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Slow downloading?


SteamRoller

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Hey guys I have a question here.

I recently got cable internet that goes up to 15Mbps in download speed.

Anyway, when play a video, I can barely even watch it, and that's right after I tested the connection speed of 14Mbps. So, I tried the bandwith test here and got back a result of about 500KB/s. When I had DSL at 5Mbps, it went about 600KB/sec (which makes sense), now that I have this cable internet that's faster, the download speed is slower!?

Is there anything that has to be done to get the real speed? I'm testing at 14Mbps but only downloading at a rate of 500kb/s? and again, my 5Mbps DSL was faster than this??

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Welcome to the site!

Can you post up some test results... upload and download. What OS you run? What cable modem... do you have a router? --- more details will make it easier for us to help you.

I see that you're on Road Runner... what state?

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Welcome to the site!

Can you post up some test results... upload and download. What OS you run? What cable modem... do you have a router? --- more details will make it easier for us to help you.

I see that you're on Road Runner... what state?

Sure,

From testmy.net:

Download 6.7 Mbps (835 kB/s) with 50MB file.

Upload 1.8 Mbps (221 kB/s) with 17.5MB upload.

From Time Warner Cable website:

Speed Test 14.5 Mbps Download/ 1.78 Mbps Upload.

I'm running under Windows XP and my router is a Netgear Wireless Router. I have Road Runner internet in Southern California (Los Angeles area), and my plan says I have 15Mbps Download / 2Mbps Upload.

The Speed Tests I take online say I have around 14-15Mbps, but when I download a file or stream a video, I get around 6Mbps. The testmy.net results have been the most accurate results I've gotten. Why am I getting these different results and how can I get my "real" downloading speed I'm paying for?

Thanks in advance.

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Sure,

From testmy.net:

Download 6.7 Mbps (835 kB/s) with 50MB file.

Upload 1.8 Mbps (221 kB/s) with 17.5MB upload.

From Time Warner Cable website:

Speed Test 14.5 Mbps Download/ 1.78 Mbps Upload.

I'm running under Windows XP and my router is a Netgear Wireless Router. I have Road Runner internet in Southern California (Los Angeles area), and my plan says I have 15Mbps Download / 2Mbps Upload.

Ahhh, Windows XP. I have a trick for you...

The Speed Tests I take online say I have around 14-15Mbps, but when I download a file or stream a video, I get around 6Mbps. The testmy.net results have been the most accurate results I've gotten. Why am I getting these different results and how can I get my "real" downloading speed I'm paying for?

Thanks in advance.

I hear that allot. I something written up about this at and https://testmy.net/legit-speed-test.php where I try to explain why you may see differing results from other services. TestMy is proprietary and I feel that it's obvious that it's a more thorough and accurate speed test than flash based alternatives. (based on feedback from my users)

What I feel that it's detecting in your case is an improperly set receive buffer or RWIN. Windows XP is notoriously bad for connections as fast as yours. Good thing fixing it is very easy. Just go to SpeedGuide.net and download TCP Optimizer . I'm attaching the most recent version to this post.

TCPOptimizer-v3.0.7.zip

Just set your speed, check modify all adaptors and click optimize (or something like that.. I'm on a Mac right now so I'm going from memory). After a reboot run another test and see if you have any improvement.

- Let us know what you find ;)

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I just downloaded and ran the TCP optimizer.

I set the speed to 15Mbps, modify all adapters, selected the optimize radio button, and saved the settings.

After rebooting it, I tested my speed and it game me the same results. There's a lot of settings on the TCP optimizer, are there other tweaks I should be applying?

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Usually that does the trick. ... hummmm :?

Make sure MTU is 1500 -- also check in your router, I remember when I went from Qwest (DSL) to Cox (Cable) I had a similar problem. Somewhere in the settings the MTU was set to 1496 or something... great setting for DSL but incorrect for cable. I reset it to 1500 and BAM problem solved. If you can't find a setting like that I would recommend that you reset your router to default with the reset button. Setting up from scratch may solve it the issue.

If you want to check and see if your router's at fault you can remove it from the equation. Connect your modem directly and see how you perform. Remember, you must unplug the modem for about 10-15 seconds to make sure your provider updates the MAC address from the router MAC to the computer MAC. You can't just swap the ethernet over ;) -- try that stuff and get back to me. If it performs better then you know you've found the culprit.

If you reset your router... please make sure you know how to get it going again. I love helping but I don't want to be responsible for any mistakes you may make. :police:

Also, is your cable modem brand new or is it an older one?

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I reset my router and even unplugged it for a good 30 seconds. Everything seems to be the same.

I haven't tried to plug another device to the modem (such as a Windows Vista desktop), but I think that it could still be my modem that's causing this because I didn't buy it from the store, it was given to me when I ordered my cable service.

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I reset my router and even unplugged it for a good 30 seconds. Everything seems to be the same.

I haven't tried to plug another device to the modem (such as a Windows Vista desktop), but I think that it could still be my modem that's causing this because I didn't buy it from the store, it was given to me when I ordered my cable service.

... it's definitely possible. I've seen the same issue recently with two people I know... and their results looked fine on other test sites... they swapped their cable modems out and the speeds shot up.

.. So did you try taking the router out of the equation?

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