Member Avatar for mrunner4home

ok i have no idea what the problem is. my internet is slower than it should be.

-- i have a linksys WRT54G router. i am directly connected to it

-- i have two other computers in my house connected to the router. their internet connection is fast and normal

-- it can't be a virus or to much stuff on my computer because i did a reformat and it didn't help

-- i tried getting more ram. it didn't help.

-- it can't be my virus protection using up resources because another computer has the same virus protection - no problems

-- i tired resetting the router, unplugging the router, modem, both, for 5 minutes. didn't help

-- my desktop is a 2001 model, so not too old.

-- had windows xp home, now have windows xp professional, didn't really make a difference

-- when i brought it in the computer repair shop we plugged the internet into it there. it seemed fast but that's probably because all the normal sites are blocked at school. plus when i remember, my mail (yahoo) was just as slow as it is at home. and is faster on the other computers in the shop. some sites i checked were fast but they're fast at home too. my shop teacher suggested doing a throughput test. i did, and got better than average results so he thought it was fine and to try just changing wires at home. i got home, did that, but my internet was still slower than normal. i tried the throughput test and it still showed better-than-average results. so it was stupid

i have no idea what to do now. help?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Bob_180_Bob

Dani AI

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Brief summary tied to the thread: has a wired desktop that feels slow while other (wireless) PCs are fine, a reformat and cable swaps were already tried, and several members (, , , ) suggested drivers, hardware and cabling. Before buying parts, run a short, ordered checklist that isolates link negotiation, the OS/network stack, and a possible CPU/driver bottleneck.

Quick diagnostic steps (in order)

  1. Confirm the NIC’s negotiated link and duplex. In XP open Control Panel -> Network Connections -> double‑click the Local Area Connection -> Status and note the Speed. Then check the NIC’s Advanced properties in Device Manager for any forced Speed & Duplex setting. If it shows 10 Mbps or Half Duplex, force both ends to 100 Mbps Full Duplex (or use automatic negotiation on both ends) and retest.

  2. Test loss and jitter with plain pings. From a command prompt run:

    ping -n 100 192.168.1.1
ping -n 100 8.8.8.8
arp -a

    Look for packet loss, very high average latency, or duplicate MAC entries from arp -a. Local loss points to cabling/port/NIC; external loss points to upstream issues.

  3. Watch CPU while transferring large files. Use Task Manager during a big download; if CPU is near 100% the old CPU or driver offloading problems are limiting throughput.

  4. Reset the Windows network stack (run as admin and reboot):

    ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt
netsh winsock reset

Advanced checks before replacing hardware

  • In Device Manager toggle off NIC offloads (Checksum Offload, Large Send Offload, Interrupt Moderation) one at a time and retest.
  • Boot a Linux live USB and test the same sites. If Linux is fast, the problem is Windows/driver/config; if still slow, hardware (NIC/motherboard/cable/port) is implicated.
  • If diagnostics prove the NIC or port is limited (stuck at 10 Mbps, retransmits, collisions), try a cheap USB-to-Ethernet adapter as a quick confirm before installing a PCI card.

Note: DNS changes (OpenDNS) affect name lookup speed, not raw throughput. Follow ’s driver advice but use the steps above to target the real cause.

Recommended Answers

All 12 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

my desktop is a 2001 model, so not too old.

really,Hi, i think a computer hat is almost 9 yrs old is OLD,
also you don't mention if this just started happining out of the blue .
you micht try ATF Cleaner to remove un-necessary files from computer .
howabout some computer specs ,like amount of ram,CPU ,ect ect ect
also open computer to make sure its fans are not plugged with dust

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for mrunner4home

-ok no this isn't happening out of the blue it has always been slow. it's more of a concern now because we had dial-up and then dsl, so i had thought it was normal to be slow. now we have cable and i notice how much faster the computers **that are running wirelessly** are.

-unnecessary files aren't the problem because a reformat didn't work

-i got a gig of ram, not the problem

-dust can't be the problem because i cleaned the computer when i took it to the computer repair shop

...

i think i might have an idea. could it be a bad ethernet card maybe? would getting a replacement help?

Member Avatar for mrunner4home

or maybe do i need a network card? is an ethernet card and network card the same thing?

Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

Try going in to "Device Manager" and updating the drivers for your "Network Adapter" and while your there, I would go through the entire manager and update drivers for everything.
Also, I might suggest using "OpenDNS" found at OpenDNS.com. Download and use the OpenDNS Updater.

Edited by Adamsappleone because: n/a
Member Avatar for caperjack

or maybe do i need a network card? is an ethernet card and network card the same thing?

yes, but if its the original 9 yr old one ,and new faster one PCI network adapter [10/100/1000]may be available

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for mrunner4home

yes, but if its the original 9 yr old one ,and new faster one PCI network adapter [10/100/1000]may be available

huh?

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Your 2001 desk top PC was out of date in 2002 (Actually, it was out-of-date before you left the shop with it) and your Ethernet connection, on the motherboard or on a separate card is also out-of-date. No matter what speed you internet connection is from your router, if you can not process that information through your network connection at the speed it is received, it will be slow.
caperjhack suggested that a new 10/100 card would probably speed up your internet. As your PC is old, you will have to ensure that any new part you purchase for it will work in it, the newer hardware is much more advanced and may not be compatible with your old/older machine.

Member Avatar for mrunner4home

well my internet is already 10 / 100 if that changes anything

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Without having the machine here, I would then guess that it is not capable of working with the speed of the supply. Maybe your motherboard is partially incompatible with your card. Your teacher in the computer repair shop could not help you even though the email was slow, there is not much we can do for you from here.
You have ruled out any software problems with the format, (assuming you have installed/updated the drivers ans suggested) therefore, it can only be hardware. If you believe that the age is not a factor, start replacing the hardware. Start with the network card, then the motherboard with a new CPU, PSU, memory and video card if you want to finish the upgrade. You may want to look at updating the keyboard, case, mouse and monitor as well, then you will have a new modern PC.

Member Avatar for khakilang

Try changing the cable and see. User the latest network maybe Cat6 I think.

Member Avatar for caperjack
Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

It was a typo but a hacker is only bad if he/she applies unscrupulous acts with their talent, I don't think that you would do that.

http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html#what_is

The Jargon File contains a bunch of definitions of the term ‘hacker’, most having to do with technical adeptness and a delight in solving problems and overcoming limits. If you want to know how to become a hacker, though, only two are really relevant.

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