RAM it to me, man!

[toggleswitch]

OK computer geeks....

It is taking a very long time for my computer to load webpages.
It was taking Internet Explorer a long time to get to the next page or window. I downloaded Firefox as a different web-browser. Same deal.

I am perplexed as to the issue. Is there a problem, with my DSL (Digital Subscriber(phone/data) Line, or do I need more RAM for my 5+ year old desktop computer?

I have cleaned out cookies, temporary files etcetera.

My router is to the left and my modem is on the right.

The left "internet" indicator light is red. Not good.
The middle light is "Data"
And the light to the right is "DSL"

HELP!

 

[xraytech]

Toggles,

My mind must be in the gutter again, I was not at all expecting this to be a thread about computers,Sorry I am unable to help with your computer

 

[joeekaitis]

Check your line speed at www.speedtest.net. It should be within 85% of what you're promised, regardless of other factors.

Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps.

www.speedtest.net

 

[aldspinboy]

lol...ooh boy.
Toggles.

 

[petek]

Have you tried he connection speed test yet?
I had Bell DSL and it was terrible, never got the speeds they said and had those same sort of issues. Went with cable hi speed.

Is what is happening just started recently, everything was ok before?

do this test and check against what speed your paying for

Speedtest by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Use Speedtest on all your devices with our free desktop and mobile apps.

www.speedtest.net

 

[petek]

I got 12.55 download 1.00 uploading

 

[bendixbubba]

registry

Have you tried cleaning up your registry files? When we were working on our Dell, we ran registry cleaner, and the computer was a lot faster at loading pages after that. worth a shot. And adding more ram is never a bad idea, will speed things up instantly most times.
Chris

 

[toggleswitch]

Great ideas so far, TYVM!

Tried the speed test. Says I failed the "latency" test. HEEEEEEYYYY! SO NOT FUNNY!!!!!

(LOL)

 

[qsd-dan]

This is the recipe I use for my own computers at home and work:

Download, install, and run ccleaner. It finds and cleans all kinds of cookies and other trash. Make sure you check the "DNS Cache" box before running it. That particular box isn't automatically selected. Also, run the "Registry" program as well.

Run "Disk Cleanup" followed by a Defragmentation.

Download, install, and run Malwarebytes. Both malware and spyware significantly slow loading time.

If all else fails, format and install windows. After a couple years of use, files become corrupt and the computer slows down or throws several error codes. At work, heavily used computers (IT and Engineering departments) are formatted every 6 months. The rest are formatted every year.

How much RAM do you have installed?

 

[nurdlinger]

I guess you are running Windows because of the mention of Internet Explorer. What version of Windows?

 

[sudsmaster]

Try upgrading your modem/router

I was have beaucoup problemos with my DSL connection. Slow response, pages refusing to load, I'd have to repeatedly press retry to get pages to load, regardless of browser (although Opera did better than Firefox or IE).

Finally I called the provider (AT&T) and after about five calls finally got a tech who seemed to konw what he was talking about. He said my modem was ancient and needed to be replaced. Period.

So I went to Fry's and $80 later have a Netgear N150 combination DSL modem wireless router. The connection problems have disappeared, no more having to repeatedly reload pages (if at all). I'm pleased with the results. Now I'm even thinking of upgrading my connection speed (it's the cheapest speed available) for another $5/month.

If your DSL modem is 5+ years old, you might try getting a newer one. The combination modem/router is nice because I don't have to baby sit turning on the modem, waiting a while, turning on the router, waiting a while, then turning on the PC. I can turn it on all at once and the combo unit establishes a stable connection automatically.

Oh, and the N150 is a faster wireless connection. None of my devices, so far, need the N150 wireless feature but I guess one never knows what I might get in a year or two.

 

[mattl]

Good advice from all so far. Love Ccleaner, used to be call crap cleaner. One thing you need to check before buying more RAM is what the maximum your mother board/processor will support. If your system maxes out at 2G ram buying more won't do any good.

Here is a link you can try, I have not used it but it may be helpful...

301 moved permanently

 

[whirlcool]

I've encountered quite a few PC's recently (friends) that are just a few years old and only support 1 or 2GB. But since they had good CPU's (P4 3.2GB) we upped them to the max and got some decent speed.
YEs, those spyware & alware cleaners are great. I use Ad-aware and it works great.

Toggles, what CPU do you have? To find out go to the Windows Control Panel, then Help at the top of the screen, then about Windows, it'll tell you the amount of RAM you have and what CPU you have.

RAM is pretty cheap these days.

 

[toggleswitch]

So many questions!

Thank you all dearly for the help. I will attend to these questions today after work.

I have CCLeaner, but it makes me nervous that it appears to gets rid of latest updates to windows etc. Ran it a few times though! In cleans the registry files!

Best regards!

 

[countryguy]

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had the same problem - sometimes the pages would load and sometimes they wouldn't. I talked with tech support at my ISP (which just happens to be the company I work for) and they determined the modem was bad so they replaced it again (modems are included with their internet). I've had to replace the modem almost once a year. I also used a router and still the problem persisted sometimes so I removed the router and all has been well ever since.

Gary

 

[cleanteamofny]

Steve,

Turn off your modem and PC, then turn them back on in the same order.
The modem lights should be all green.
If you still have a red light, call your DSL company to look at your lines to make sure it does not have a splitter or static within the line.
Also, find out how far is your central office in your hood.
The further you are from the office, the slower the speeds.

Another thing, find out how much space you have on your C Drive. Windows requires 15 to 25 % for windows to operate efficiently!

In your IE, go to tools/Internet Options/Browsing History/Settings and set to 50 MB.
This should help loading pages quickly since it does not have to look through multiple pages that already been saved in your temp file.
Looking through 50 temp files beats looking through 250 or more.

 

[foraloysius]

Larry

You're an angel! I changed my IE settings and it looks like it is in Turbo mode now!

BTW, I know there are a lot of members here raving about Firefox, but I had to remove it from my computer. It was much slower than IE8 and it got stuck very often. Lately it didn't even start up at all but it didn't let me remove it either. After many times rebooting the computer I was able to remove it. My computer was at it's slowest when I used Firefox.

 

[whirlcool]

It seems that Firefox 3.6 does run a lot slower on older PC's. I think 3.6 is optimized for Windows 7. It runs fast on those machines. I am using FF 3.6 and the startup time is 45 seconds. But once it's up, it goes pretty fast.

 

[toggleswitch]

~But once it's up, it goes pretty fast.

That is a good thing, isn't it?