Persisting internet problems – load times, dwindling speed, connection

[Tommygunn]

Since I got proper wired ADSL I am having several problems when connecting, surfing and downloading from the internet. What the causes might be I don’t know but I’ve listed them below:

1) When I click my Firefox icons, be that on the desktop or on Rocketdock, it can take up to 30 seconds or so to physically open a page. I’m talking just a page itself, not content.

2) If I have just turned the computer on then the page loads pretty quick, that’s a webpage not a physical page. However, the longer I’m on the internet the slower the page load times seem to get.

3) This also manifests itself in downloads. When the computer is first turned on downloads are working fine, however, as time goes on, most downloads dwindle to nothing or all are not downloading.

4) When I click the Internet Explorer icon(desktop or Rocketdock), it opens on my homepage but if I enter an address the address opens in a new Firefox webpage while the IE page stays on my homepage!

Any help and advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mussels]

1 through three could be a crap modem.

4 makes it sound like you have some serious software issues - firewalls or antivirus could be causing it, or some program downloading or uploading without your knowledge. Try installing bandwidth meter pro (trial version, etc) and see if somethings using the net without your knowlege (also, change it to KB/s, it defaults to something smaller)

If you cant diagnose it, format the machine. it technically could be a virus or spyware.

 

[Tommygunn]

I don't think No1 is related to the modem. What I mean is the physical page, whether I'm connected to the internet or not. By this I mean from the moment of clicking the icon until a internet screen flashes up or, in other words, when the computer decides to do something.

 

[Mussels]

there is no such thing as a 'physical' page.

Are you saying that just loading firefox/IE takes a long time?

Also, please dont make duplicate threads. One is enough.

 

[t_ski]

Run hard drive diagnostics on the drive to make sure that's not about to die. I just replaced an HDD at work for a guy who had long load times, etc when the computer was running for a while, but it was fast when I first booted it up to test. Then go back and start doing virus scans, etc as Mussels suggested.

 

[Tommygunn]

Mussels,
I don't know what the term is but I've tried to explain it the best I can i.e. from the moment I click an internet icon to when the computer does something, regardless of whether the internet is on or not.

I didn't do two threads on purpose. I reported it ten minutes ago.

t_ski,
Could you provide some more details on precisely what to do here, please?

 

[DRDNA]

What antivirus do you have? what other protection are you useing (firewall,spyware protection,malware protection,ext.)?
How much ram is installed?
Does excel or word or powerpoint do this as well?
Have you run malwarebytes to see if you have spyware or maleware?

 

[Tommygunn]

I'm running full McAfee, Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware.

I've got 2Gb of Ram.

Excel, Word and Powerpoint work in an instant, no problems.

I've not run MB lately, I shall do it now.

 

[DRDNA]

I've not run MB lately, I shall do it now.

I agree..be sure to get it updated first.

 

[Tommygunn]

I did Malwarebytes, before and after an update, and nothing.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

DOWNLOAD cCleaner analyze registry, fix if needed,same for programs(this will delete internet history unless you choose not to) control panel>performance etc...>adjust indexing options>advanced>rebuild, Then defrag harddrive, I use auslogics defrag it's free, Still nothing put in your system disk,reboot, select REPAIR current os, Still nothing reinstall and start over fresh good luck
Yes I know indexing is just for searching the hard drive, but if you have corrupted path's it might help

 

[yogurt_21]

have you checked a bandwidth meter?
also when was the last time you restarted the router and modem?
do either the router or modem feel hot? it's summer they may be overheating.

also how long has this been going on and what has been previously done for troubleshooting up till now?

 

[t_ski]

You have a WD hard drive? Download Data Lifeguard Tools (for DOS if they still have it) and run a scan on it. Long scan is better. If WD DLT does not do scans anymore, get Seatools for DOS from Seagate. It should be able to scan the WD for errors.

 

[95Viper]

Well , number 4 sounds like when you installed Firefox, you must of told it to be your default browser.
If you want IE to be your default browser:
Open Control Panel and double-click Internet Options.
Click the Programs tab.
Click to select the Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser check box.
Click OK.
Start Internet Explorer and when you are prompted to make it the default browser, click Yes.

Also, make sure your caches in Firefox and IE are still set to recommened or Auto.

Or, try un-installing Firefox, then get CCleaner(run the reg scan and clean a couple of times),re-boot, then install Firefox(being careful not to let it be your default browser).

Almost sounds like you have a mis-behaving app that is not releasing memory and hogging resources. You might try un-installing any apps you installed since you got your adsl. Check your Task manager and see what is running that may be growing in size( using more and more memory or resouces as you use you system).

