I’ve searched for threads concerning this particular annoyance, but couldn’t find anything. If this has already been asked and answered, please direct me to the proper thread.
First, my computer:
P4 1.8 Ghz
Intel motherboard
256MB RDRAM
USR external v.92/v.90/blah blah blah modem
Win98 SE
IE 6.0 (I’m very tempted to try Opera)
(If other hardware info is needed, please let me know)
Second, my problem(s):
When I click on Favorites to go to a random website, my modem will just sit there and not do anything. No flashing lights, no data either coming or going, and the little IE “spinning earth” icon sometimes spins and sometimes doesn’t (another annoyance for another time). This also happens when I click on links on websites as well.
Only after about 30 to 45 seconds will my modem kick into gear and start transmitting data. I’m typically an impatient person, so this little delay in browsing is irritating.
What is causing this, and how do I correct it? My ISP is Mindspring/Earthlink. Is this a hardware issue, software issue, ISP issue, operator error?
Also, I’m connecting at 24,000. Would I notice an improvement in browsing/downloading speeds if that was 115,000 instead? If so, how do I bump that up? A modem string in the modem properties?
Any help and information is greatly appreciated.
cardsfan1975
Holy shit! Don’t tell me your computer is a Compaq…I had the EXACT same problem mere months ago with a Compaq. I even searched for an answer on these forums and none of the advice helped, and I tried EVERYTHING suggested. I then purchased a Sony Vaio and it, of course, worked flawlessly.
Nah. This is a computer I built myself. My very first computer was a Compaq, and it was a mistake that I’ll never make again.
cardsfan1975
When you click on a link, the first thing that your computer does is send out a small message to your dns server, basically asking it what numbers www.whatever translates to. Then there’s a delay from the dsn server, until it responds. When I was with earthlink, sometimes their dns servers were painfully slow. Once the dns servers tells your computer what the IP address is, then your computer starts sending messages to that IP address. Then there’s another delay until that computer responds. Depending on what that other computer sends back for the web page, your computer may send out a whole bunch more messages, and there will be other delays, and eventually you end up with a web page displayed on your screen.
You bump up your modem speed by fixing all of the bad connections and wires between you and the phone company switch gear. Most of that is owned by the phone company, and they generally aren’t too fond of letting customers dig up their wiring. But you can go through your house and make sure all of your phone wiring is good. Generally speaking, you usually won’t get much above 30k unless you can look out the window and see the phone company’s switching station. Most phone companies don’t guarantee anything above 19200, so don’t be surprised if they aren’t all that willing to fix their wiring for you. Even on a perfect connection, the phone line is limited to just under 56k. Your serial port can go faster, but the phone line can’t.
If you really want to go faster than that, it’s time to look into a cable modem or dsl. Faster network speeds will get rid of some of the delays, such as when the data is actually downloading it will go much much faster. However, the delays caused by the dns server being too busy to respond and the other computer you are talking to being too busy won’t get any better, because you’re just waiting for their computer to finish doing its thing. Overall though, the internet will feel much faster with dsl or cable.
Thanks for the info, E_G_C. It sounds like I’ve done all I can do then, and I’ll just have to live with it. Oh well, no biggie; there are far greater tragedies in life.
Unfortunately though, I can’t get DSL or cable. If I could, I would already have it.
cardsfan1975