1/8/15 8:45 PM

quote:

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If the machine is getting busy over time (or memory is being overloaded over time) that could explain slowdowns even if your networking stuff is fine.

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1/8/15 11:47 PM

Kerry, how up-to-date is your virus protection software?

1/9/15 12:22 AM

Have to booted safe mode with network support and tried the browser?


Did anyone ask if your network setting in the browser are set to direct/none and not to a proxy.

1/9/15 8:07 AM

Kerry:

1. 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows?

2. How much RAM is in the machine?

1/9/15 7:37 PM

Virus protection is Microsoft Security Essentials. I run Malwarebytes every Monday with and update the files before each run.

Computer is 64 bit, 4Gb of RAM, 320Gb hard drive.

I have not had the time to do the safe mode boot and see what happens, but that is on my list. That should sort out the issue as to whether it is a general bog-down of the computer or something in the network system.

Clearly though it is something with my computer. I am at my daughter's right now and when I turned on my computer using her wireless network, I had a download speed of 43.8 Mbps. 90 minutes later I get 15.4 Mbps. Her husband's Dell laptop has been on most of the day and shows no slowdown at all over time.

Not using a proxy in IE 11.

And somebody asked which speed tester I was using: both speedtest.charter.com and www.speedtest.net give about the same results.

1/10/15 7:55 PM

It appears that when starting up in Safe Mode, speed is maintained via the wireless router (about a 10% drop over 2.5 hours, which could just be the random variation of the cable system). Typically in regular mode, speed would have dropped by well over half in that time frame. I will run this experiment again tomorrow over a longer time frame to confirm.

I also checked the Resource Monitor and the CPU usage was stunningly low compared to what I have been seeing normally - a few percent vs. 50% or higher. Perhaps this is normal in Safe Mode or does it mean that there is something operating in normal mode that is chewing up CPU time and therefore the source of both the networking slowdown and the occasional system slowdown I experience.

If the latter (which seems likely to me but I can't claim to be knowledgeable) then what tools can I apply to clean up my system? I often see the recommendation for a reformatting of the hard drive and an operating system reinstall but that is a painful process in the extreme (IME) that I would just as soon avoid.

1/10/15 8:53 PM

I'd start with "Start Menu -Run", and type in "MS Config".

This is a Microsoft utility that tells you what programs start on boot and run in background. You can do a screen shot and then research on Google what all the crap is, then deselect what you don't need running.

I just did this and found a Garmin app running, as well as Adobe and a bunch of stuff I just don't need to have running all the time in background. Speeds up the machine a bit when resources aren't used needlessly.

Have you also tried clearing the browser history ?. INternet Explorer, which I no longer use, was notorious for constantly searching the HD to see if a page was stored locally. That would slow the browser to a crawl, so another reason to not assume network card and such, but maybe just download and run Chrome for a while to see if it performs better long term.

1/11/15 8:36 PM

I ran Chrome and it behaves the same as with IE 11. In summary:

Internet download speed drops by roughly half every hour or two whether running IE or Chrome. Same story whether using the wireless router or direct cable connection with the wireless network disconnected. Running in safe mode shows no such problem and maybe 10% higher speed than after a reboot in normal mode.

I've tried to find the NIC (network interface card) that some have suggested checking out but can't find anything. Under Network Adapters under Device Manager I've checked the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 AGN (is that the NIC?) and it has the latest driver.

The problem is with my computer because this doesn't happen to my wife's MacBook Pro on our home network, and it doesn't happen to my son-in-law's Dell on his home network (but it happens to my Dell on his home network).

I've Googled this without any clear guidance. Is it time for a call to Dell (when they will probably charge me $100 for a consult)?

1/11/15 9:30 PM

quote:

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it has the latest driver

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1/12/15 6:52 AM

OK. my impression is that you've eliminated the router as a problem, and discovered that when you start in safe mode, you don't see declining performance. These findings suggest that there is nothing wrong with the NIC or its driver. Rather, *something else* that the difference between safe mode and normal start allows to run is causing the slowdown.

