Internet Service Problem or Not?

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Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
They should be about the same, but I would run the same one in windows that you did in Puppy Linux just to see.

I'm staying tuned!
smile.gif



I just ran speed tests back-to-back in XP using Firefox at www.speedtest.net and also at www.speedof.me.

speedtest.net: 1.06M up, 510K down and 71 ms ping (slower than it should be and I can tell by surfing around)

speedof.me: 240K up, 400K down and 250 ms ping

I don't think speedof.me is giving me accurate test result when in Windows for some reason.

I think I'm going to take the static DSN server setting off and go back to the dynamic setting to see what happens.
 
Try PingTest.net, it is by the same group that runs SpeedTest.net.

It tests the quality of your connection.

I can't remember if you tried a different DSL gateway yet, did you?
 
I just ran the 2 tests on my Ubuntu laptop:

speedtest.net: 1.15 mbps up, 11.33 mbps down, 41 ms ping
speedof.me: 1.26 mbps up, 11.85 mbps down, 18 ms ping

I don't know. I guess I would run the Puppy Linux some more, just surfing the web and see if you get any slow downs.
 
I got one of my major slowdowns/network dead periods while in XP. I went in and took the static DSN server settings off and went back to dynamic. After the modem rebooted it seems to work again. That's what is so strange about this issue, sometimes all I have to do is power cycle the modem, so makes me think that's the issue.

But yet while using Puppy Linux, the modem tested about as fast as I would expect using the speed test that doesn't seem to give accurate results in XP w/FF.

The used DSL gateway I had lined up to use may not be available now. If I knew it was the gateway I'd just go buy a new one.
 
Would CenturyLink provide one? Lease one for a month (not sure how much they cost, but could help in troubleshooting) then buy your own if you suspect it is the problem?
 
I tried to run speedof.me with IE8 and it wouldn't even run.

I then ran speedtest.net in IE8 and got:

1.15M down, 660K down w/73 ms ping

Then tried Google Chrome.

speedof.me (ran 2 back to back):
Test #1: 4.61M down, 630K up w/216 ms ping
Test #2: 690k down, 2.67M up w/222 ms ping (opposite values)

Obviously something is messed up there with a reported 4.61M download
lol.gif
I'd say speedof.me isn't reliable for accuracy.

With Google Chrome - basically same results seen with IE8:
speedtest.net: 1.16M down, 630K up w/101 ms ping

I got another network dead zone again during these tests. I always notice that when the network dies, whatever browser I'm using is hogging the CPU to near 100% usage.

I'm wondering if Bitdefender or Malwarebytes PRO is causing something here? I wouldn't think so, but who knows at this point.
 
Originally Posted By: redhat
Would CenturyLink provide one? Lease one for a month (not sure how much they cost, but could help in troubleshooting) then buy your own if you suspect it is the problem?


I could check out that option. Maybe I'll talk the friend into letting me use it for just a day or two. She's not using it, but thinks it's valuable for some reason.
 
Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
Hmmm that is strange. I'm not familiar with that exact Puppy Linux release, but it should be about the same as the one I am using. I ran speedtest.com without a problem on Opera on the live CD. Try going to the puppy menu (lower left corner) and see if you can try other browsers from the internet line on that menu.


I booted up from the PL CD and loaded up Opera. Went to speedtest.net and it still asks for Adobe Flash and Java Script to run. The way you ran it on the live CD must somehow had access to Adobe and Jave to run speedtest.net.

I tried running speedof.me with Opera and it wouldn't even run.
 
I really don't rely on any of the "test your bandwidth" things because they will never account for saturation.

I just ran this speedof.me stuff a few times, WOW what a useless piece of garbage. speedtest.net consistently has me at 14Mbps and this other site had me at 4. Do not trust it.

You need to evaluate your browsing experience. Are you getting the same lockups in linux that you're getting in windows?

The fact that your browsers are CPU hogging is telling me the issue is software. What software, who knows? Maybe you have a wonky browser plugin. Maybe your AV is acting up. Maybe Windows is a steaming pile of feces.

Browse around with Linux for a while and if you get no slowdowns you know your issue is within windows.
 
Originally Posted By: Subdued

You need to evaluate your browsing experience. Are you getting the same lockups in linux that you're getting in windows?

The fact that your browsers are CPU hogging is telling me the issue is software. What software, who knows? Maybe you have a wonky browser plugin. Maybe your AV is acting up. Maybe Windows is a steaming pile of feces.

Browse around with Linux for a while and if you get no slowdowns you know your issue is within windows.


Of all the browsing I've done tonight while in Puppy Linux using 2 or 3 of the browsers available in PL, it has always seemed much faster than when in Windows, and I haven't seen any network lock-ups where the websites just churn waiting to update. Of course, while in Window there is probably a lot more software running in the background to take away some of the CPU resources.

This problem is strange because sometimes when the browser locks up in Windows, if I power cycle the modem it comes back and the network connection seems start working again, or if I restart Windows it comes back. It is strange however that the the browser hogs the CPU only during a network lock-up episode, but maybe that's because it's trying to load the page and can't since the network (modem?) is dead.

