Verizon DSL slow download

[Mark Vinbury]

Has anyone else noticed a slowing of DSL download speed recently.
When I first subscribed I was able to download a YouTube clip faster than it played.(seamless viewing)
Now I'm lucky to get dial-up type playback. (lots of stopping and starting)
A recent file download was groaning along at 5kbps with nothing else running. CPU usage was about 2%. All processes were idleing and I'm only using about 40% of the available memory.
I have checked my speed with one of the free online speed testers( Speakeasy) and it says I'm getting over 730kbps downloading which seems right for my contract agreement.
I'm suspicious of Verizon. They are pushing hard for customers in our area to subscribe to their new FIOS fiber optic system. My guess is they would love to have us all sign up and pay for the FIOS installation before they are required to do a complete switchover to replace the aged copper lines.

Is there any way to check the Verizon software for a program that would limit the filing speed of information after it hits my computer?
Where else might I look for a reason for the slowdown?

[Wiz Feinberg]

Mark asked:
Is there any way to check the Verizon software for a program that would limit the filing speed of information after it hits my computer?
Where else might I look for a reason for the slowdown?

You could and should call tech support about this problem to see if they will ping your modem to test it's up and down stream capabilities. You will be asked to interact in some manner.

Next, check the outside phone service box to see if there are any frayed wires, or bad connections from the input cable to the screw terminals. The service folks may ask you to connect the modem directly to the test jack on the service inlet box. You might need to take a cellphone, a power extension cable, the modem and AC adapter and a short telephone cable outside to do that.

Next, check inside the house to see if anybody has plugged in a phone, or fax machine, or alarm system, without going through a DSL filter.

Next, scan your computer for malware, especially for email relays installed by the likes of the Storm Worm Trojan Downloader. Use up to date definitions on anti virus and anti spyware programs. You will probably need to reboot into Safe Mode and run secondary scans from there, as the "Administrator." Run free virus and spyware online scans from Panda, or Symantec, or Kaspersky, as found here.

Also, if you have a router between the modem and your computer(s), unplug it for a minute, then plug it back in. You'd be surprised how often that fixes throughput issues. It won't hurt to power cycle the modem as well.

Check the phone lines and cables going to your modem. A crimped cord may slow you down considerably.

If your network is wireless and you have a wireless telephone in the same room you might be getting same channel interference. Try changing the router to a different channel.

Let us know if any of this helps, or how it gets resolved.

[Jack Stoner]

Some more.

The link speed between you and the ISP is only one small bit of the overall link. Since you are getting "over 730Kbs" on a link test suggests there isn't anything wrong with the link.

When you access a remote controller, any web site whether it's the SG Forum (which usually loads slow for me since the software upgrade and I'm on cable and get approx 5Mb/sec on link tests) or any other site, how fast that server can "service" you is one point in the over all equation. The internet link that server has and how much bandwidth it has is another part, then there is the "world wide web" and the links/path it takes from a remote server to your ISP and then there is internally in the ISP and finaly the link between the ISP and your PC. Many points and any one can have a bottleneck and slow down the signal at any given time.

Here is a speed test site that will allow you to test using many different locations.

http://www.speedtest.net/

[Wiz Feinberg]

And then there is the MaxMtu question rearing it's ugly little head. Has something changed between the modem and the computer, that could have inserted a MTU setting of 1500, instead of 1492, as required for DSL modems and routers?

See what another person went through with his DSL ISP and how changing the MTU fixed it, followed by my response about router and modem MTU settings affecting downloads, in this other forum where I am also a Moderator.

[Mark Vinbury]

Wiz and Jack--
Thank you for your time and the information.

I've checked the wiring and all seems to be in order. I have a simple DSL modem and all filters are in place. No hardware has been changed since I first got DSL about 6 months ago.
I checked for malware and virus with Kaspersky and Spybot and eliminated a few small issues.
I ran the speed test to 5 or 6 different servers using both the Speakeasy and Speedtest sites. All tests indicated a download speed of 730+ and upload of about 130 which I think is normal for the DSL level I'm at.

I'm beginning to think the slowdown is YouTube specific.
That is where I notice it the most. However,I imagine it is also the only site I visit that requires 500+kbps for seamless viewing.
Also,I havent noticed any slowdown in the access of visuals or sound on myspace sites.