seemed to start when I got that.

Thanks for the reply.

leonp1981 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 11, 2009, 10:00:44 PM »

Quote from: kiwiol on March 11, 2009, 09:55:13 PM

If you want to rule it out of the equation and prevent getting stalled for a couple of days by your ISP, take it to another place like a friend's house or a cyber cafe and see if you are getting full speed. If you do, then it's definitely something to do with the ISP. If it's slow there too, then it's a problem with the laptop. You can also try the same connection in your place with another PC or laptop if you have one.

I might try that when I get chance.

leonp1981 · « **Reply #20 on:** March 11, 2009, 10:03:14 PM »

Quote from: 240 is Back on March 11, 2009, 09:57:14 PM

unplug that drive. see if it improves?

(if you're WRITING to a serial usb drive via I-tunes, that could be a major issue - usb is a slow. 12 mbps at best?

Yeah, I've got like 12Gb of songs on iTunes, so I put the music files onto the new HD to clear up the space. I've changed the folder settings in iTunes so it knows where to get the files from, but when I download songs now, they're going to the external HD, which takes ages. If the download speed is reduced for the songs, would it affect the download speed for other things, even if they weren't going to the external HD?

jetpower · « **Reply #21 on:** March 11, 2009, 10:04:47 PM »

Get one of these:

I play WoW on mine all the time. It's cheap (for a GetBigger) and easy (for a GetBigger) to set up.

240 is Back · « **Reply #22 on:** March 11, 2009, 10:28:41 PM »

Quote from: leonp1981 on March 11, 2009, 10:03:14 PM

Yeah, I've got like 12Gb of songs on iTunes, so I put the music files onto the new HD to clear up the space. I've changed the folder settings in iTunes so it knows where to get the files from, but when I download songs now, they're going to the external HD, which takes ages. If the download speed is reduced for the songs, would it affect the download speed for other things, even if they weren't going to the external HD?

it may be hella confusing for your system, to try to send files from the web, thru i-tunes, via a serial wire.

Maybe unplug it, restart your computer, and try downloading and surfing without itunes started. If it fixes it, then you know to use i-tunes on limited function. Restart to be sure tho

dustin · « **Reply #23 on:** March 12, 2009, 12:44:15 AM »

Did you bother to do a speed test? Try speedtest.net and see what your results are. If they're not on par, call your ISP's tech support line and let them take a look into things. It could very well be an area issue or poor signal to the modem.

If you've got a DOCSIS cable modem then reseat the coax cables (unscrew the mofos at both ends, every end of the splitter if you have one of those too) then power cycle the modem and see what happens. Try repairing your connection too. And if you have a router, bypass it and run another speed test. Routers are notorious for having shitty default settings, especially if you're using wireless... so that could be your problem too.

Honestly, it can't be anything too crazy. Your best bet is to run a speed test, try those simply steps I outlined and call a TSR from your provider.

CalvinH · « **Reply #24 on:** March 12, 2009, 07:07:52 AM »

Sorry but your computer hates you

Author Topic: Slow ass internet (Read 4223 times)

dustin