Slow download speed

[tneddr]

Hello. I'm a newbie and am not sure I'm in the correct category, so please bear with me. My problem: I have a 64 bit HP TouchSmart with Win 7 Pro SP1, Intel Core i7 CPU Q840 at 1.87 GHz, 2 TB HD, 8 GB RAM. My downloads consistently run about 25-50 KB/sec, sometimes down to 5/sec. I have an older HP computer with the same software that downloads the same file, using the same home wireless network, at 2 MB/sec. Antivirus and malware scans on Norton Security Suite are negative. Any ideas where the bottleneck might be? Thanks so much for any help you might offer.

 

[megadelayed]

er do you have the power saving feature turned on? how fast is your braodband? can you lsit the specs if not the model no. for both of your computers?

 

[tneddr]

er do you have the power saving feature turned on? how fast is your braodband? can you lsit the specs if not the model no. for both of your computers?

Power saver is turned off.

Here are the model numbers:
TouchSmart—600-1365qd
HP Pavilion—m9400f

Comcast says download speeds can be “up to 15 Mbps.”

I used speedtest.net and bandwidthplace.com to obtain broadband stats on both computers with the following results

2011-11-01,

Time 09:45

HP Pavilion m9400f
Speedtest.net:
Download = 20.86 Mbps
Upload = 4.26 Mbps

Bandwidthplace.com
Download = 10.31 Mbps
Upload = 4.09 Mbps


Time 10:00

TouchSmart
Speedtest.net
Download = 0.042 MB/s
Upload = 0.532 MB/s

Bandwidthplace.com
Download = 418 Kbps
Upload = 4.02 Mbps


By specs do you mean the kind of details I listed on the TouchSmart, i.e. OS, CPU, memory, HD, etc.? If so, here are the details on my HP Pavilion
HP Pavilion Elite m9400f PC
Windows 7 Ultimate, SP1
AMD Phenom 9750 Quad-Core Processor 2.40 GHz
RAM: 8 GB
64 bit OS

 

[ulillillia]

I've had something similar. I have 768 Kbps upload speed (96 KB/s) and was regularly hovering at a constant 176 Kbps. It turned out to be the jack that connects to my router, the phone jack (voice phone), interestingly enough. Replacing it returned my speed to normal.

 

[tneddr]

I've had something similar. I have 768 Kbps upload speed (96 KB/s) and was regularly hovering at a constant 176 Kbps. It turned out to be the jack that connects to my router, the phone jack (voice phone), interestingly enough. Replacing it returned my speed to normal.

Thanks, ulillillia. Thanks to megadelayed, too.

Both computers are connected to the same wireless network, using the same router. I have a cable modem. I had the "faster download" computer hooked up to the router by Ethernet cable. When I disconnected it from Ethernet, the download speed fell from 2.5 MB/sec to 500 kB/sec. Nevertheless, that is still ten times faster than the other, "slower download" computer on the network.

Any other avenues to pursue?

 

[popatim]

Have you check to see that the new HP is connecting at the same class/speed to the router as the old one? Because it sounds like the tablet is using class B to me.

 

[ulillillia]

Oh, so you use a router? Have you tried a direct connection to the DSL modem itself with each computer? If this provides fast speeds on both computers, then there's something with the router. If not, have you tried updating or reinstalling your NIC card drivers (or, if you don't have a dedicated networking card, the onboard (on the motherboard) networking)? Perhaps the driver may be faulty or corrupt.

 

[tneddr]

Have you check to see that the new HP is connecting at the same class/speed to the router as the old one? Because it sounds like the tablet is using class B to me.

Thanks, popatim. However, I don't know how to determine the class/speed. Tried googling that phrase, but am no wiser. I do know that the router is "n". The slower computer is less than a year old and has a wireless card. If you would educate me or point me to a reference I can study, I would appreciate it.

 

[ulillillia]

The slower computer is less than a year old and has a wireless card.

