Do Internet tools for speeding up downloads really work?

Do those internet tools (listed on this site) that optimize your PC's performance and speed up your internet activities really work?

 

sorta do, sorta don't.

internet optimizers do optimize your registry settings for your internet connection, but you really aren't going to notice anything in real-world usage.

however, if you are talking about download managers that are supposed to speed up single-file downloads, then that's also a 50/50 proposition. Most of the time you won't notice a difference, but there are times where you'll find a file that is going very slow and when you use a download manager, it will find a way to get more connections to that file and mirror(s) (if it has them) and thus get you a faster download on that one file.

 

Years ago, when I was less informed about the internet, I tried every "Speed-Up" program that ever came along. I even tried one program that worked with two modems at once. Then my ISP stopped supporting that mode.

But in short, I never really found any program that would 'really' speed up my downloads. Keeping your computer clean, lean, mean and running at optimum performance does more to assure good downloads than anything else I've ever found.

Downloads have to be processed bit by bit by your CPU and stored on your HD.
If your system is loaded down with TSR's and redundant Services, all demanding CPU time, your downloads will suffer. I guarantee it!:-D

I don't allow any programs to run in the background, except my AV program, when I'm working the internet. With one simple script, I shutdown over 20 Services for XP and nearly 40 for Vista, when I first set up the PC.
(The info on what services can safely be shut down or put in Manual mode, can be found on "Black Vipers" website.)

That greatly improves performance. Then I always insure that I have enough RAM for the OS I'm running. That's two gig's for XP and three gig's for Vista.

Hard drives will run much more efficiently if kept clean of junk files and also kept "Defragmented" on a regular schedule. SATA2 hard drives should be used for the OS, whenever possible. They run many times faster than the older and slower IDE drives.

So, it takes time and work to optimize your system to get better internet performance, not just some "Speed-Up" program.

I have noticed though......that the whole internet seems to be slowing down.
I can only assume that it's due to the ever increasing number of people using it. Some web sites that I've been visiting for years, now come up a lot slower than they used to...... if they come up at all.:cry

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Shadow :cool

 

Speed-up programs a load of rubbish.

If you want a good speed just phone up your ISP and tell them to up the speed.
(You can get good deals these days)

 

yeah i dont trust them either.

follow The Shadows advice. you should notice a bit of a difference.

 

I love that crown!

I actually have two ISP's. Calling the Dial Up company and complaining about the speed avails absolutely Nothing! They have only one speed.....dead slow!:-D

And to get the best speed from my Satellite ISP would cost me $99.95 per month...... so I sit here at their slowest speed and paying them $49.95 per month and just optimizing the heck out of my PC to get the very best performance possible.
That's not all bad though, because my PC now runs like a Scalded Dog!

Cheers Mates!:wave

Shadow :cool

 

Haha dial-up , why u still runnin on that old day method.

These days most people have cable modem or dsl with speeds up to 20mb.

Or is it because of the location you live at?

 

Yeah,,,,I can understand the humor in that, especially if you live in a large metropolitan area. But hey....some of us DON'T!

Out here in the country, where I live, I'm lucky to even have telephone service, that doesn't involve a wooden box on the wall with a crank on the side of it.:-D:-D:-D

We have NO DSL service and NO Cable Service out here. Even cell phone service is like one bar and iffy at best. So like many locations in the good ol' US of A, satellite is the only viable option, at whatever price the companies want to charge.
My Wild Blue, Satellite Internet setup cost me $465 to install and $49.95 per month for the basic service. NO, it ain't cheap, but it's the best I could get in this local.

I have one of the greatest dial up ISP's in the country. They cover the entire eastern US, from Miami, FL. to the Canadian border.
They host my web site for FREE and give me 15 megs of free file storage, to support my site. AND, they are there when bad weather takes down my Wild Blue satellite service. So, all told, I'd have to be daft to drop them.

Dacads,,, I hope that answers your question! :confused

Within three blocks of my house, there are four other Wild Blue users.

Cheers Mates!
Shadow :cool

 

If you are using XP then you can certainly tweak your download settings with some research and use DrTcp to update them. Remember to reboot after every change to a DrTcp setting. Not suitable for Vista, though.

See thumbnails for my tweaked setting, some examples of my speeds achieved and the Microsoft default setting. It is probably of no use to use my settings as every PC, ISP, Broadband plan, etc., is different. My settings are radically different from the MS defaults and many times faster.

Do some google searches on speed up broadband, broadband speed, DrTcp or similar wording for lots of places to start your research. Hope this helps you get started on your quest.

Bazza

PS: To answer your original question. Very few "speeduppers" work radically different from what you are probably getting now. The ability to resume interrupted downloads, and some other features, come in handy, though.

DrTcp link is http://www.dslreports.com/drtcp and a primer on DrTcp at:
DRTCP: How do I use it and what are all these settings? (#578)
at http://www.dslreports.com/faq/578

Baz