I love youtube, but...

...The streaming videos always start for 4 seconds, then they stop, then they start, then they stop, and I have DSL. What could be wrong?

 

First of all let it play for a bit ... then pull it back to the start and try again ... if it still does it tell us what your system specs are??

 

SONY VAIO Notebook FS740/W; WINDOWS XP; Service Pack 3; Internet Explorer 8

 

My brother and his wife lives on the Gold Coast, in Runaway Bay, Mate...Nevertheless, getting back to the problem at hand...

 

I mean like ... whats your Processor what type and how much RAM do you have?

 

Well, check out your download speeds at speedtest.com Alternatively, pause the video and let it download completely and then play it, if it still behaves the same then it's not your connection but your hardware and we'll take it from there. You could also save the videos to disk, I believe Google has an app that works with IE8.

 

This laptop makes me feel so stupid. I have a Intel 1.73GHz processor and 502MB of RAM. Thank you for your assistance, and Auggie...I'm trying that speedtest site. Thank-you.

 

There's nothing wrong with your laptop's specs, mine is half that power and has no issues.

 

So, Auggie...What do you suggest, because before the month of May, I had no problems with continuous viewing of the YouTube streaming videos, than suddenly, that buffering thing started happening.

 

Thank-you, Dom...The test results indicated 51 Mbps. I did try YouTube with Sahara, Firefox, but not Opera. What do you believe could be causing this sudden slowdown with this buffering? Because the rest of the downloading of websites are quick.

 

I think you meant 5.1Mbps which is a great speed! Sudden slowdowns can be due to new software/hardware installations, if you've done so then uninstall the culprit(s) and see what happens. Have you asked your ISP yet, though I doubt you'd get anywhere with them? The thing that bugs me is you said 'before the month of May', that sounds like ISP to me but I could be wrong of course.

 

Thanks Dom, because I always feel so stupid, with something goes wrong, I will try your suggestion and get back to you later on. You're the best!!!

 

Yea mate, you could have an ADSL2+ connection and it wouldn't make a difference in your case ... your processor will play a small factor here but the biggest factor will be your RAM ... I'd say at least 1GB ... preferably 2 if you can afford it and your laptop can support it ...

 

You're the best...You're a genius!!! Thank-you!

 

So with all things remaining the same, what did work for you? I'm curious and this might help someone else.

 

AugieDoggie...I have got to share this with you, and all the rest of the people who have helped me, tried to help me, and most of all, the people who are having trouble with YouTube. For weeks, I did something, that caused me to stop having the smooth viewing videos. I downloaded Flashplayer over and over again, I downloaded Safari, Firefox, QuickTime, Real, etc, etc, nothing helped. Then, this morning, Augie...all that came to an end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I downloaded AdobeAIR, and suddenly, it's just like it before...Perfect. Augie, I don't know what you will be doing this weekend, but I know what I will be doing this weekend...Watching YouTube. Thanks for your help.

 

I am having the trouble with the buffering of shows and movies online. I know my system is up to specs and my download speeds are fine (DSL-100Mbps). So, I am assuming that the site(s) I am using are; uploading slower than I download, overloaded with people downloading stuff therefore slowing their servers, or there is nothing wrong with the sites. It is not an all the time thing, only happens on occasion and I have noticed that it seemingly happens more often during the peak usage times in my area ie; evening hours, weekends, holidays. Am I incorrect to assume that my service provider is probably swamped during these times and that is what is causing the constant buffering?

Would also like to know if anyone knows of an add-on for Firefox that will help with buffering or even another app out there that might help. Possible settings I may have set incorrectly?

I will try the safe mode idea but that is kind of a pain in the *** unless I set a shortcut to Quick Launch, which I would rather not do if possible to avoid. I like my add-ons available when I am on Firefox. Constantly switching from Safe Mode to Normal Mode would get annoying very quickly (assuming it works).

Intel Quad Core Processor-2.4GHz
RAM-4GB's (Vista Home Premium 32-Bit so only using 3GB's)
Dual NVidia G285 Graphics cards
Over 300 GB's of free disk space

Thanks for all and or any help!! I am still searching MG for answers and fixes, etc. I do not use Youtube so I cannot speak for buffering on that site. Mainly Free-TVShows.com, Z-Share, Youdu (spelling), NovaMov, and sites like that for movies. I do not use MegaVideo because of their asinine set-up of only allowing you to watch 52 minutes of video then making you wait an hour to watch again (yes I understand it is a free service and that a membership can be purchased-keep in mind the word FRUGAL or CHEAP to put it bluntly about me).

 

Are you sure its 100Mbps and you're just not seeing your LAN speed there???