Very slow download of certain web sites.

[sarahlou]

I have a new Dell Inspiron 530, 2GB memory, 320GB hard drive with vista
basic. On some sites it takes a long time to download, sometimes up to 5
mins. Would this be a problem with the computer or with my service provider.
Computer was installed and set up by a computer tech. Would be very grateful
for any help.
Thanks

 

[Malke]

I have a new Dell Inspiron 530, 2GB memory, 320GB hard drive with vista
basic. On some sites it takes a long time to download, sometimes up to 5
mins. Would this be a problem with the computer or with my service provider.
Computer was installed and set up by a computer tech. Would be very grateful
for any help.
Thanks

You would need to give us some URLs and examples of sites where you have
this problem, including what you are trying to download. Then others
could check it out for you to help narrow down the troubleshooting. In
addition, when you post back with that information don't forget to tell
us 1) how you connect to the Internet - method and ISP; 2) what browser
you are using; 3) if IE7, does the same problem exist if you use Firefox.


Malke

 

[sarahlou]

Thanks for your reply. I am a 60yr old grandma and I would send you the
information you asked for if I had any idea what you were talking about. I
only know the bare basics of using a computer. So when you start talking
about IRL and firefox I am completely lost. I will just have to put up with
it being slow. Thanks for trying to help.

 

[Malke]

Thanks for your reply. I am a 60yr old grandma and I would send you the
information you asked for if I had any idea what you were talking about. I
only know the bare basics of using a computer. So when you start talking
about IRL and firefox I am completely lost. I will just have to put up with
it being slow. Thanks for trying to help.

You were able to figure out how to post in a newsgroup, so you're doing
OK. I have lots of elderly clients - many who are older than you! - so
age is only a limit if you let it be.

Have a knowledgeable friend - someone who is *really* knowledgeable and
not just saying he is - come over and help you. Or have a local computer
professional come over, check things out, and give you a bit of
training. This will not be someone from BigComputerStore/GeekSquad. Get
recommendations from family and friends. I do this kind of thing for
clients all the time and it is not very expensive. You will happier and
more productive on your new computer.

If you are a self-learning, I recommend "Vista - The Missing Manual,
Starter Edition" by David Pogue.


Malke

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

You were able to figure out how to post in a newsgroup, so you're doing
OK. I have lots of elderly clients - many who are older than you! - so
age is only a limit if you let it be.

I want to second that paragraph very strongly, especially the last
sentence. Sarahlou, I'm older than you--I'm a 70-year-old
grandfather--and I'm pretty good at this stuff. Don't let age be a
factor in what you know. If you're a beginner at computers, certainly
recognize that it takes some time to get up to speed. But it's time
that's needed, not youth.

Take Malke's excellent advice and don't put up with it being slow.

 

[Dwarf]

Hi sarahlou,

There are a lot of factors which govern Internet transfer speeds. These
include the type of connection that you have - dial up (only connect when
required) or broadband (connected all the time). Broadband is much faster
than dial up, in some cases over 40x as fast. Secondly, if you do use
broadband then the distance you are away from the telephone exchange is a
factor - the further you are away, the lower speed you are likely to achieve.
Thirdly, again if you are on broadband, most ISPs (Internet Service
Providers) quote a speed in the form 'Upto 4Mb' or similar. It is the word
'Upto' that is important here. Basically this is the maximum theoretical rate
for your connection - your actual rate is going to be somewhat lower. If you
do use broadband, then you need to make sure that you have the filters
installed at EACH of your phone sockets. These separate the broadband signal
from the normal speech traffic on your phone line and prevent them from
interfering with each other. This covers the answers for your end of the
connection. At the other end of the connection other factors come into play.
This includes such things as the day of the week, the time of day and the
location of the server. Although servers (which store the webpages that you
access) are busy all the time, they are busiest during office hours in the
country where they are situated. Sometimes they are so busy that the transfer
rate can plummet compared to other times. Another factor is that sometimes
servers have to close down for maintenance purposes. This means that all
traffic is channelled through the remaining 'mirror' servers which, because
they are having to handle more traffic, are slower than they would normally
be. Sometimes, you can tell when you are using one of these servers because
the address starts 'ww2' instead of 'www'. I suggest that you download and
install 'MySpeed PC Lite Edition' from the link given below and run it a few
times to check the actual speed of your line. If this is satisfactory, then
you will just have to bear with the situation. Sometimes when I download a
file, even though I have a broadband connection, the download speed can be as
low as 40Kbps. At other times, the same file from the same site can download
at a speed of over 300Kbps (Kbps - Kilobits per second. A kilobit is 1000
bits). Sometimes if you navigate away from a slow page and return to it you
can get a quicker connection.
Dwarf

http://www.myspeed.com/pe/index.html