I have terriable lag for ages at a time, WHY ?

Hi, basically every once in a while for like a few weeks my AOL go's so god dam slow its unreal, i can't do hardly anything on it, and it happens every couple of months and i really dont need it at the moment.

OK some info, im on a 2mb connection, Broadband, ADSL with a netgear wireless router.

I really hope someone can help me with this as its so frustrating, and i can't really be bothered with my son moaning at me for the next few weeks due to him not being able to play Xbox Live, also i really need the internet for the next week or so.

Please help.

[druid]

Do you download a lot? Do you use P2P? are you sure you are not being capped?

Have you rebooted the router? Sometimes mine plays up and just turning the router on and off allows you to reconnect and achieve a better connection.

I can't say i download alot, i got one son who plays Xbox, and the other one is on that World of Warcraft game alot, mostly i just use the PC for ebay and of course E-mailing.

Il try rebooting the rooter now, my rooter actully has a Reset button if thats any use, i just didn't wanna press and utterly balls my internet up just incase.

None, i rebooted my router and nothing happened , whats this thing you mentioned on being Caped ?, im not very smart when it comes to stuff like this.

[druid]

I can't say i download alot, i got one son who plays Xbox, and the other one is on that World of Warcraft game alot, mostly i just use the PC for ebay and of course E-mailing.

Il try rebooting the rooter now, my rooter actully has a Reset button if thats any use, i just didn't wanna press and utterly balls my internet up just incase.

Originally Posted by Cyanide

It's no different than a power cut, you just have to pull the plug from the mains adaptor out of the router leave it a few secs then plug in again, it will just reboot and often get you a better connection.

I leave my router connected 24/7 .

[Mike10613]

Unplugging the router - usually works. But try optimizing the TCP with this program - freeware - just download it and run it.

http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php

If you push a pen in the hole at the back of the router - it resets it back to factory condition and you have to set it all up again. Incidentally, AOL UK is now owned by The Carphone Warehouse - the same as TalkTalk. But not as cheap! I have 8 Mbs connection - that is now working at about 7 Mbs on a download from London. The download limit is 40 Gb a month and I pay £20.50 for Talk3 International - free calls to all landlines in the UK, EU, North America, Australia and New Zealand. Plus of course "free" broadband. I also use the 15 Mb of webspace! I even have adsense on making a little contribution! The technical support is crap though.

[druid]

None, i rebooted my router and nothing happened , whats this thing you mentioned on being Caped ?, im not very smart when it comes to stuff like this.

Originally Posted by Cyanide

Aol introduced capping on the service some months back but you would have to download a lot to be affected by this cap, for most of us it is set at 60Gb per month, if you go over this amount they may start to throttle your connection at peak times.

This means that your 2M speed will be drastically reduced for some of the time, 60Gb is a huge amount though and normal surfing and emailing or downloading general stuff would not make any impression on the 60Gb doing a lot of gaming may make a difference though.

[druid]

whats this thing you mentioned on being Caped ?

Originally Posted by Cyanide

FWIW Just to give you an idea how much 60Gb per month is, on average around 200 high quality MP3 songs downloaded would occupy around 1Gb so in theory you would be able to download 200 songs per day and still be under the 60Gb cap.

They have also started to limit P2P but it does not sound as though you would be affected by that.

[Austin_KW]

Some other things to check;

Check if your line has degraded or something is interfering with it. Check the modem stats on your router (attenuation, SN margins and uncorrectable CRC errors)

Also you don't mention if you are using wireless connections, I used to have one neighbour using wireless now I have ten. I often have to change the wireless channel on my routers when a new neignbour sets up his broadband.

Try borrowing a different router, Overheating can cause them to blow capacitors etc, that can cause connection problems.

[Mike10613]

My Netgear router used to overheat and then I found that I had to fit two plastic clips to the front to lift it up off my desk to allow air to go through the vent holes. It works better now. The clips actually go into the vent holes on the two rounded front corners of the router - it helps if you're good at jigsaw puzzles! There are no bloody instructions with them!

[Cyanide]

Well ive tried moving the modem, replaced all the cables, i went on live help, took me ages but i got there and they basically didnt resolve nothing.

So yer, i guess il have to wait it out, all though this is extremely annoying.

[Austin_KW]

Post your modem stats

Also follow Mike10613's advice, Putting the netgear on its side increases the surface area exposed to the air. It can be a bit of a puzzle, trying to explain it to my sister over the phone nearly made me cry

Also dont put the router on a soft surface like carpet, they need a bit of space on the bottom for airflow.

[Mike10613]

I would try turning all the kids stuff off - so you just have one computer on then click this image and see what speed you get:



That's my download speed from London to the Opal Telecom server in Manchester 200 miles.

[druid]

i went on live help, took me ages but i got there and they basically didnt resolve nothing.

Originally Posted by Cyanide

Live help is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard, Totally useless!