I think trying another modem at this point is probably the easiest next trouble-shooting step. Will post up findings after I get a chance to do that.
 
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Since I'm using PL, it has to be the modem of the CenturyLink network/servers.

You're on DSL and not cable, right? I had issues with my cable setup not being properly grounded, and the ISP wouldn't believe me, and it only got fixed when I grounded it myself.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Since I'm using PL, it has to be the modem of the CenturyLink network/servers.

You're on DSL and not cable, right? I had issues with my cable setup not being properly grounded, and the ISP wouldn't believe me, and it only got fixed when I grounded it myself.
wink.gif



Yes, I'm on DSL with CenturyLink as the service provider. I've checked out all the cabling involved, uplugged and replugged to made sure everything was connected well.
 
Found another internet speed tester that will run without Adobe Flash or Java script, so I can test while using Puppy Linux browsers.

www.meter.net/

In Puppy Linux using Opera as my browser, I got:
Test 1 - 1.24M down, 663K up w/140 ms ping
Test 2 - 1.24M down, 632K up w/140 ms ping
Test 3 - 1.25M down, 671K up w/138 ms ping

Test 3 image showing results. Looks like it was using some server in NJ which is across the country from where I am.
http://www.meter.net/rs/20141729704.png

This internet speed tester seemed really consistent,and showed speeds that would be in the zone where they should be for the DSL service I have. Will have to try this one in Windows to see how it compares.
 
So I did the same test as above using www.meter.net

In XP using Firefox as my browser, I got:
Test 1 - 1.08M down, 642K up w/217 ms ping
Test 2 - 1.18M down, 687K up w/343 ms ping
Test 3 - 1.15M down, 702K up w/242 ms ping

Image of Test 3 results:
http://www.meter.net/rs/20141729785.png

Then ran it 3 times in IE8 and got:
Test 1 - 1.14M down, 719K up w/206 ms ping
Test 2 - 1.20M down, 715K up w/215 ms ping
Test 2 - 1.19M down, 712K up w/208 ms ping

Ran speedtest.net once with IE8, results:
Test 1 - 1.20M down, 680K up w/104 ms ping

Results are a bit slower on average with the download speeds only then when tested in PL with Opera. Upload speeds look about the same.

There was good correlation between www.meter.net and speedtest.net on these tests.
 
If your having 100% processor usage during the "drop outs", then it's either an overlay or the antivirus.
 
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: Subdued

You need to evaluate your browsing experience. Are you getting the same lockups in linux that you're getting in windows?

The fact that your browsers are CPU hogging is telling me the issue is software. What software, who knows? Maybe you have a wonky browser plugin. Maybe your AV is acting up. Maybe Windows is a steaming pile of feces.

Browse around with Linux for a while and if you get no slowdowns you know your issue is within windows.


Of all the browsing I've done tonight while in Puppy Linux using 2 or 3 of the browsers available in PL, it has always seemed much faster than when in Windows, and I haven't seen any network lock-ups where the websites just churn waiting to update. Of course, while in Window there is probably a lot more software running in the background to take away some of the CPU resources.

This problem is strange because sometimes when the browser locks up in Windows, if I power cycle the modem it comes back and the network connection seems start working again, or if I restart Windows it comes back. It is strange however that the the browser hogs the CPU only during a network lock-up episode, but maybe that's because it's trying to load the page and can't since the network (modem?) is dead.

I think trying another modem at this point is probably the easiest next trouble-shooting step. Will post up findings after I get a chance to do that.

...but you're not getting the lockups in Linux so I'm not sure how you jump to this conclusion.

It's MUCH more likely you have some piece of software (browser plugin maybe?) that's trying to communicate with some server, failing to do so, and it hogging the CPU until you force it to stop trying by killing the network connection. I've seen this scenario much more often than failing transport equipment.

I've seen DSL modems fail, but the nature of DSL doesn't really allow for a flakey connection short of line noise. It tends to either work, or not work, and when it's not working there's an obvious disconnect. A network problem causing a CPU hog just doesn't make any sense.
 
Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
I always notice that when the network dies, whatever browser I'm using is hogging the CPU to near 100% usage.

I'm wondering if Bitdefender or Malwarebytes PRO is causing something here? I wouldn't think so, but who knows at this point.

This is an important clue. Sounds like a browser plug-in. I use FF and have about 15 tabs open. If I open a new tab, play a woodworking video, FF will load the player. Once loaded, it will remain there, sometimes still running, even when I close the tab containing the video. So I search for it using ProcessMonitor (a more indepth version of task manager) and kill it.

I also noticed that MS security essentials, MSE?, would suddenly decide to run even though I have it set for Sun @3am, right when I don't need it. Result? FF would slow to crawl. I'd find MSE using PM and kill it.

I'd suggest looking at what all is running in the background on your confuser. How many processes, what's been loaded at start-up.

Your cpu @ 100% is an important clue to follow!
 
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