Very strange internet slowdowns

Matt9920 · 10-11-2007, 04:04 PM

First of all, hello, I just registered to try and get some help with this problem I've been having.

The basis of it is that normally in the morning, when I first turn my computer on, my connection will be fine, I'll be able to download at normal speeds and join gaming servers and play with normal ping times. However as the day progresses, normally at around late afternoon (6 pm), the connection will slowly and gradually begin to slow down until it reaches such a speed that I'm getting 50 kb/s or under download speeds from reliable and usually very fast servers. Then as the night comes, around 12 am or so, it'll be back to normal.

Now the first thing that came to my mind was that the cable line in my area was simply getting really busy. It only started happening a couple of weeks ago, so I called my ISP and according to them the line is fine. The amount of people that are on it should not be causing such drastic speed drops as this.

I went out today to buy a new ethernet cable, got home and replaced the old one, and at first I thought it was fixed, but surely enough it slowed down again.

I even had a technician over from my ISP who replaced my cable modem with a new one.

I'm really starting to run out of ideas. Could it be my ethernet card?

One thing I have thought about is that the ethernet cable I have is ridiculously long (37 feet). Could that in any way cause the slow downs?

Also, I don't have a router.

Thank you in advance to anyone who replies.

johnwill · 10-12-2007, 08:04 AM

When it's running at normal speed, then again when it gets really slow, please do this.

Register at DSLReports and run their line quality tests. Post a link to the results here.

10-11-2007, 04:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
Matt9920 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1 OS: XP Service Pack 2	Very strange internet slowdowns First of all, hello, I just registered to try and get some help with this problem I've been having. The basis of it is that normally in the morning, when I first turn my computer on, my connection will be fine, I'll be able to download at normal speeds and join gaming servers and play with normal ping times. However as the day progresses, normally at around late afternoon (6 pm), the connection will slowly and gradually begin to slow down until it reaches such a speed that I'm getting 50 kb/s or under download speeds from reliable and usually very fast servers. Then as the night comes, around 12 am or so, it'll be back to normal. Now the first thing that came to my mind was that the cable line in my area was simply getting really busy. It only started happening a couple of weeks ago, so I called my ISP and according to them the line is fine. The amount of people that are on it should not be causing such drastic speed drops as this. I went out today to buy a new ethernet cable, got home and replaced the old one, and at first I thought it was fixed, but surely enough it slowed down again. I even had a technician over from my ISP who replaced my cable modem with a new one. I'm really starting to run out of ideas. Could it be my ethernet card? One thing I have thought about is that the ethernet cable I have is ridiculously long (37 feet). Could that in any way cause the slow downs? Also, I don't have a router. Thank you in advance to anyone who replies. Last edited by Matt9920 : 10-11-2007 at 04:09 PM.

10-12-2007, 08:04 AM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 32,594 OS: XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Very strange internet slowdowns When it's running at normal speed, then again when it gets really slow, please do this. Register at DSLReports and run their line quality tests. Post a link to the results here. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience