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How Broad,
is Your Broadband?
Written by: Dan
Daily
Hi Gang!
This time together, we're going to talk about broadband
in a little more detail.
Even if you have it, you probably aren't getting the speeds you could. Maybe not be even by a half.
.
Since
I've
gotten DSL and now Cable; I've had to learn more about the theory of it, as well as it's practical use. It's practical
use, it seems, takes a lot more time to learn.
That's why you have me, to explain this all to ya.
When you get your computer with Windows on it, it's own settings, not just
your cable modem/DSL modem settings, actually determine what your top
connection speeds will and can be.
It's EXTREMELY Important to realize, that your connect speeds
are still effected by the time of day you sign on.
This is still the
case, no matter what your connection method!
AOL Broadband or otherwise,
is still connected through the main AOL
servers. AOL is; and always will be your bottleneck.
Even the Internet itself, has these daily surges. My worst peak
speeds when I was on AOL DSL, ran around 250k; that's still up from the 56k modem, like four times faster.
But during off
peak hours, believe it or not, after tweaking Windows, I've seen speeds of over 2,000k! Some of the sites that specialize in checking your
connection speeds; can't even go up that high!!!
Before I tweaked
Windows: I could only do real connects
at around 300k, no matter what time of day. And now, with all the
research under my belt, I'm able to offer you these tweaks, as a
free, one button click affair! Always trying to do my best for ya
gang, and always trying to do it "the easy way."
That's Why I Wrote This Column.
Well worth the read.
It's a
Whole New World!
The first thing you have to realize, is that "out of the box," Windows,
is set to default for a dial up modem. That's why it has to be changed.
There are two issues here that have to be addressed, both of them are changes to the Windows Register. (don't panic here, I
know, I know)
The tool you will use, will do these changes for you.
The first factor is the TCP receive window. (RWIN) This determines
how large the Windows "Page Window," can be. Normally, this is set at
576, but it can be set as low as 8K. If you have 64 megs of memory, this value should be above 64k, not 8.
One tenth of your Ram memory
Starting to
get the picture? I thought you would.
Yes, and it's what you think too. This is an exponential speed
up: Not some puny little speed increase you won't notice!
You are just GONNA LUV THIS!
By the way, if you ever installed a program that claims to speed up your Internet connection. Uninstall it now. Don't delete it, Uninstall it. The changes it makes to the Registry, have to be stopped. These programs are for dial up
modems ONLY!
The next factor is the MTU settings. Maximum Transmitted Unit.
If you have AOL, this is a registry setting for your AOL itself. It tells it how big each packet of information should be sent at.
Obviously, the bigger, the better: But if it's too big, it'll actually
slow down system speed. This is a pretty exact science. Again,
your default setting is probably 576. The proper setting should be around
1300 plus, but not over 1500.
So, what do you do about it?
Simple, go to a web site, and it'll check your system up side down, and inside out for
ya.
I've Found Such a Site:
And It's Free!
I'm giving you the main site link. Go to the tools menu, and click on speed check. Write this
speed down, so you'll have something to compare the tweaks too. Then, go to the tweaks link. This will
check your settings for you, and make it super easy to tweak your computer up if it needs it. One, maybe two clicks, that's it.
Try it!
Then, if you sign up, which is free, it'll be able to compare your speeds,
to everyone else in your area! A great tool.
This is the ultimate site
for any, and all questions you have. Their speed checks are accurate.
Be advised, they will probably read lower than any other site you've
tested at.
This sites
speed checks; are not effected by your Temporary Internet Files,
it uses a Java applet. What this means, is your cache files in your computer,
can't effect the outcomes. It's a great idea. Being a web master,
let me just put it this way: A Java applet, is run from the server every time you go to
a site. The next time you go to the same site, it won't load any faster than the time before. Your Temporary Internet
files might decrease the time of the site to pop up and the graphics to
load: But it can't speed up an applet.
This Site will allow you to get
all of what you paid for when you bought your broadband connection.
It's Free Speed! Can't beat that price. LOL
The site is called
DSLReports.com.
It's at: http://www.dslreports.com
Or, Just
Click Here
I
hope this helps you on your road. Your Road? Yes,
Your Road To Computer Sanity
Danny
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