# broadband and certain programs problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2003, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540 "2003-09-14T10:33:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![maleinblack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@maleinblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maleinblack)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/1 "2003-09-14T10:33:04Z")
I am asking some help for a problem faced by a friend of mine.The said friend runs win xp professional on his p4 1.5 ghz pc with 256 megs of ram.he recently ditched his dialup connection and has a broadband connection now. since he started using broadband he has been having a weird problem.he gets great speed while he surfs the net and also when he wants to download something off the net,but when wants to use his IRC cleint(mirc) - - - he cant get connected most of the time and when he is connected the speeds are realy low. * * * he checked with his isp and they told him that they werent firewalling the abovementioned programmes.I think it is something to do with the ports used by the programmes.IIRC both of them use port 1214 instead of port 80 used for normal surfing. so I request fellow dopers to help my desperate friend with his frustrating dillema.thanx in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/2 "2003-09-14T11:21:43Z")
Does your friend have a router, internet connection sharing, or a firewall? If he’s running a firewall, turn it off. If he’s running XP, disable the built in Internet Connection Firewall. If he’s got a router or Internet Connection Sharing, forward the necessary ports to his computer. ---
**Author:** ![maleinblack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@maleinblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maleinblack)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/3 "2003-09-14T13:28:10Z")
Well the friend doesnt have a router or internet connection sharing and the firewall is disabled and no third party firewalls are installed. Will it help to use a different port? If yes,then which ports are reccomended? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/4 "2003-09-14T13:40:37Z")
As a test, try to download a file with a lot of sources, just to make sure it’s not simply that the sources you tried before have slow upstreams. If you get good speeds with the many-sourced file, then it was likely only chance that you didn’t get good speeds before. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/5 "2003-09-14T14:15:09Z")
**maleinblack** , questions relating to file-sharing programs are restricted on these boards. Kindly read the [FAQ](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=106617) and the [Registration Agreement](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=148527) carefully before you ask your next question. Thank you. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![maleinblack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@maleinblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maleinblack)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/6 "2003-09-14T16:37:44Z")
Apologies **xash**.I strictly didnt mean to abuse the rules by asking a question totally related to the file sharing program.It was a genuine problem and I also wanted to know a solution for the IRC client. I listed the name of the file sharing program because that along with the IRC client used ports which were different from normal internet usage,and were the programs that didnt work well. Feel free to lock the thread if it is a total violation.Sorry again. ---
**Author:** ![Kewk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ab992/32.png) [@Kewk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kewk)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/7 "2003-09-14T18:42:27Z")
**xash** , mIRC is not a file sharing program. It is a chat program with the capabilities of transfering files. If you consider this as a file sharing program do you also include AIM, ICQ, and/or MSN as well? They are basically the same thing. Chat programs with the capabilities of transfering files. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/8 "2003-09-14T20:21:36Z")
Kewk, it appears xash edited out part of the OP pertaining to a file sharing program. He specifically left in mIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/9 "2003-09-14T21:52:48Z")
Port 1214 is used by that unnamed filesharing program. It is not typically used by mIRC. Most IRC servers accept connections on port 6667 and some others. Your friend should make sure that he doesn’t have anything unusual set under **File|Options|Connect**. In particular, **Default Server Port** should be set to 6667. ---
**Author:** ![Kewk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ab992/32.png) [@Kewk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kewk)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadband-and-certain-programs-problem/201540/10 "2003-09-15T03:34:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Berkut \* > \*\*Kewk, it appears xash edited out part of the OP pertaining to a file sharing program. > > He specifically left in mIRC. \*\* Ahhh thanks for the correction, Berkut.