Why is the Internet Slow?

I learned years ago that if there was no internet, that most people wouldn’t be interested in owning a computer. Think about it, how many times a week do you turn on your computer? Now be honest, how many times in that same week would you turn on your computer if you had no internet access? I think you see my point.

But when you are browsing the internet, how many times do you ask yourself “Why is the internet slow”? Here at Gakidoo’s, it is probably the most commonly asked question I get. Before I get to why the internet may be slow, I need to set a few things straight between your internet browser and your internet connection, you need to know because it might make the difference between who you call when you have a “slow” internet problem. I wouldn’t automatically call your Internet Service Provider (ISP) until you isolate if the problem is in-house or not, which is pretty easy to do most of the time.

If you have a new fast computer and high-speed internet, but your webpages are loading slowly, don’t call Oceanic, HawaiianTel or Clear just yet. Now think of your computer as a car, and the internet as the freeway. You could have a fast car, maybe even a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 that can do 243 mph, but the speed limit is 55 mph, or worse yet, there could be a traffic jam and you are just parked on H1. Both the car and the freeway have their capabilities and their limits, just like your computer and your Internet Service Provider (ISP), but they can all experience breakdowns.

So what’s worse, a fast car on a slow road, or a slow car on a fast road? They are both bad, because the symptoms are pretty much the same to you (just bottlenecks at different points), although you will have to call your ISP for the former, and a PC Tech for the latter.

What is Your Bottleneck?

I usually categorize slow internet problems into 4 categories (and it is possible to experience all 4).

1. Slow Computer
2. Slow Internet Browser
3. In home wiring, Router/Modem problem
4. Slow Internet Service

Note 1: For any of these categories, you will have to take into consideration the internet speed results of any other computers you might have on your network. It should be obvious that if all your computers have normal internet speeds except for one, that your Internet Service must be good and the problem is isolated to the one computer.

Note 2: If you have only one computer that can connect both wired and wireless, and you have a wireless network, you should check it out both wired and wireless and troubleshoot accordingly.

Note 3: I can’t cover every situation here, so don’t feel that the descriptions below dictate any particular order of troubleshooting.

Slow Computer

If your computer is dog slow, even when you are “not” browsing the internet, your internet experience is going to appear slow as well. There are many reasons for a slow computer such as too many programs running in the background, a resource hogging antivirus program, to infections (not to forget hardware problems). It is not the responsibility of your ISP to fix your slow computer. Since most problems with slow computers are infections, I suggest you run full scans with whatever security products you have. Better yet, make sure you run your security scans with top-tier security products that are up-to-date. There are many reputable products already recommended on this website.

Slow Internet Browser

If your computer is fast, except when browsing the internet, you may have a slow internet browser, but it could also be your internet service as well. So if you are using Internet Explorer (IE), try Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or whatever browser you might already have that doesn’t rely on IE. Download the alternate browser onto a flash drive and then install it on the affected computer if you have to. But if webpages load slowly on “both” browsers, then I would probably check the internet service. Just know that in the “real world” it is possible to have problems with both browsers, especially if your computer is infected, so it doesn’t hurt to run some security scans.

If you isolate the problem to your browser, then check to see if you have any slow loading or malicious browser plug-ins or add-ons, such as too many toolbars, and either disable or remove them one at a time to see if that corrects the problem. Otherwise, you may need to reset, or remove-reinstall your browser. Just don’t try to remove IE, as it is part of Windows. If you are sure that your computer is not infected, you may try to upgrade IE to the latest version, only read this article first.

In Home Wiring, Router/Modem Problem

So far, we have only checked out the car (computer), but now we are going to checkout the road (ISP). This can include in-house wiring, modem, and external wiring all the way to the utility pole, or some node in your neighborhood. Your part in all this won’t go any further than checking out the in-house wiring up to the wall. Hope you didn’t think I wanted you to climb a pole.

Anyway, if you have service, but it is just slow, your wiring is probably OK, although there are occasional cases where some homes in older neighborhoods have wiring that has finally deteriorated to the point that it is attenuating the signal too much. It could also be a problem that mostly acts up in wet weather because of moisture getting in the cable.

Slow Internet Service

To begin checking your internet service, it helps to get a baseline reading of your internet speed so you can tell if you are even getting the speed you are paying for. It is very common to experience slow browsing when the actual internet speed is totally up to par such as with a slow computer or internet browser. An internet speed test will clear this up. Just go to http://www.speedtest.net,  just be careful what you click, because there are plenty of ads on this site that will prompt you to download some program such as a registry cleaner. Just click “Begin Test” just above the map of your location and wait a moment for the results.

As mentioned above, if you have another known good computer that you can connect to your network (modem/router), this is the easiest way to check your service, and the interpretation of the results should be obvious. Aside from a slow connection, if none of your computers can connect and open a webpage at all, then you should bypass your router and connect directly to the modem. One technique the cable or dsl company will always have you do is to power-cycle your modem/router/computer. It goes like this:

Note: Most modems and routers do not have a power switch, just unplug the dc power cable to shut them down (not the ethernet cable, although it doesn’t hurt to reseat it). If you don’t know the difference, the other end of the dc power cable will be plugged in to a power outlet.

1. Turn off and/or unplug the modem, router and computer for a full minute (no particular order, just shut them all down properly).
2. Turn on/plug-in the modem (then wait for the dsl or cable light to come on steady)
3. Turn on/plug-in the router (then wait about 30 seconds)
4. Turn on your computer (then check you internet speed again)

The procedure above is just an annoying part of life you have to deal with now and then with both cable and dsl internet service. Get used to it. If you have Digital Phone service and lose your dial tone now and then, you are probably already aware of this procedure.

Anyway, if this didn’t work, and you haven’t visually inspected your wiring yet, I would do so. Some people have pets that chew through cables, while others may have installed too many splitters on their phone line or TV cable and weren’t aware that it could affect their internet speed. While most of us use cordless phones with wireless extensions, this doesn’t happen too much with dsl, but people with cable modems install new TVs all the time, not realizing that they may have to have an amplifier installed so the signal doesn’t get attenuated to the point that it affects their internet speed and maybe even the quality of their TV reception.

Bottom line, if your computer checks out fine and the slowness appears to be from your service itself, then call your ISP for help.

Other Items to Check for Total Loss of Internet

There are other items to check if you can’t open a webpage in your browser at all, as opposed to just being slow, which I will cover very briefly below.

• Check your browser’s proxy server settings.
• Check the status of your network adapter in Device Manager, such as is it disabled or do you have a driver problem?
• Check to see if you are even getting an IP Address using “ipconfig” at a command prompt.
• Click Start > Accessories > Right Click “Command Prompt” and Run as Administrator.
• Type “ipconfig” to quickly check adapter settings such as Default Gateway and IP Address (example: 192.168.1.1)
• Type “ipconfig /release” if you need to release IP Address (example: 0.0.0.0)
• Type “ipconfig /renew” if you need to renew IP Address

If you can’t get a Default Gateway or the IP Address, you won’t be able to get an internet connection at all. Sometimes this can be caused by a corrupt or misconfigured firewall, IP properties or DNS settings. This can also be caused by disabled Windows Services or a broken Layered Service Protocol (LSP) in your internet chain. For the average computer user, this area of troubleshooting usually ends up in the customer miconfiguring their browser and IP settings even more than they already were, so be careful and just call a PC Technician if you feel you are getting in over your head. But before you give up, try the free Online Fixit Solutions from Microsoft for some point-and-click solutions for fixing all sorts of problems such as internet connectivity issues.