Slow internet connection on 2nd computer

Let me preface this question by saying we have a one-year-old Acer (4 GB ram, 3.10 Ghz processor) hooked up to our Uverse router box (is that what it's called - a router?), and the internet speed is FAST.

We have a second older computer (Dell Dimension 4500S, 1 GB ram, 1.8 GHz processor), hooked up to this same router box via a Cat5 cable. BUT, the internet connection speed is SLOW. Why?

Now, I know that 1 GB RAM should be sufficient, right?

I've ran all the recommend scans & have all the recommended security software on this older computer, and I'm 99.99% sure that there is no malware or virus on this computer.

When we don't have the internet open, the computer runs really fast...it's a good computer....just the internet is slow. Is it something with the computer, or could it be a bad or too long cat5 cable? We tried both a 50 foot and a 30 foot cable, and there was no difference in speed. Could it be a low quality cable?

 

Couple of things you can try.
Using the same cable, are there other ports available on the router that you can hook into?
Have you tried updating the drivers for your network adapter?
If you hook up only the older computer, is the speed the same?
Can you reboot and hit the F8 key to boot into Safe Mode with Networking, is the speed the same?
Have you tried a different browser, for example Firefox instead of IE?
Is your computer all up to date on it's Windows patches?

 

1) I tried other ports on the router...didn't help
2) Checked for driver updates to the network adapter...there weren't any
3) Unhooked the newer computer, but speed was still SLOW on older computer
4) Haven't tried Safe Mode with Networking yet...
5) We normally use Firefox on the older computer, but I tried IE and it was even slower than Firefox
6) Yes, computer is up-to-date

 

OK, I booted in Safe Mode with Networking, and the internet connection was MUCH faster. No sound, but MUCH faster.

Does this mean there's something wrong with the computer or its settings? Or maybe the computer has too much stuff running at once? Or is it just getting old and it's time for a new one?

 

That's probably the problem. If you have a large number of programs running at start up that automatically look for updates - for example Adobe, Java, any programs that check for updated versions, etc - that would chew up the bandwidth and slow down the loading of pages.
You can check in Task Manager and look at the Processes Tab. This will give you a run down of of what is running in the background. Changing some of the default settings to not run at start up for these programs would help your speed.

 

Also, as this is described as a second computer, if it's left unused for more than a few days, A/V updates might make a big hit on the speed, much depends on the program - some companies provide much smaller definitions updates than others, in testing some a few months ago, I was seeing differences from about 8 to 90+MB, even when used daily for a week or so.

1GB is now considered the bare minimum for XP SP3, 2GB would see the computer performing easier. And defrag - when did you do a disk cleanup followed by a defrag?

 

I disabled Adobe & Java (and one other program I can't remember the name of at the moment) at startup, and it seemed to help a little. It's still slow though, compared to our main computer. Is there anything that's non-essential that I can disable? What about firewall & antivirus? That computer has Zone Alarm & Avast...are those resource hogs or not?

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This computer is left on all the time and used by our kids all the time. They enjoy using it to play games on certain websites and to watch videos on youtube. They also use it for school/research. They are very frustrated with the slowness. And when I need to use that computer for whatever reason, I get frustrated with it as well.

But, you're saying that 1GB RAM is no longer good enough anymore?

The last time I did a disk cleanup & defrag was probably about 4 weeks ago.

 

Do not disable the firewall and/or antivirus especially with teens on the comp.:eek

satrow can probably give you a better opinion on the combination of Zone Alarm and Avast interactions than I can. I have not used Zone Alarm in several years.

Can you give a listing/screenshot of what processes are running?
We can make some recommendations as to what to disable.

A good little program to use to control start ups if you are running XP is StartUp Control Panel

 

Oh, no, I wasn't asking about disabling firewall & AV...just asking if those brands were resource hogs or not....and if there are any other free products that are better/faster.

I'm going to try & attach a screen print of the processes...hope it works.

View attachment processes screen print.bmp

View attachment startup screenprint.bmp

 

That listing must be for one user as that is pretty slim on number of processes.
I can make some recommendations to shut down.
jqs.exe
AcroRD32.exe
ctfmon.exe
hkcmd.exe
igfxtray.exe
lxbbmgr.exe
There are others that I can not quite make out.

You could also visit Black Viper's site HERE and look at stopping some non-essential services to help cut down on CPU load. You would need to look at the specific OS listing you are running, XP, Vista or Win7.
A "Safe" setting is probably a good one to start with as it does cut out some services but leaves a lot of functionality running. "Tweaked" and "Bare Bones" get into more slimmed down services

 

ZA has a pretty bad reputation for misbehaving, also very likely not to uninstall correctly, use the uninstall tool here after going through the usual Add/Remove programs uninstall and the reboot.

