Internet is slower than normal

[Guest]

I recently had an internet problem and a Comcast technician came out and had
to fix it. The problem turned out to be with the network cable, not my
computer. However the technician discovered that on my computer the internet
was about 1/3 of the speed it should be, and could not find the source of the
problem. He was using www.speakeasy.net/speedtest and was showing 2000 kbps,
where it should be about 6000. We have another computer in the house and
that was clocking in at 6000, so it must be a problem with the computer. I
have a Dell that is about 4 years old, however it was not top-of-the-line
when we bought it. I am using Windows XP SP2 with all the current updates,
and I have scanned my computer for viruses, spyware, etc. Is it possible
that my hardware is just too old to support the desired speed? I have a Dell
Dimension 2300 with an Intel Celeron 1.7 GHz and 128 MB of RAM. The computer
did not come with any ethernet port, so I bought a Linksys LNE100TX 10/100
mbps PCI card. What could be causing this slowness?

 

[Jim]

I recently had an internet problem and a Comcast technician came out and
had
to fix it. The problem turned out to be with the network cable, not my
computer. However the technician discovered that on my computer the
internet
was about 1/3 of the speed it should be, and could not find the source of
the
problem. He was using www.speakeasy.net/speedtest and was showing 2000
kbps,
where it should be about 6000. We have another computer in the house and
that was clocking in at 6000, so it must be a problem with the computer.
I
have a Dell that is about 4 years old, however it was not top-of-the-line
when we bought it. I am using Windows XP SP2 with all the current
updates,
and I have scanned my computer for viruses, spyware, etc. Is it possible
that my hardware is just too old to support the desired speed? I have a
Dell
Dimension 2300 with an Intel Celeron 1.7 GHz and 128 MB of RAM. The
computer
did not come with any ethernet port, so I bought a Linksys LNE100TX 10/100
mbps PCI card. What could be causing this slowness?

Not enough RAM.
Jim

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Most Comcast technicians are savages and none too bright.

I won't let them into my house ever again.

If it isn't the cable or connections...

There are several registry settings, that at default settings, are not set
to optimize broadband performance.

SpeedGuide.net TCP/IP Analyzer
http://www.speedguide.net/analyzer.php

TCP Optimizer Help
http://www.speedguide.net/tcpoptimizer.php

TCP Optimizer FAQ
http://www.speedguide.net/faq_in.php?category=100

There is no one size fits all setting for best performance.

Brodband performance varies all of the time, just like the voltage from the
power company varies all of the time.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In