Wireless is a good clue. Have you checked for signal quality and/or interference? If you've got a lot of interference, the Internet speed will be very slow, even stopped. I had that issue with wireless security cameras - when plugged in, the Internet essentially didn't work at all or, if it did, was much slower than dial-up connections.

 

[tneddr]

Wireless is a good clue. Have you checked for signal quality and/or interference? If you've got a lot of interference, the Internet speed will be very slow, even stopped. I had that issue with wireless security cameras - when plugged in, the Internet essentially didn't work at all or, if it did, was much slower than dial-up connections.

Thanks, ulillillia.

I do not know how to check for signal quality or interference. How do I do that? There are no wireless security cameras or other wireless devices on the network.

I used an even older Dell XP OS computer on the same network and sat it next to the slow computer. It also downloaded files much faster than my slow download computer, so my impression is that this is not a wireless interference issue. If I'm wrong, please let me know.

I still do not know how to determine the connection class/speed as recommended by popatim. Any help there?

Thanks!

 

[ulillillia]

The interference case might be from other nearby bulidings with wireless devices. It's entirely possible that the interference is coming from 1000 feet (about 300 meters) away. As to checking the signal's strength, that's something I don't know myself. If I recall, there's an icon in the area near the clock for a wireless connection. Try double-clicking it. If that doesn't work, try right-clicking it. You might find something that shows the signal strength. Search Google as a last resort.

 

[Raiddinn]

Figure out the specifications for both wireless cards and post them in here (Maker, Model, etc).

Whether a wireless card is "N" (fast) or "B" (slow) or "G" (slow) will be written directly on any materials that came with it, most likely on the front of the box. If you don't have that stuff, it can be researched online once you know the maker, model, etc from above.

You said that the router is an "N" which is good, that means it can go quite fast if a computer with an N card is connected to it but it will go quite a lot slower if it has to operate in B mode because a B card is connecting to it.

Also, there is a potential that "Mixed Mode" slows down the router. Mixed mode is when a router has to do N with computer A and B with computer B. Having to run at 2 different speeds simultaneously could detract from overall performance in a number of ways.

If you do find out you have 1 N and 1 B connecting to it, I would suggest you buy an N card for the second one and set the router to N only mode. This should increase performance considerably across the board.

Also, on a separate note...

It could be the anti-virus programs on the computers if they are different or if they are the same then one could be taxing the system a whole lot more than the other one is taxing the other system.

I don't know offhand why it would tax the better system more, but there are infinitely many variables that play into this.

Installing and uninstalling things over and over again makes computers slower in general. It could be that this happened a lot with the newer PC and not much with the older one, or the older one may have had windows reinstalled recently (undoes a lot of the damage) and the newer one hasn't.

There could be any number of causes for something like this.

I can speculate all day about what it could be, but it would be better to try to look into what I have said so far before I continue on with possibilities.

 

[tneddr]

Figure out the specifications for both wireless cards and post them in here (Maker, Model, etc).

Whether a wireless card is "N" (fast) or "B" (slow) or "G" (slow) will be written directly on any materials that came with it, most likely on the front of the box. If you don't have that stuff, it can be researched online once you know the maker, model, etc from above.

You said that the router is an "N" which is good, that means it can go quite fast if a computer with an N card is connected to it but it will go quite a lot slower if it has to operate in B mode because a B card is connecting to it.

Also, there is a potential that "Mixed Mode" slows down the router. Mixed mode is when a router has to do N with computer A and B with computer B. Having to run at 2 different speeds simultaneously could detract from overall performance in a number of ways.

If you do find out you have 1 N and 1 B connecting to it, I would suggest you buy an N card for the second one and set the router to N only mode. This should increase performance considerably across the board.

Also, on a separate note...

It could be the anti-virus programs on the computers if they are different or if they are the same then one could be taxing the system a whole lot more than the other one is taxing the other system.

