Huge FTP Problems

I've been using WS-FTP LE 5.08 to upload images to my website for over 2 years now. All of sudden this past week, it started taking FOREVER to connect...if it will connect at all. It has never done this before and I did not install anything new in the meantime.

I have tried everything I know to fix it...not that I'm very computer savvy...including shutting off Windows Firewall, shutting Down Avast...etc etc. I've also noticed in my research people saying to either turn on or turn off passive mode. Done both with no success.

As a last resort I've downloaded several other FTP programs just to see if it's a WS-FTP problem. Same results with SmartFTP and CuteFTP....won't connect.

My user name and passwords are all correct.

Anything you can tell me to try is totally appreciated. I'm at my wits end here since I use FTP to upload images for my job.

Thanks,
Chris

P.S. I use Windows XP SP2

 

have you tryed reseting your ie settings??

tools/internet options/ programs/ reset internet settings

 

Thanks for the reply. Just tried that...no change. Any other ideas?

 

Could it be your internet connection or your webhosting provider? Can you run a bandwidth test and confirm your upload speed is close to what your ISP is saying it should be? Try pinging the webhost with 100 packets and see if there is an unusual occurrence of dropped packets or something like that.

 

Alright...I admit...I'm dumb...how do I go about pinging the webhost? I remember seeing someone do it awhile ago...but I completely forget how to do it...

 

The other weird thing I forgot to mention is when I use the FTP program at different computer with only dial up internet it connects instantly...but then I go to another computer at yet another location (this one with broadband like the original problem computer) and it has trouble connecting?? What the hey?

 

That does sound like an external problem... I'm still not sure if it is on your end or not. You can ping a server by doing the following:

Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt ......... now type in "ping" and the domain name "whatever.com" and then type a dash symbol "-" and type "n 100"

for example "Ping yahoo.com -n 100"

If you get response timeouts, then you may have some connection problems.

 

Here are the results to the pinging:

Packets: Sent = 100, Recieved = 100, Lost = 0 (0% Loss)
Approximate Round trip times in milli-seconds
Minimum = 100ms, Maximum = 204 ms, Average = 102 ms

I'm wondering if one of Microsofts Automatic Updates didn't somehow cause this problem? Because both computers with the FTP problem recieve automatic updates, but the one with dial up (on which the FTP runs fine) runs Windows 98 and does not recieve automatic updates.

How would I go about finding out which updates were recently installed?

 

I'm not sure that it will help, but you can find out what updates were recently installed by logging onto www.windowsupdate.com and going to "View installation history" on the right side of the screen. That will tell you what you've installed recently.

As far as the ping test goes, you are not dropping any packets, so it looks like your internet connection is clean.

What FTP program are you using? Can you try another FTP program? Perhaps the program you are using has a conflict with Windows XP SP2.

 

I'm using WS-FTP. I've already uninstalled the recent updates to no avail. I've tried CUTEFtp and SMARTFtp and cannont connect with them either.

WS-FTP will connect now but it takes a minimum of 2 minutes to just log in when it used to take seconds. Still, the dial up computer at another location logs in perfectly.

I'm at a complete loss. I've pretty much exhausted my ideas.

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!