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General discussion

SLOOOWer Than Molasses

Dec 3, 2004 12:54AM PST

Help! My computer-Internet MSN & IE runs SO SLOW as to be almost unusable. I've had the same computer for 2 + years, and I don't remember it ever acting this way. I have dinosaur Dial-Up 56k, but so do many people. I perform regular maintenance: Disk Clean-Up, Disk DeFrag, SpyBot, Registy Mechanic, Norton Antivirus. Web pages just don't load,(3-5 minutes?! or never) even though sometimes the URL shows above in the address line, and below in the task bar. Very often I use "Go To" again, also "Stop Loading" and "Refresh." Very often, when I do get to a website, newsletter, or whatever, clicking on the features of that page just take me nowhere. I wait and wait and wait, nothing happens, and I just bail out. I try rebooting. I have better things to do than look at a blank screen. But a want to do stuff on the Internet, and I am so frustrated I could weep. Anybody have ideas? thanks. ladytrickster

Discussion is locked

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Re: SLOOOWer Than Molasses
Dec 3, 2004 1:55AM PST

Hmm. Are you ONLY having trouble with internet related speeds, or is the computer itself slow?
If so, it's probably your ISP.

Does it take ages to boot, noticable lag time when opening or closing windows, etc?
If that's the case, it could be a number of problems.
Most of the computers I've seen that have issues with windows being slow as heck are usually corrupted files or just too many programs installed and trying to start up at once.

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Re: SLOOOWer Than Molasses
Dec 3, 2004 2:16AM PST

read your reply to ladytrickster's troubles. Wonder if you could help with mine.
it takes upwards of 10 minutes to open certain applications and yet I have DSL at 128kbps and my PC is barely three months old.

Sure hope you have some answers. Thnx.

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Reply to both of you.
Dec 3, 2004 2:44AM PST
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Re: SLOOOWer Than Molasses
Dec 3, 2004 9:38AM PST

Lady,

More information please...

Which operating system are you using? (Your other posts indicate XP, is that correct?)

Is this problem just and internet issue? Does the machine run fine when offline and the "Molasses" problem is only when trying to access sites on the internet?

If it's just an internet issue, what is your normal connection speed? (While on the internet, open the Control Panel, double click on the "Network Connections" icon, then RIGHT click on the dial-up connection icon that you're using, choose "Status". Tell us the "Speed" listed.

Have you tried updating the modem driver for your computer?

Hope this helps and let us know more.

Grif

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Re: SLOOOWer Than Molasses-GRIF
Dec 3, 2004 10:54PM PST

Dear Grif Thomas - Thank You for responding to my plea for help, and for your good questions. I have Windows XP SP1. Since I spend very little time off-line, more time on Internet, I would have to say it's an Internet problem. I followed your instructions to look into my connections for status-speed etc., and found some interesting things. I have 2 sections: Connection Manager in which 2 items are listed: MSN:Connected-No Firewall. and MSN Explorer: Disconnected- Firewalled. Section 2 is Dial-Up Connection, with 1 item, Dial-Up:Disconnected-Firewalled. Still with me? Looks crazy to me. The speed on the active MSN connection is a measly 33.2 Kbps (!). I assumed it to be correct that I should activate the Dial-Up Connection, but when I tried to do so, I got the following Error Messages: The modem is already in use or not configured properly. and Error 633: The COM port that the network connection attempted to use is already in use by another active network connection (I assume this is the MSN Connetcion). Close the application that is blocking the use of the COM port. Does this mean that I should disconnect the MSN Connection (that scares me a lot. will then have No connection for the duration of fix), and activate the Dial-Up Connection and make it my default? SO So Sorry to go on so long. If you have the answer for me, you get a Gold Star! thanks. ladytrickster

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Lady, You Can Only Have ONE Dial-Up Connection Running
Dec 4, 2004 3:07AM PST

.....at at a time. If you're currently using the MSN software to connect to the internet, then you'll need to leave it exactly as it is. Because of this, the error messages you are getting appear to be correct. You can have more than one dial-up connection showing in the "Network Connections" window, but you can only use one at a time. (I've got two different ISP's with two separate icons in "Network Connections" and they are both labeled with the ISP name but I can't use them simultaneously.)

The "33.2 Kbps" isn't the greatest but it isn't "horrible" either. I've seen much worse. Depending on the modem driver, your phone lines and distance from the phone company, you may, or may not get any better. The next step I would take would be to see if there is a newer modem driver for your computer. Determine the manufacturer and driver version and dat by RIGHT clicking on "My Computer", choose "Properties", then click on the "Hardware" tab, then click on the 'Device Manager' button. When that loads, click on the + sign next to the "Modems" listing. There will be a specific device displayed. RIGHT click on that device, choose "Properties", then click on the 'Driver" tab. Write down the manufacturer/provider, plus the driver version and date. If you've got a brand name computer, go their website and see if there is something newer. If you don't have a brand name computer, then check the website of the provider and see if there is something newer. Install the newest driver and see if it helps.

Try using a different phone jack or a new phone wire to connect to the jack. Some telephony things such as wiring might be fixable if you contact the phone company. Have them check wiring status in the house maybe.

The next thing to do is to check for programs that might be using up your bandwidth. You want your bandwidth used for surfing and downloads, NOT for unnecessary programs. Shut down as many programs as possible that try to connect to the internet. If you're using an antivirus program that routine accesses the internet, see if you can disable that setting and manually update. If you've got Windows Media Player or RealPlayer that constantly try to "phone home", then disable those settings within the "preferences" options. The instructions at the link below might help with that:

How To Shut Down Unnecessary Start Up Programs

Check for spyware that uses up bandwidth by using the programs below:

Ad-Aware">http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/]Ad-Aware

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SLOOOWer Than Molasses
Dec 14, 2004 6:33PM PST

Definitely agree with Spybot & Adaware and checking MSConfig for unnecessary startup programs. Also install either Spywareblaster or Spywareguard (dont need both) for more protection. Also 2 other reasons for slowdowns is a big memory cache which acts like a ball & chain that you drag around while surfing. Clean the cache/temporary internet files often. You can use a cache manager (link below) to keep the cache small while surfing. Run scandisk & defrag the hard drive as needed, this should speed things up.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html

http://www.enigmaticsoftware.com/cachesentry/