BleepingComputer.com: Computer slows to a crawl

I have (or am supposed to have) a 30mbps/5mbps connection with optimum online boost, but in the last few days (since saturday) something has happened that I cant pinpoint that has slowed my download speed to a crawl-- its around 200-500kbps now, but the funny thing is my upload speed is still 5mbps! So something has affected my download speed but left my upload speeds untouched. I dont know what it could be. Ive run avast av, spyware terminator, MBAM, and I have zone alarm running. Nothing found. Websites take 10-20 min to load and it took my hotmail account half an hour to load to get my activation to create this account! Please help!

Download Speed Test - http://www.numion.com/index.html

Using the above...what up/down speeds are reported?

Louis

It tells me my speed is

kilobit/sec (kilobyte/sec)
Download speed: 340.16 (42.52) 100%
Upload speed: 5,396.54 (674.56) 100%


The latency is 291ms

lol-- thats actually an improvement, it was 116 kbps download at the first pass. My upload speed is right on target for my rated connection (30/5)... its my download speeds that are averaging from 100kbps to 500kbps.

Speakeasy.net gives me the same results... and I had my cable provider run a test on my modem, yesterday there was no packet loss, today packet loss is 2-8 percent (the problem started saturday.) I also ran tracert on that site as well as this one, and hops 3,4,5 are all timing out-- which explains why websites are extra slow to load. I had to load that numion site twice before it would work and I had to wait over a minute while this site loaded to be able to respond to you!

This post has been edited by a-l-e-x: 16 November 2009 - 12:25 PM

kilobit/sec (kilobyte/sec)
Download speed: 125.53 (15.69) 37%
Upload speed: 5,255.24 (656.90) 97%
Surfspeed inside United States: 133.35 (16.66) 100%
Surfspeed average (worldwide): 126.03 (15.75) 100%
Surfspeed outside United States: 104.41 (13.05) 100%
Latency: 234 milliseconds

One more time

kilobit/sec (kilobyte/sec)
Download speed: 172.06 (21.50) 51%
Upload speed: 5,496.38 (687.04) 100%
Surfspeed inside United States: 127.82 (15.97) 96%
Surfspeed average (worldwide): 120.55 (15.06) 96%
Surfspeed outside United States: 106.67 (13.33) 100%
Latency: 249 milliseconds

"and hops 3,4,5 are all timing out" sounds like an ISP issue. What are those hops? Depending on the provider, those could all be in your provider's network.

If you use a router...try removing it and connecting directly to the cable modem.

I would be suspecting a hardware failure of some type (NIC, router, or modem) but don't know how to try to pin it down other than by trying each possibility.

I'd also set the connection up anew in XP, using the Network Wizard.

What error messages (possibly) relating to this...appear in Event Viewer?

How To Use Event Viewer - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic40108.html

Have you tried new NIC drivers?

Louis

I tracert'd several different websites and it seems to be happening on all of them-- I will show you the tracert for www.yahoo.com, www.bleepingcomputer.com, www.numion.com and www.speedguide.net

Cablevision tech is headed over here tomorrow, as they detected signs of intermittent packet loss.

tracert www.yahoo.com

5 rtr4-tg10-1.in.nycmny83.cv.net (64.15.0.17)
6 request timed out
7 request timed out
8 ae-6.pat2.dce.yahoo.com (216.115.102.176)

tracert www.bleepingcomputer.com

2 dstswr1-vlan2.rhlybrny.cv.net (167.206.33.33)
3 request timed out
4 request timed out
5 request timed out
6 tel1-2.cer01.wdc01.washingtondc-datacenter.com (206.223.115.185)

tracert www.numion.com

2 dstswr2-vlan4-rh.lybrny.cv.net (167.206.33.66)
3 request timed out
4 request timed out
5 pos5-2.pr1.lga1.us.mfnx.net (167.206.8.154)


tracert www.speedguide.net

2 dstswr1-vlan4.rh.lybrny.cv.net (167.206.33.65)
3 request timed out
4 request timed out
5 request timed out
6 request timed out
7 69.90.122.28


I wish there was a way to copy and paste command line content, I had to type all of the above!

the thing I cant understand is why are upload speeds not affected at all, but downloads are?

I just ran event viewer, and it found no errors but a few warnings under the applications tab... nothing major though

I had a NetGear Wireless N Router (WNR2000) attached, and it was doing fine with about 31000-32000kbps download speeds for the past 2 months, so I dont think thats the issue, but I took the modem off the router last night and the problem is just as bad. I also uninstalled my av, my firewall, antispyware, pretty much all my protection software-- still no improvement.

I would try the BC Networking Forum for ideas, http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum21.html.

Louis

The way routing is handled, upload and download can take different paths. Those tracert's indicate an ISP problem. I would get them on the phone and don't get off until it's fixed.
By the way, you can copy/paste from command line. Click the icon on the top left of the commnad line window, choose edit, and then mark. Now you can click and drag a highlight. Once highlighted, click the icon again, edit, copy. You can then use ctrl-v in your BC post to paste it.

Thanks for your help guys-- when you said this is the way routing is handled, did you mean, with a router, or internet traffic in general? I dont have the router hooked up anymore and the problem still hasnt gotten any better.

Cable tech support is coming here tomorrow at 2 PM so we'll see whats up. They pointed out that if the problem is on my end they will charge me 50 , so Ive been feverishly trying to make sure it isnt, and that its something on their end.

This post has been edited by a-l-e-x: 16 November 2009 - 03:43 PM

I meant Internet routing on the ISP's side. This isn't your fault. One thing you could do to make your self feel better, would be to use a different computer on your connection and watch as you encounter the same problem.

Thanks for your help, just got off the phone with the cable company and managed to convince them the problem is on their end-- after going through the usual rigamarole of "well no one else in your area seems to have a problem, etc etc." I think it was the Tracert results which proved it to them. The fact is whomever installed my cable wiring on the outside of my house did a bad job, all the wiring is exposed and we had a bad coastal storm here with lots of wind and rain and I can only imagine what that could have done to the wiring.

By the way, Im also now getting random reboots on my cable TV box, it says --HOLD-- and then --BOOT-- and my TV gets a blue screen for anywhere from 10-15 min while the cable box resets itself. Its happened twice already today, and its never happened before this. The tech people think my internet and cable TV issue may be connected.

This post has been edited by a-l-e-x: 16 November 2009 - 07:01 PM