Internet Speed Questions

[Rugged]

Hi Fellow Forum Friends,

I am not the most knowledgeable computer user out there and I have what I hope is a fairly simple internet question.

I have Bellsouth 6.0 DSL connected at my house. Both my wife and I have laptops (mine-DELL, hers-IBM) that are around 1 years old. We have a wireless router and both connect wirelessly with ease.

The problem is that my computer (DELL) access webpages at lightening fast speed while hers (IBM) is slower than slow. It is completely confusing because I have done a speakeasy DSL speed test on both our computers and they both clock in around 6.5 Mbps...pretty darn fast in my book.

I have cleared the cache, temp. files, etc on the IBM and it still is very slow.

Is there anything else I can check?

BTW...neither computer is accessing internet through a VPN or anything else. Internet connection settings are similar.

[John in Georgia]

Defrag?

[ccr1958]

does the ibm have different anti virus program or maybe
a spyware filter is set too safe....

[Rugged]

Defrag?

Thanks John...I tried that.

basically to compare apple to apples I did defrag on both laptops, ran CCleaner application and emptied Recycle bins on both. Not sure what other differences there are but the IBM access webpages about as slow as a dialup connection.


I'm just thinking it's a POS computer.

[Rugged]

does the ibm have different anti virus program or maybe
a spyware filter is set too safe....

Good point..I haven't checked into that.

[ccr1958]

turn of everything not needed using msconfig & your anti virus
& browse some safe websites & see what happens....
also try without firewall on too...

that ibm is not a POS...it has some factory installed
security software that is set too tight....i almost bet..
good luck :)

[Rugged]

turn of everything not needed using msconfig & your anti virus
& browse some safe websites & see what happens....
also try without firewall on too...

that ibm is not a POS...it has some factory installed
security software that is set too tight....i almost bet..
good luck :)

This seems to help a bit...I turned off the windows firewall. What or how do I access msconfig?

[ccr1958]

start.. run.. then type msconfig in the popup box
then uncheck everything.... then ok...then reboot....

if that makes it work faster you will have to go back
in there & put the check back into your anti virus
software if you want it to start evertime windows starts...

[edit] sorry had that 1st line a bit confusing

[ccr1958]

you can also try pcpitstop.com & run a full test
when it gets done it will tell you what you can
safely disable....i think you have to install an
active x to run the test...but i am sure it is safe...
that site has been around for several years

[phat78boy]

Are you using the built-in wireless in each machine? If so, are they different models? I know wireless cards are all sold as being the same as each other, but trust me, they aren't. For example, if one is loosing more packets then another it will appear to be working much more slowly. A good way to see if its the machine or not is to plug in via hardwire and see if it still is slow during your browsing.

[Rugged]

Are you using the built-in wireless in each machine? If so, are they different models? I know wireless cards are all sold as being the same as each other, but trust me, they aren't. For example, if one is loosing more packets then another it will appear to be working much more slowly. A good way to see if its the machine or not is to plug in via hardwire and see if it still is slow during your browsing.

I am using the internal wireless card...i'll plug in to see if it helps.


right now my hunch is the firewall.

[brian188]

Hi Fellow Forum Friends,

I am not the most knowledgeable computer user out there and I have what I hope is a fairly simple internet question.

I have Bellsouth 6.0 DSL connected at my house. Both my wife and I have laptops (mine-DELL, hers-IBM) that are around 1 years old. We have a wireless router and both connect wirelessly with ease.

The problem is that my computer (DELL) access webpages at lightening fast speed while hers (IBM) is slower than slow. It is completely confusing because I have done a speakeasy DSL speed test on both our computers and they both clock in around 6.5 Mbps...pretty darn fast in my book.

I have cleared the cache, temp. files, etc on the IBM and it still is very slow.

Is there anything else I can check?

BTW...neither computer is accessing internet through a VPN or anything else. Internet connection settings are similar.

If you are comfortable editing the registry you can also try to change the RWIN (TCP Receive Window). Most windows based PC's are set with a relatively low RWIN. The RWIN is basically the amount of data your PC can receive without acknowledging the sender. If set to low it like trying to jam a elephant through a keyhole. WinXP default is 17520 if i remember correctly. The formula to figure your optimal RWIN range is to take your latency (ping + 50%) X advertised speed in kbps / 8.

1. Run a speed test to find your latency. (speedtest.net) Ping X 1.5
2. Use the formula above to find your RWIN
3. Edit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Tcpip\Parameters
the DWORD you are looking for is "TcpWindowSize" (you may have to create it) It is a DWORD not a string value. The RWIN must be entered in decimal or hex. Mine is set to 74062. Ping 79 X 1.5 X 5000 / 8 = 74062

Note: This is windows XP/2000

[4DThinker]

I've had two different problems related to VISTA. Both seriously slowed down web access speed on this PC while other PCs in the house had no problem.

One was a bad driver for the sound card in my PC. I told the PC to revert to the previous driver and that solved the problem. Realtec driver was the culprit. Does the IBM have a Realtec sound chip in it?

The second was some later conflict with an update to Protected Mode in Internet Explorer. I turned Protected Mode OFF and the problem went away. I occasionally turn it back on and my web access slow to a crawl. Still waiting for Microsoft to fugure that one out and fix it.