That's not difficult to fix; however, if you're uncomfortable with editing the registry, it *is* something that can be a little intimidating and--if you really fsck it up, dangerous. And it can be time-consuming.

There a several places from which Windows launches applications and services from at startup. Unfortunately, modifying some of those startup locations incorrectly can lead to trouble The best step is to educate yourself, starting with articles like this:

http://www.howtogeek.com/74523/how-to-disable-startup-programs-in-windows/

Then you'll have to go through the process of disabling various things and restarting and testing to see what happens with the throughput. Loads of fun, but...it should eventually yield some results!

1/12/15 12:30 PM

Does Ghostery work in he IE Browser ? Does IE use ad-on.


Also, do this each in safe w/network and full boot.

open CMD window and do tracert cyclingform.com and see if the hop count to the destination is longer when not in safe mode.

1/12/15 8:20 PM

By reducing the number of things that startup when the computer does, the assumption must be that some of these things should never be run since it seems they would drag down the download speed whenever they are opened.

I have seen several recommendations to reinstall Win7 and have made some swipes at doing that: boot from the OS reinstallation DVD that came with the computer. I click the "Repair Computer" option but the system kicks out before it starts and I get a message to the effect that "if I have recently installed a new printer, camera, etc. I need to check with my system administrator." Of course I haven't.

The suggestion is that a regular reinstall of Win 7 (2x per year) is good practice. I'd be OK with that if it was straightforward, but to date I've not figured out how to do it easily (short of reformatting the hard drive). One source said that the reinstallation DVD that comes with computers is no good for this. Any ideas on what is wrong with my "repair reinstall"?

At this point, it seems that my options are to either pay Dell for support or take it to a local computer shop and have a "laying on of hands."

Thoughts?

1/12/15 8:35 PM

quote:

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By reducing the number of things that startup when the computer does, the assumption must be that some of these things should never be run since it seems they would drag down the download speed whenever they are opened.

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1/13/15 6:42 AM

Once you install it, go to the Tools section and select Startup. You can turn items on and off easily there.

It wouldn't hurt to do a registry cleaning with CCleaner, though that's not likely to be the source of your troubles. I find that using it periodically pretty much eliminates the needs for Windows reinstalls.

1/13/15 7:03 AM

This is not a specific comment on the situation, but rather on the "wipe and reinstall" idea. This notion goes back quite a ways--I encountered adherents in the early '90s.

Frankly, I think it probably arose out of an Apple or Apple user FUD campaign, though I have no evidence to support that. The problem was that there was a crapton of freeware and shareware for PCs and most Mac software was written by or pretty tightly controlled by Apple (and of course ran on a limited set of hardware).

This was particularly true during the DOS/Windows 3.x/95/98/ME period, before the NT kernel became universal. This was a period of software talking directly to hardware (anyone remember Hercules Graphics?) rather than going through interface drivers. <understatement> This tended to cause problems.</understatement>

The result was that PCs (which also ran a wide variety of hardware) would tend to be very good at finding problems in the software through a process of natural selection, and the users would then clutch their pearls and assume (1) total system failure or (more often) (2) virus infection.

Either way, being about as knowledgeable about their computers as they were about their microwave ovens, they would wipe and reinstall. Or they would go to similarly ill-equipped technicians, who would do the same. In 31 years of microcomputer experience, I have seen fewer virus infections on all of the machines I've seen, not just those I've used, than I could count on the fingers of one hand. But there's money to be made in fear.

Personally, I haven't reinstalled an operating system.

Ever.

I have installed operating systems on brand-new or resurrected-sans-hard-drive hardware, I have upgraded operating systems. But I have never seen a computer system that was so terribly corrupted that it required a brainwipe.

Anyone who tells you that you need to reinstall Windows, especially on a regular basis, is either ignorant or stands to make money off you or both.

