Browsing is soooo slow

sakdieselsakdiesel NC
edited July 2007 in Science & Tech
I recently had a DSL problem that was resolved by my ISP by installing new equipment at the substation near me and by replacing my old DSL modem with a new Netopia modem. All is well on 3 of my 4 computers. The Dell Dimension 2400 with an integrated Broadcom 440x 10/100 nic now browses the net sooooo slow. I used the generic Windows Network connection repair button and it told me it could not clear the DNS cache. I have lost my mind trying to get it working properly. I even ran the Broadcom control suite to run diagnostics on the nic to no avail. I even switched to a wireless USB connection to see if the nic is the problem. nada. Any ideas would be appreciated! :sad2:

Comments

  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited July 2007
    Check Internet Options>Connections>Lan Settings.... and make sure nothing is checked especially Auto Detect Settings.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    Thanks. I turned auto detect settings off and rebooted a minute ago and it didn't change anything.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    I typically browse with Mozilla Firefox but I get the same problem if I run IE. :sad2:
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    I also notice that the problem seems to be navigating from one site to the next cause once I get to a site I don't seem to have a problem navigating within that site. Help! :confused:
  • fatsheepfatsheep
    edited July 2007
    Perhaps your ISP could be of some help? Have you notified them of the problem?
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited July 2007
    sakdiesel wrote:
    I also notice that the problem seems to be navigating from one site to the next cause once I get to a site I don't seem to have a problem navigating within that site. Help! :confused:

    Could be DNS problems... try manually setting your DNS to:
    Primary:4.2.2.2
    Secondary: 4.2.2.1
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited July 2007
    RWB wrote:
    Could be DNS problems... try manually setting your DNS to:
    Primary:4.2.2.2
    Secondary: 4.2.2.1

    Yay TL DNS.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    My ISP just wants me to reboot everything and blame it on the netgear router. Doesn't matter which port I plug this puter into it is the only one with a problem. So its not the router.
    I finally cleared the DNS cache. I'll try to set it manually. Thanks RWB
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited July 2007
    A good way of testing the net gear is to bypass it and plug the problematic PC into the internet directly... bypassing equipment is the way to go for troubleshooting.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    Took me a while to get to it but I bypassed the router and the problem persists. Any other ideas?? :confused:
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2007
    If you are using internet explorer try firefox to see if the problem persists. Also clear out you cookies and delete your offline files. You may have a corrupted entry there that is causing an issue.

    Other things to check. Have you ever edited your Hosts file? If so you may have a bad entry or just to many entries that is causing the domain lookup to respond slowly.

    Next on some computers you need to set the MTU. Now most routers will have a place that you can set this, however not all do. Generally speaking an MTU size of 1492 is optimal, the default though is generally set to 1500 which shouldn't cause a problem. However I have seen it now frequently enough to know that the MTU setting can cause weirdness like a slow internet or certain sites that just won't load. If you can't set it in your router then you have to edit your registry to make the changes. This is also often the case if you've switched from Cable, that likes 1500 to PPPoE (dsl) that prefers 1492

    http://www.pctools.com/guides/registry/detail/280/

    Last, but not least. You may have a virus/spy-ware that is causing you all the grief. These two things should actually be checked first if you haven't by installing a good anti-virus/spyware combination. I personally recommend AVG's free versions of both.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    I am using Firefox as the browser (much better than IE).I have cleared out all cookies. I have run AVG anti-virus and anti-spyware. I have also run Adaware and Spybot. Nothing more than cookies were found.

    I set the MTU value in the registry to 1500 and also to 1492. Neither one helped. Was I supposed to delete the string that says (defult) REG_SZ (value not set) ? (thanks for the link) :thumbsup:

    I am not sure how to edit my hosts file. Can you please explain it to me?
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited July 2007
    sakdiesel wrote:
    I am not sure how to edit my hosts file. Can you please explain it to me?

    On XP machines the host file is at C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\HOSTS. Just open HOSTS, it will ask you what program to use, choose notepad. By default there are no entries.

