Computer/Internet Tech Buffs Please Help! My Internet Speed doesn't seem to be working at full potential.

Question

I have a basic Cable/DSL internet connection. Per my cable company, I should be running at approximately 1.5 MB/s. Yet, if I'm downloading music or movies the highest speed I can get is 30KB/s. Any ideas on how to speed it up or what might be slowing it down? Any input would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Answer 1

Part of the problem might be the servers that you are downloading from. Another part could be the speed of your computer and its capabilities to handle a faster download. The best thing would be to visit a site like http://www.dslreports.com/stest to check your upload/download speed.

Answer 2

Your connection speed is dependent on what computer you're connected to, ie. if you are connected to a computer that only has a 56kbps modem, don't expect fast download speeds. For DSL speed gets slower the further you are from the DSL gateway. For Cable, speed goes down when there is lots of modems being used in the modem pool, so you get faster speeds when fewer people are using it. Using something like Bit Torrent, might give you shorter download times.

Answer 3

Download speed is theoretical maximum. No ISP guarantees download speeds, thus the disclaimer "actual speeds may vary". Download speeds vary based on elements ranging from your computer to too many houses on your local node. Most often download speed is relative to the speed of the server connection from which you are requesting information. I have a 3 meg connection, but many days do not get above 64K/s. There are things you can do. Most notably go to one of the sites which rate speed and let them test your connection. They also have suggestions for improving speed. You can also contact your ISP provider's tech support and tell them your speeds are slow. They will walk you through some tests, and if your speed is below their acceptable lower limit will suggest corrective actions. I would like to suggest more steps, but the honest truth is that there are so many elements related to speed there is just not enough space to cover them all here.

Former ISP Support Specialist.

Answer 4

Hi
Some cable companies have various options, usually 3, for which they charge different $$$, you may be on a slow option, but the only way is first call the provider, they can check your system over the cable, if it doesn't get faster call them again and have one of their techs come out and check it out, don't forget ur paying them for the service .sometimes the cable modem is the problem.

Answer 5

Ya, the isp does tend to put their speeds faster than they actually are. Your speed could be the result of congestion in your area or simply the site you are downloading from.

Try www.broadbandreports.com to test your internet speed.

Answer 6

I would start looking at 3 things. See what you are running at startup. To do that type msconfig at the run prompt look how many programs are starting. Next look for a worm file use a program like spyware Doctor. Its free to scan your drive with. Last see if your firewalls are configures correct try this address http://serurity.symantec.com

Good luck

Answer 7

Its the fault of the Internet Service Provider(ISP) not any of IRS.
U can only go for another ISP.Even though the ISP shows the speed like 115.2 kbps it is not that ISP is providing us the same.
In my view all the same cador.

Answer 8

when you are downloading music or movies, do you have any other applications open? also, if you are downloading files from other people like on napster or something, then it also depends on the connection they have. i hope this helps.

Answer 9

your cable company probably has a web site where you can find a test utility to obtain your actual speed.

you can go to:
http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

Answer 10

it could be something as simple as emptying your cache.
tools - internet options - delete files - apply - ok