[Full disclosure: I wrote code for products that ran on Windows for almost 15 years, but it's bee years since Microsoft sent me a nice free disk of Office, etc. These days, I'm OS-agnostic. But I did use Microsoft products (even their FORTRAN, and a small manufacturer's version of COBOL that ran on Windows) for many years, so I may be biased.]

1/13/15 5:41 PM

I too think the nuclear option (OS reinstall) is unnecessary. I have yet to run into a Windows problem that required a complete reinstall.

Somewhere, someone has run into the same problem before and trolling the Internets (forums) always nets several possible solutions, one of which invariably works. That is my experience and I haven't owned a Mac since my Power Mac 7100.

1/13/15 5:48 PM

The Myth IMO that a BSOD in Win* needing a regen to fix is from folks doing it and it being fixed after.

Like amputation of an arm fixes an ingrown fingernail.

1/13/15 5:58 PM

He has invested 2 weeks in this so far and has no fix, with advice from a code writer and a pro consultant. The nuclear option would fix it in an hour or 2. Seriously, stuff like this is why I quit using windows machines. Although my time is not particularly valuable, I refuse to spend it like this.

Like a microwave for me.

1/13/15 7:26 PM

There were only three steps I could take to recover my MBA. each took 20 seconds. Nothing work and the Genius Bar quickly determined the same thing I figured out before I contacted Apple. My logic board was toast.

1/13/15 7:36 PM

I read that there was a class action suit against Apple for bad Logic boards, but somehow it got dropped. I think there were a lot of bad Notebooks.

Ever notice how much more Applecare costs for a notebook than a desktop?

My new desktop does not have an optical drive in it. Apple says people don't want/need/use them, but I suspect it removes a failure point that cost a lot of money(shipping) to resolve. So I got to buy an external one. Not very elegant to have an external drive on such a sleek desktop.

1/13/15 9:17 PM

quote:

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He has invested 2 weeks in this so far and has no fix, with advice from a code writer and a pro consultant. The nuclear option would fix it in an hour or 2. Seriously, stuff like this is why I quit using windows machines. Although my time is not particularly valuable, I refuse to spend it like this.

Like a microwave for me.

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1/14/15 12:36 PM

NASA: 'Computer card' failure eyed in ISS evacuation

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/01/14/space-station-leak-prompts-evacuation/21740031/

1/14/15 8:06 PM

Since I last posted I have tried Ccleaner (no effect) and have uninstalled and reinstalled Microsoft Security Essentials (no effect).

Curious observation right now - I just went through a restart because the Resource Monitor was showing 10-15% CPU per open IE window and another 15-20% for the monitor itself (totaling 80-100% CPU usage). After the restart the (single) IE window is consuming 0.5% CPU and the monitor 1.5%. Whatever is chewing up my download speed seems to do the same thing to CPU usage (though it is not consistent).

I have checked many (though not all) of the device drivers and all are up to date. I'm out of ideas.

I am left with (that I can see) no options other than to do a clean install - wipe the hard drive and start over. Between the slow download speeds and the occasional 100% CPU consumption I am basically working with a defective computer. A defect that is readily resolved in Safe Mode so I know it is not a hardware problem.

I really appreciate all of the suggestions you've made, though I do find it interesting that just like on the rest of the web there is no consensus on the path forward.

My only decision at this point seems to be whether to try to do this myself, call Dell and have them take me through it (ca. $90) or have a local computer store do it ($105).

1/14/15 8:52 PM

My MBA made it to my doorstep today. It would have yesterday had I known FedEx was delivering it.

I dropped it off on Saturday, it got fixed and sent back to me by Wednesday.

I did get MY computer back, it has my atom tattoo on the lid still. I figured they may just slap my S# cover on a refurb and send me that but they actually fixed mine, amazing.

1/14/15 8:59 PM

Good fast turn around. Was that expected?