Succesful dial-up slows machine considerably

[demf]

Hi:

Which processes fire up at the very moment a succesful dial-up
connection is made? I ask the question because, since about a month or
so ago, my laptop -1 GB RAM, system-managed page file- has begun to
slow down considerably the very second it connects to my ISP. I suspect
either the browsers (Firefox, IE, doesn't matter) or some other process
put a memory burden to the system (either the page file or RAM) at that
very moment that makes processing time peak to 99% for about three
minutes or so. Any requests made at that very moment to the Task
Manager are futile (therefore, I have no clear idea on what is making
the system run so slow); so is running any other program. Once the
browser (and any other process) cares to load, the machine goes back to
normal (usually 6-7 minutes from connecting). The connection is not
lost (thank God), but it feels like forever to actually connect.

I do run a beta of SQL 2005, which normally spawns sbout a 55 MG
thread, but I've switched it off to manual. I've even tried to shut
down as many superfluous processes before connecting, but XP still
spends an inordinate amount of time letting any app run after
connecting. Any suggestions, like items to look in a log? Thanks for
any help...

 

[Sharon F]

Hi:

Which processes fire up at the very moment a succesful dial-up
connection is made? I ask the question because, since about a month or
so ago, my laptop -1 GB RAM, system-managed page file- has begun to
slow down considerably the very second it connects to my ISP. I suspect
either the browsers (Firefox, IE, doesn't matter) or some other process
put a memory burden to the system (either the page file or RAM) at that
very moment that makes processing time peak to 99% for about three
minutes or so. Any requests made at that very moment to the Task
Manager are futile (therefore, I have no clear idea on what is making
the system run so slow); so is running any other program. Once the
browser (and any other process) cares to load, the machine goes back to
normal (usually 6-7 minutes from connecting). The connection is not
lost (thank God), but it feels like forever to actually connect.

I do run a beta of SQL 2005, which normally spawns sbout a 55 MG
thread, but I've switched it off to manual. I've even tried to shut
down as many superfluous processes before connecting, but XP still
spends an inordinate amount of time letting any app run after
connecting. Any suggestions, like items to look in a log? Thanks for
any help...

Dialup is slow. It takes a while for the dial in, the request for a
connection, authentication and eventually for a page to load. What happens
if you establish the connection via Network Connections and then launch a
browser? That might break down the process enough that the interruption to
work flow is not as noticeable.