Download Private Firewall or PC Tools Firewall Plus (<-- make sure you uncheck the options to install Google Toolbar and Threatfire free edition. There's is no sense in installing excess baggage. NOTE: While this free firewall will still likely work and is better than the Windows firewall, it has recently (Aug 2010) been retired to be included in their pay internet security suite.*) before you uninstall ZA, so you can install one as soon as ZA is gone.

 

I disabled:

hkcmd.exe
igfxtray.exe
lxbbmgr.exe

from startup (using msconfig), but they showed up again. ??

I'm working on doing the services suggestions on the Black Viper site....

I'm also going to install a different firewall...maybe Private Firewall.

Is there a better (less of a resource hog) Anti-virus program than Avast? Or is Avast ok?

I also went ahead & completely uninstalled all AOL software. We haven't used AOL on this computer in YEARS.

All this has seemed to help a little. Regular "non-busy" web pages load up quickly, and I can have a few tabs/windows open at the same time without much of a problem. BUT, pages with lots of scripts & Flash stuff (I think it's Flash stuff...maybe Java stuff too?), like websites with kids' games, and youtube videos, still take a long time to load & they freeze up frequently. Any reason why? Or is it just time for a newer computer?

 

I use Avast! and Private firewall - I have a great dislike for resource hogs too. Avira may be a little lighter (as might the PC Tools firewall) but the differences could be tiny overall.

Re. the Flash and video's etc., much of that should be handled by your graphics card if you have one, an older Intel integrated graphics chipset will struggle and probably offload much of the work to the CPU. A modern $40 graphics card might help out a lot in that regard (your gfx slot might be AGP though), do you have the Dell S/N for the 4500s?.

 

OK, I'll keep Avast & try a new firewall.

Can't find the serial number...


Is this the graphics card you're talking about:

Intel(R) 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV/ Graphics Controller --> this is what is showing up in device manager

 

Yes, that's the onboard graphics chipset (probably also using some of your valuable RAM), it's from a design probably over 10 years old.

If you visit the Dell Support site and have it run a scan, it should come up with your S/N code, can you check there, copy it in a reply if you can, we'll be better equipped to check the original hardware that way.

 

Every Dell has a tag on it somewhere that gives a Service Tag #. This can be used at the Dell Support site to identify your specific computer.
There would be information on the original configuration as shipped by Dell and also drivers, bios updates, manuals, etc. I have checked previously on other Dells and been able to find video cards that were compatible "at the time of manufacture". This would give you a starting point as to what would be compatible with your motherboard if you choose to upgrade the video.

 

OK, I think I found the serial number:

J1VSM11

 

After perusing that comp's manuals, you would only be able to put in a PCI (not PCI-E) video card as there is no AGP slot from what I saw.
I don't know if it would be worth spending the money on for that upgrade unless you got a dirt cheap card.

 

What lbmest said

I just checked through the low profile PCI cards at Newegg, the only ones, I'd consider using are $60 and $70, I'm not 100% that they'd fit (lengthwise) or work, esp. if the PSU in the Dell is showing signs of aging. (take with a pinch of salt the power supply requirements in the Newegg details for the above cards, they only draw about 20W from what I can tell).

The cheaper cards are based on older chips and would still have problems with modern webpages and media files, probably needing more power to run as well.

Then there's the extra heat to be dissipated from the small enclosure, if the airflow isn't sufficient, a few degrees of temp. rise might cause other components to die prematurely.

$60 might cure the problems you're complaining of but there's no guarantee for how long, that PSU was shipped in 2002, can it cope with feeding an extra 15-20 Watt draw?

 

Thanks, guys.

I definitely won't be bothering with any upgrade for it. To me, it's not worth it. I can get an E-machine at Walmart with 3GB RAM & 1 TB hard drive for $300....so if I'm going to spend any money, it will be on that.

BUT, after all the tweaking & disabling & uninstalling I did (and I replaced Zone Alarm with Private Firewall), the kids tell me that the internet seems to be a little faster now. The videos & games don't freeze up, they tell me. So, maybe all is good....for now!

Again, thank you. Major Geeks ROCK! :dood :-D

 

Thanks for the feedback

I reckon you made the right decision, just keep the cleanup and defrag routine say, monthly and ask the kids not to install anything without checking with you first

 

Will do, and your welcome!