# why does my computer sometimes take ages to...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-sometimes-take-ages-to/128559>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 15, 2002, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-sometimes-take-ages-to/128559 "2002-09-15T17:46:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-sometimes-take-ages-to/128559/1 "2002-09-15T17:46:03Z")

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…tell me I’ve been disconnected? I use a 56k modem connection.

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**Author:** ![siva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@siva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/siva)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-sometimes-take-ages-to/128559/2 "2002-09-15T19:04:49Z")

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you can adjust the time that your modem will give you that message. I believe it will be in your modem properties. If you choose 1 minute the modem will tell you after one minute of no connection

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**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [September 15, 2002, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-computer-sometimes-take-ages-to/128559/3 "2002-09-15T21:36:56Z")

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There isn’t constant communication between your modem and the modem on the other end. They only talk to each other when they need to. So if you’re not doing anything that requires frequent traffic, it could take a while.

Additionally, your modem is set up to wait so that it’s less likely to mistake a slow computer on the other end for a dropped connection.