What is slowing my connection speed?

February 24, 2008 12:00 PM

I have a machine running Windows 98 SE on a cable internet connection. Why am I recently getting connection speeds of 91 kbps (or less!)? (Measured at CNET's Bandwidth Meter)

This is an old(!) Compaq MV520 running an AMD-K6 (I think). Would a deteriorating hard drive or processor affect connection speeds?

posted by jaronson to computers & internet (4 comments total)

Well, you need to figure out if its the cable connection or the computer. Can you get a buddy's laptop in there and run a speed test?

If not I'd reboot the cable modem.

Win98 can benefit from optimizing some tcp settings. This app does it for free. Undo the changes if it makes things slower.

I'd also simply move to an XP or Vista machine with newer hardware. Or re-install 98. Its really not a good OS. Microsoft also doesnt support it anymore, so if someone has discovered a new exploit for it, you will not be patched. This may be whats going on right now.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:24 PM on February 24

Try hooking up another computer to the same setup (know someone with a laptop) and see if they have the same problem.

FWIW most win 98 machines will run Windows 2000 just peachy. 128 megs of ram is enough and 256 megs is more than enough. Win2K is what XP is based on without the (formerly) fancy eye candy, so the transition should be smooth. It can't be terribly expensive to get a license off ebay these days.
posted by furtive at 3:34 PM on February 24

There could be a total bandwidth hogger sharing your cable trunk too. Cable can sometimes be like a party line, since everyone on the same trunk (usually equates to a block or a neighborhood) shares the same bandwidth. If you are computing during a popular time, you could just be getting shut out by other users. Does this happen no matter what the hour?

Also, if you are running an unsecured wireless access point, you could have people "sharing" your bandwidth and similarly shutting you out. I have a friend whose connection speed went way up after I tutored her through turning on wireless encryption and access control lists.
posted by kalessin at 6:13 AM on February 25

How old is that Win98 install? OS bloat can be surprisingly selective on what it will slow down/kill/intermittently effect.

Have you put a different PC on the same connection and tried the speed?

I'd say if the other PC reports faster speeds, it's time to upgrade that OS. Probably Win2K at a minimum, and XP at a maximum. Or you could try out one of the many available flavors of Linux.

But seriously, it's time to get rid of those training wheels.
posted by SlyBevel at 11:22 AM on February 25