Are there any PC whizzkids out there????

[Smiffy]

I am a complete numpty when it comes to computers but this problem is driving me mad.
For the past few weeks I have been experiencing really iffy connection speeds with my broadband. One minute everything is flying, the next everything slows to a crawl.
I have a fairly powerful new PC which is running Vista 64 bit and my ISP is plusnet. Officially I am on an 8mb package but usually experience downloads speeds of around 6mb which I am quite happy with.
But I checked out my connection speeds tonight and this is what Speedtest.net is throwing up....

Test one



Test two



Test three



What the hell is going on with that lot????
Any ideas?
Cheers
Rob

 

[birdieman]

2 suggestions from a strict IT amateur-

1. Anti-virus
Is there any chance anti-virus is kicking in before you see these broadband speeds?
Switch off your anti-virus for a few minutes and see what it looks like?

2.Wireless
If you're using wireless technology that can slow up speeds a lot. I cant upload 30mb mpegs to photobucket via wireless but it goes fine through cable (USB OR ETHERNET).
Have you tied a cable connection to see what speed that allows?

 

[SamH]

maybe the fact that you are 200 miles from your nearest station thing(sorry dont know techinqual term) maybe be the problem or plusnet maybe not the best in your area so ask people around your area who they are with and what the connection is like

 

[Smiffy]

I have my netgear router connected via ethernet cable.
Running that same test with my old ISP (Sky) used to return an average reading of around 6mbs. This has been playing up now for about two weeks but it's only tonight that I've got around to running these checks.
Bloody frustrating. Great when it's all moving along fast, but annoying when everything just comes to a grinding halt.

 

[Golfmmad]

Well Smiffy.............

sorry mate, I aint got a clue

Golfmmad.

 

[brendy]

Smiffy, do not worry about those speeds, they vary without fail. dont forget their servers are being shared with potentially hundreds of other ftp or websites and advertisers.
If I was you, id check my connection speed of my router and then try and download something from microsoft (xp service pack 3 for example, it will give you a good indication of what your connection is achieving)
Also, a lot of ISP's are shaping traffic to a massive extent, im with Sky and they dont tend to do it as much but I can still see my speeds differ by 4 mb depending on the time of the day. Thats with my up to 20mb service, I get a fairly consistant 11mb connection which occasionally drops to 7 or so. Your big figures are fantasy to be honest unless you are paying several grand a month!

 

[nomadpaul]

I sometimes have a slow speed on my BT broadband but that's because at peak times they slow the whole thing down by throttling the lines so they can squeeze more paying customers online !!!

 

[Putting_Green_Pro]

ye im do gcse ict, and firstly... it doesnt matter how far you are from the server cos a business is not goin to have one for every person so basically anyone else who is with the same company as yours will be the same.

secondly sometimes if your CPU usage (computer processing unit - the brain of the computer) is a high percentage then it slows down the computer and therefore the amount of 'info' sent to and from your router will be less resulting in a slower connection speed. to check your CPU usage just press ctrl, alt and delete at the same time, if this does not bring up a new tab with options showing you your CPU usage at the bottom then right click on your desktop and see if there are any options to get you there (i dont know what it will be called because i have set my comp just to do the ctrl alt delete option)

finally other people could be logging onto your network, or too many people from the same house are on the network. If you are sure that it is not many computers or games consoles that are making the connection for each internet connection slow; change your password for your connection (something difficult like one of your childs names followed by another family members year born, for example oscar92

hope it helps

 

[Andy]

ye im do gcse ict, and firstly... it doesnt matter how far you are from the server cos a business is not goin to have one for every person so basically anyone else who is with the same company as yours will be the same.

secondly sometimes if your CPU usage (computer processing unit - the brain of the computer) is a high percentage then it slows down the computer and therefore the amount of 'info' sent to and from your router will be less resulting in a slower connection speed. to check your CPU usage just press ctrl, alt and delete at the same time, if this does not bring up a new tab with options showing you your CPU usage at the bottom then right click on your desktop and see if there are any options to get you there (i dont know what it will be called because i have set my comp just to do the ctrl alt delete option)

finally other people could be logging onto your network, or too many people from the same house are on the network. If you are sure that it is not many computers or games consoles that are making the connection for each internet connection slow; change your password for your connection (something difficult like one of your childs names followed by another family members year born, for example oscar92

hope it helps

Pete,

Utter nonsense. Latency is a problem with distance.

CPU = Central Processing Unit.

Andy