AndyR
Gold Member
OK - a few more things. I am writing this from a Win98 machine (600 MHz CPU, 384 MB RAM) running I.E.6.0 w/128 bit encryp. With 2 browser windows open my resources are 68%,68%, 84% from the resource meter. So, if anything, should be able to replicate a similar systme load. However, I am on an alleged 512K DSL connection (more like 380K on average), so things go faster when they happen.
You have mentioned that *all* of your connections, whether work or personal, seem to be slow. Try going to <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dslreports.com/>dslreports.com</A> and click on the "Our Tools" link to get to the utilities. Run the speed test at various times and see what it gives you for results. Record the results as this will give you a benchmark for system performance. Now go to a command window (START, RUN, type cmd in the window and you get a DOS window) and run a trace to our favorite website. At the DOS prompt, without the quotes, type "tracert www.tractorbynet.com" This will cause your provider's nameserver to look up the IP address corresponding to the URL and then give you a reading of the time it takes to reach each router or gateway from you place to TBN. There will be 3 readings for each node and you should see numbers anywhere from 1 to 130 (milliseconds) on average. Why do this? - So you can qualify if the problem is outisde of your control. Try this at several different times of day to get an average result. This will be a bit more detailed then what the dslreprots info will give you and may help to pinpoint an errant router. Try this with a bunch of different websites if you see a clog point (likes 200 mS reponse times).
<font color=red>[IMPORTANT - back up your system and do a full ERU (Emergency Rescue Disk) before you try any of this stuff below. Make sure you include System.dat and User.dat if you have the space to (like on a CD or Zip).]</font color=red>
It sounds like you have some issues with stuff running in the background. Doc Heb's recommendation for AdAware is right in the money. When I installed it, AdAware found about 200 items on my system and removal (with or without the backup option) was painless and trouble-free. Next, take a look at how many programs are in your system tray (lower right-hand corner, where the clock is) - if you have more then 10 you may want to see about not loading all of this stuff at once. In many cases you can right click on an item in the system tray and get a configuration menu. If you do a 3 finger solute (ALT, CTRL, DEL) briefly, you can see the task manager in Win98. If the scroll bar on the right hand side is less then 1/3 of the display you have a LOT of stuff running on the background. XP offers a nifty boot configuration manager (something Apple had for years) but Win98 is pretty lame on this point.
OK - that's all I have time for at the momoent but please report back and I'll check in in a few days. Please let me know if I am being too basic in my descriptions as I don't know your level of proficiency on the PC.
You have mentioned that *all* of your connections, whether work or personal, seem to be slow. Try going to <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dslreports.com/>dslreports.com</A> and click on the "Our Tools" link to get to the utilities. Run the speed test at various times and see what it gives you for results. Record the results as this will give you a benchmark for system performance. Now go to a command window (START, RUN, type cmd in the window and you get a DOS window) and run a trace to our favorite website. At the DOS prompt, without the quotes, type "tracert www.tractorbynet.com" This will cause your provider's nameserver to look up the IP address corresponding to the URL and then give you a reading of the time it takes to reach each router or gateway from you place to TBN. There will be 3 readings for each node and you should see numbers anywhere from 1 to 130 (milliseconds) on average. Why do this? - So you can qualify if the problem is outisde of your control. Try this at several different times of day to get an average result. This will be a bit more detailed then what the dslreprots info will give you and may help to pinpoint an errant router. Try this with a bunch of different websites if you see a clog point (likes 200 mS reponse times).
<font color=red>[IMPORTANT - back up your system and do a full ERU (Emergency Rescue Disk) before you try any of this stuff below. Make sure you include System.dat and User.dat if you have the space to (like on a CD or Zip).]</font color=red>
It sounds like you have some issues with stuff running in the background. Doc Heb's recommendation for AdAware is right in the money. When I installed it, AdAware found about 200 items on my system and removal (with or without the backup option) was painless and trouble-free. Next, take a look at how many programs are in your system tray (lower right-hand corner, where the clock is) - if you have more then 10 you may want to see about not loading all of this stuff at once. In many cases you can right click on an item in the system tray and get a configuration menu. If you do a 3 finger solute (ALT, CTRL, DEL) briefly, you can see the task manager in Win98. If the scroll bar on the right hand side is less then 1/3 of the display you have a LOT of stuff running on the background. XP offers a nifty boot configuration manager (something Apple had for years) but Win98 is pretty lame on this point.
OK - that's all I have time for at the momoent but please report back and I'll check in in a few days. Please let me know if I am being too basic in my descriptions as I don't know your level of proficiency on the PC.
