Slow Internet Speed

I have DSL, but my download speed is abysmal, 240 range. My computer is not near the phone jack, so I ran a 50 ft telephone cable to the computer. I suspect that is the problem. What can I do to increase speed? Will I get better speed if I have an electrician install a phone jack near the computer? Other potential solutions?

I have a Dell Dimension DM061; Intel Core 2 CPU 1.86 GHz; 2 GB RAM; Windows Vista Home Premium, 32-bit, SP2

I am not certain which is the correct forum, so I apologize if I posted in the wrong one.

Thank you for your help.

 

i'd find a better isp. cable, fiber, anything but phone lines....

50ft shouldn't make a difference. it's how far from the main hub you live that determines what kind of speeds your isp can provide you over dsl.

look into wireless mobile hot spot box also...

 

Doubledeez:

Thank you.

 

2Gb of RAM could be a bottle neck too.

Not sure what you mean by a 50ft "telephone" cable. Don't you connect to your DSL modem via an "Ethernet" cable? And the DSL modem is connected to your phone cable?

Do you have a friend with a notebook who can try your connection to make sure it is your connection and not your computer?

 

Digerati:

The 50 ft phone line runs from the telephone jack in the wall to the modem two rooms away. I live in an older house, and there is only one phone jack. I have an ethernet cable running from the modem to the computer.

I will try and see if I can get a second computer to hook up to see if it can get better speed.

Thank you.

 

Okay. Then I don't see where that will make any difference. All installing another phone jack in the other room would be is a phone cable spliced into the same cable going to your existing jack. So same difference - assuming the 50ft cable, your Ethernet cable, wall phone jack and cable running to back of the wall phone jack are all in good condition. If a technician can run the cable through the floor or ceiling in a (more or less) straight line, then it will likely be a shorter run than 50ft, but I still don't see that helping much, if any.

So I am back to your 2Gb of RAM being your bottleneck. This is even more likely if you are using integrated graphics and not a graphics card. With integrated graphics (where the graphics solution is integrated on the motherboard) a big chunk of that 2Gb is dedicated to graphics processing. So in effect, you end up with even less than 2Gb for Windows and your CPU to work with.

I am also assuming your "abysmal" speed problem has been a problem since the beginning with this setup. If it all used to be fine with this computer and 50ft run to this DSL modem, then that's a different story.

 

The main question I would ask is if this is a rural location??? My mom lives about 5 miles smack dab between two towns (in the country) and all she can get for internet is AT&T DSL at speeds of 1.5mbs(plan quote). and that's on a good day. on average it is 0.67mbs which seems like dial up and I have to periodically call to have them perform a reset on their end to get the nominal 1.2-1.3mbs after reset which will last until the next rain storm then it's back down to 0.67mbs . I have 100mbs up and 100mbs down service through LUS with my town utility fiber service. I pay the same amount that she pays. It's bull that she can't get better service but that's all that at&t can do because of where she lives.
Just throwing that out there for whatever...

Also,
I have a 2009 lil acer aspire that I use at home and her house. It only has 2 gigs of ram running windows 7 home premium. (it had xp) At home I can get the same max speeds (about (89-97mbs average up/down, depending on time of day)as on my home build tower using the lil acer with 2 gigs ram. Unless your pc is clogged up with malware and other crap, I'd say 2 gigs ram should be ok and not have too much bearing on download speed.

 

You might also check your speeds with Testmy.net and Speedtest.net then check your contract to make sure you are getting what you pay for. If not, contact your ISP and complain.

 

Digerati:

Thank you. You answered one of my main concerns, which is that the 50 ft telephone cable is likely not the issue. I am following up with my ISP to see what speeds I should be getting at my location. I am not in a rural area, but in the midst of suburbia. You are right that the speed has been slow for a while, but now it seems to be even slower. Perhaps just my perception. It has also slowed down since I installed a router into the mix so that my daughter can get wifi for her laptop. But that is a self-inflicted wound.

Is there an easy way to tell if my graphics are integrated vs. a graphics card? I am not very knowledgeable about computer hardware.

 

A router by itself will not slow you down as it likely can support up to 1Gbit/sec speeds. Even if a super budget router, it should easily support 100Mbit/sec network speeds. So again that points to the Internet bandwidth you are getting. And if sharing that provided by your ISP with your daughter, then that could affect performance if she is streaming videos or other high-bandwidth tasks.

Did you try testmy.net or speedtest.net?

 

Greetings, California Geezer.

Pardon the intrusion. To answer your question:

Probably the easiest way is to look at the back of your machine and to compare with the attached image.
.

 

Digerati and Caliban:

Speed tests: testmy 356 kps/306 kps; speedtest: 360 kps/270 kps; my ISP's speed test: 241 kps/341 kps. My contract says I should be getting up to 1,500 kps/386 kps. I keep trying to call them, but the reps have been busy (to be fair, I have gotten good support in the past). I will continue to try and get ahold of them.

I have tried looking at the back of my computer using Caliban's diagram. Sorry, but I am not sure what I am looking for. I suspect that my graphics are not integrated. I have an Nvidia 7300, if that helps.

Thank you all for your help.

 

1. You have a graphics card.
2. You live in a suburb. Consider a mobile modem. I have a slow modem capable of 21.6 Mbps. Even my budget smartphone's modem is capable of 1 Mbps.

 

That's the gotcha. You will note there is no minimum guaranteed speed. Verizon words the contract like that.
Ask what the guaranteed minimum speed is and they won't answer.

 

After struggling and failing to get through to my ISP, they called me! They said I should be getting around 1,200 kps. They will send me a new modem (for free) to see if that works. I will try and see if that resolves the issue. If not, then I will have to see about an alternative, likely some form of wireless as Eldon suggests.

Thanks to all of you for your support.

 

Good news! Hope that's it. Keep us posted.

 

I'm glad they told you what you can expect. If you don't get it, keep bugging them. You pay for service and expect to get what you pay for.

 

"demand" you get what you are paying for!

If you don't get it, you are fortunate to be living in California as they have some of the strictest consumer protection laws in the country and you can demand your ISP refund at least a portion of your payments! :-D

 

Plodr and Digerati:

To follow up. They sent me a new modem. It arrived the next day. Installed it. Resolved the issue. Testmy indicates 1300 kps/319 kps. Speedtest indicates 1330/330. Interestingly, my ISP speed test indicates 870/309. Either way, the observed increase is tremendous, and I am quite pleased.

My ISP has given me good tech support in the past, and they came through again. Since most people complain about their ISP, I will say that mine has given me good support.

I thank you to all of the Major Geeks who have supported me as well. I appreciate your experience and your willingness to help those of us who are largely in the dark.

 

Great who wants to limp along on the "information highway"!

 

There is harm in informing us what ISP that is so users with that option can make informed decisions.

I am glad the new modem resolved your issue and thanks for the followup.