    Seems like a DNS problem to me too since you can navigate just fine within a site. What kind of firewall/internet security stuff do you have on this? Sometimes they can restrict your DNS access (which is just irritating as hell).
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    I am running AVG anti-virus along with the netgear firewall router WGT624 v2.
    I have turned off Windows firewall.
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited July 2007
    Have you upgraded the firmware on that Netgear? There was a firmware issue with DNS in that router. Check the bug fixes here down in version 4.1.11.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2007
    mtrox wrote:
    On XP machines the host file is at C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\HOSTS. Just open HOSTS, it will ask you what program to use, choose notepad. By default there are no entries.

    Not exactly true. There should be at least one entry, which has to be there or your system will get totally messed up

    127.0.0.1 localhost

    That's the only line that must be there.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2007
    sakdiesel wrote:
    I set the MTU value in the registry to 1500 and also to 1492. Neither one helped. Was I supposed to delete the string that says (defult) REG_SZ (value not set) ? (thanks for the link) :thumbsup:

    Nope that key stays. You just add/edit the other line.
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited July 2007
    kryyst wrote:
    Not exactly true. There should be at least one entry, which has to be there or your system will get totally messed up

    127.0.0.1 localhost

    That's the only line that must be there.

    Christ, kryst! If you're going to get all technical about it that would sorta screw the pooch wouldn't it?

    He's right. I said it wrong.:Pwned:
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited July 2007
    mtrox wrote:
    Christ, kryst! If you're going to get all technical about it that would sorta screw the pooch wouldn't it?

    He's right. I said it wrong.:Pwned:

    Ahhh but the Devil is in the details.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    I discovered the MTU setting in the router WAN Setup and it is set to 1500.
    Hardware Version V3
    Firmware Version V4.2.10_1.0.1
    I have not yet manually set the primary and secondary DNS as RWB suggested.
    Why would I not want to get them automatically from my ISP?
    Does that affect the other computers on the network?
    Also, what do I edit into the HOSTS file. I have the entry of: 127.0.0.1 localhost

    :confused:
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited July 2007
    Because the ones from your ISP are not as good as the ones that control most of the Americas. ;)
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited July 2007
    1. Why would I not want to get them automatically from my ISP?
      What Thrax said.
    2. Does that affect the other computers on the network?
      No, only the computer you plug the DNS numbers into.
    3. Also, what do I edit into the HOSTS file. I have the entry of: 127.0.0.1 localhost
      That is the correct entry. If you had some other entries we would have been more interested.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    Now I am starting to feel silly here as I ask... How do I change the DNS settings for 1 computer?:rolleyes2 The only place I have seen them is in the router setup. Hence the reason for asking if they would affect other computers on my network. If the DNS settings will help all of them then I should be able to set the primary and secondary DNS as instructed but on the router. Right?? :eek3:
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited July 2007
    Don't worry, most people don't know how to do this.

    Not sure about that router, but most of these residential type routers won't let you do that. They automatically hand out the DNS numbers from your ISP. So yes, just do it on the affected computer.

    Go to Start> Control Panel> Network Connections. Then right click on the connection you're using (either Local Area Connection or Wireless Network Connection), choose Properties. Then you'll get a new window. Scroll down in that middle section till you can highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Then hit the Properties button. You'll get another window. Leave the "Obtain an IP address automatically" thing alone. That's not our problem. Just below that click the button that says, "Use the following DNS server addresses:" The two boxes below that will light up and you can put the addresses of the DNS servers in there. 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.1

    Then click OK, and OK. Now lets see if your problem has gotten any better.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007
    :respect::respect::respect::respect::respect:

    WOOO HOOO!!

    All is well on the home front!
    RWB, I should have listened to you in the first place
    Thanks, mtrox and to all who contributed to my problem.

    Browsing on that computer is quick once again.(as quick as DSL can be)

    :bigggrin::bigggrin::bigggrin::bigggrin:
  • mtroxmtrox Minnesota
    edited July 2007
    I really don't know why that one computer suddenly doesn't like your ISP's DNS numbers. Let's just chalk it up as a victory though!
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited July 2007
    Happens all the time. My browsing is massively faster using the TL DNS IPs. Been using them for years.
  • sakdieselsakdiesel NC
    edited July 2007


    Victory
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