Goodluck

Edit: Also, your rig ain't shabby, try vista or Windows 7 64 bit and make sure all your drivers and firmware is up to date.

 

[Tommygunn]

Jmcslob,
I run CCleaner and Registry Booster all the time. I also run Piriform Defraggler regularly.
I'll also download Auslogics and if nothing comes of any of this I'll do a repair.
Don't fancy doing a full re-install as I only did one about 2 months ago.

Yogurt,
I've checked my bandwidth with Bandwidth Meter Pro and all appears good and I'm the only one using my connection.
I am turning the modem on and off frequently and it does seem to clear things. However, the problems return soon enough.
The room temperature here is 27-29°C presently while the modem itself is reading, at its hottest point, 52°C on the underside and 41°C on the upper surface. It's on an open shelf with ventilation all around.

T_ski,
I'll look into that. Thanks.

95Viper,
Oh no, I do want Firefox as my default browser but I still want to have IE there just in case, but of course with them both working as they should.
Where do I find the options for the caches in Firefox and IE, is it Tools/Options/Advanced/Network for Firefox?

I'll look into the apps I may have downloaded. I did download and application 'Satellite TV For PC' which is probably as dodgy as it sounds. Can't remember if this was before or after though. Actually I did it before as I was messing about with it for Wimbledon.
Currently, as I write this, my CPU usaged is between 0% and 10% while memory is on 35%
I've only had the modem since Thursday.
I've not done a driver update for a long time.

Thanks to all.

p.s. I thought I'd add the findings of Speedfan to see if anyone can make out any problems:

 

[t_ski]

Speedfan will only read SMART errors IIRC. It's better to do a full scan.

 

[95Viper]

95Viper,
Oh no, I do want Firefox as my default browser but I still want to have IE there just in case, but of course with them both working as they should.
Where do I find the options for the caches in Firefox and IE, is it Tools/Options/Advanced/Network for Firefox?

Sorry, I do not use Firefox, so I really can't tell you about it's setting.
But, in IE7:
Start Internet Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click Settings.
Change the "Amount of disk space to use" setting by dragging the slider.
Click OK, and then Click OK again

In IE8:
Start Internet Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
On the General tab, in the Browsing History section, click Settings.
Change the "Amount of disk space to use" setting by dragging the slider.
Click OK, and then Click OK again

Around 50MB or so should do it or set it to automatic(It will use about 10% of you disk space). I do the 50 thing, 10% is a lot on large drives. When it gets sluggish run CCleaner and see if it speeds back up.

 

[Tommygunn]

Ok, I ran 'Western Digital Data Lifeguard Dignostic' and it passed without a hitch.
It did say '625142447 of 625142448' read or whatever, so missing '1' if that means anything.

After various defrags etc and the above all problems still remain.

Viper,
I must have got it right with the Firefox as I up the cache from 50 to 300.

 

[DRDNA]

Run this internet speed test and pick a sever that is closest to you and report back the results.
http://www.speedtest.net/

 

[Tommygunn]

Here you go:

 

[DRDNA]

Here you go:
[url]http://www.speedtest.net/result/528248182.png[/URL]

Pretty week but should be enough for snappy browsing.

EDIT: What antivirus suite are you using? Seems as though something is scanning before it launches.

 

[t_ski]

If the HDD is OK, and there are no viruses, try taking the computer to a friend's house and use their internet (preferably a different ISP) and see if you have the same issues. If you do, it's not your ISP or your modem, but something with your PC.

 

[allen337]

dslreports.com and click on tools and tweak test run the test and tell it what connection download dr tcpip and do what it suggests, make sure you select the right ethernet connection in dr tcpip

 

[Tommygunn]

This is what I got:

I also went through the process of maxing MTU and got it to work, without fragmentation, by reducing by 10 to 1462. Is this good/bad, I have no idea?

Should I consider anything else to tweak?


I'm also gonna try taking off Firefox and re-installing it to see what effect it has on IE.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

This is what I got:
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv226/tomspublicphotos/Computing/Tweaktestresults.jpg

I also went through the process of maxing MTU and got it to work, without fragmentation, by reducing by 10 to 1462. Is this good/bad, I have no idea?

Should I consider anything else to tweak?


I'm also gonna try taking off Firefox and re-installing it to see what effect it has on IE.

Ok i'm starting to get those problems as well with Firefox started after last update... when loading pages it's taking like 5 min to load images such as the moticons here on TPU, but not always I'm gonna Roll back Firefox and see what happens-maybe not the same, but it keeps crashing to