I don't know offhand why it would tax the better system more, but there are infinitely many variables that play into this.

Installing and uninstalling things over and over again makes computers slower in general. It could be that this happened a lot with the newer PC and not much with the older one, or the older one may have had windows reinstalled recently (undoes a lot of the damage) and the newer one hasn't.

There could be any number of causes for something like this.

I can speculate all day about what it could be, but it would be better to try to look into what I have said so far before I continue on with possibilities.

Thanks, Raiddinn. I'll get on it and get back to you.

 

[tneddr]

The interference case might be from other nearby bulidings with wireless devices. It's entirely possible that the interference is coming from 1000 feet (about 300 meters) away. As to checking the signal's strength, that's something I don't know myself. If I recall, there's an icon in the area near the clock for a wireless connection. Try double-clicking it. If that doesn't work, try right-clicking it. You might find something that shows the signal strength. Search Google as a last resort.

Appreciate your input, ulillillia. I'll check it out.

 

[tneddr]

Oh, so you use a router? Have you tried a direct connection to the DSL modem itself with each computer? If this provides fast speeds on both computers, then there's something with the router. If not, have you tried updating or reinstalling your NIC card drivers (or, if you don't have a dedicated networking card, the onboard (on the motherboard) networking)? Perhaps the driver may be faulty or corrupt.

Bingo, ulillillia! Had to get a 50 ft long ethernet cable first. Then connected it directly to the router, which is cabled to the modem. Download speed now 2 MB/sec.

However, that still doesn't answer why the download speed on this computer using the wireless system is about 100 times slower than the older computer sitting right next to it and which is connected to the same wireless network.

I also checked the wireless cards and they're both "n" type.

 

[tneddr]

Figure out the specifications for both wireless cards and post them in here (Maker, Model, etc).

Whether a wireless card is "N" (fast) or "B" (slow) or "G" (slow) will be written directly on any materials that came with it, most likely on the front of the box. If you don't have that stuff, it can be researched online once you know the maker, model, etc from above.

You said that the router is an "N" which is good, that means it can go quite fast if a computer with an N card is connected to it but it will go quite a lot slower if it has to operate in B mode because a B card is connecting to it.

Also, there is a potential that "Mixed Mode" slows down the router. Mixed mode is when a router has to do N with computer A and B with computer B. Having to run at 2 different speeds simultaneously could detract from overall performance in a number of ways.

If you do find out you have 1 N and 1 B connecting to it, I would suggest you buy an N card for the second one and set the router to N only mode. This should increase performance considerably across the board.

Also, on a separate note...

It could be the anti-virus programs on the computers if they are different or if they are the same then one could be taxing the system a whole lot more than the other one is taxing the other system.

I don't know offhand why it would tax the better system more, but there are infinitely many variables that play into this.

Installing and uninstalling things over and over again makes computers slower in general. It could be that this happened a lot with the newer PC and not much with the older one, or the older one may have had windows reinstalled recently (undoes a lot of the damage) and the newer one hasn't.

There could be any number of causes for something like this.

I can speculate all day about what it could be, but it would be better to try to look into what I have said so far before I continue on with possibilities.

Both cards are "n" type, Raiddinn. Please see my reply to ulillillia regarding connecting directly with ethernet cable, which produced fast download, but still doesn't answer the question.

 

[Raiddinn]

Even if it is N type it might be operating in B or G mode for some strange reason.

You may want to check in the hardware settings to ensure that there isn't some option like "B Only" or "G Only" selected somewhere. Everything should probably say "Auto" on it.

You might also try looking in your router's connections to see if you can find what the router thinks about the connections if that is at all possible with your equipment.

If you are using a Cisco Linksys router, there is some free software they have that will show you pretty little graphics for everything that is connected to your network. I think it is called NetworkMagic or something like that. If you have a Cisco Router you might be able to use that.

Double check the settings in those places just to verify the operating mode if you can.