U-Torrent Slows Pc To A Crawl

[Hog Head]

When I run U-Torrent my other web functions virtually stop. I can do other tasks, but nothing web based.

I do not see a priority function in u-torrent

PC is an Intel dual core, 2.6 GHz, 2 GB RAM so should have sufficient power for this simple task

Any suggestions

[bangkokcitylimits]

I would suggest get free IObit Toolbox to maintain your system, cleaning and optimizing daily. http://www.iobit.com/toolbox.html

Optimizing utorrent: http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/optimizing-torrent-speed.htm

[Crossy]

Are your torrent downloads filling your incoming connection?

I'm pretty sure uTorrent has a facility to limit the incoming and outgoing speeds.

[bangkokcitylimits]

What is the remaining free space on your harddisk ? It's amazing how many people have a free space left of less then 10gb, that's alarming phase and can cause your system to crash any moment. Downloading movies can eat the free space pretty fast.

[Daffy D]

You can set download and upload limit @ Options - Preferences - Bandwidth.

Everyone seems to have different setup options so up to you, I use these settings and have good results.

Enable UPnP and NAT-PMP and disable DHT.

I also use the uTottent Version 2.0.4 (build 21586) It is easy to set up and works well. Some private sites have not got this version on their "approved" list but I have been using it for months now without problems.

DD

[Supernova]

When I run U-Torrent my other web functions virtually stop. I can do other tasks, but nothing web based.

Perhaps the most important setting is the Global maximum upload rate. When configuring your torrent client, make sure it's NOT set to "unlimited". Setting this value too high will limit your ability to browse the web whilst downloading or seeding torrents.

Use this formula:

upload speed (kbit) / 10 * 0.80 = Max. upload rate (KB/s) 

Another setting worthy of mention is the Global maximum number of connections. Most home or SOHO routers will choke at anything above 250, so be conservative... 150 or 200 should be plenty.

Enable UPnP and NAT-PMP and disable DHT.

This won't fix web browsing issues. Besides, you don't need to enable UPnP and/or NAT-PMP; the latter of which is implemented in Apple computer products only. Learn how to setup port forwarding on a router. When choosing a listening port, opt for something between 49152 and 65535.

You can disable DHT for individual torrents, no need to disable it globally.

[nikster]

I use Transmission as a client, max. upload rate is a simple popup. I imagine it's the same in uTorrent. Transmission is great, BTW, you might want to try it out.

As Supernova says, maximum upload rate is the only setting you need to worry about. Set it to 20 KB/s and you should be good.

Now there's ways to optimize it, e.g. set it slightly lower than your max. outgoing data rate, but I personally find that the clients are not all that great at throttling the upload, so I like to err on the safe side.

Theoretically 40 KB/s on a 512KB uplink should be fine.

Now for the reason - torrents download and upload in parallel, so it's very easy for a torrent to completely saturate your outgoing connection, e.g. data sent from your computer to the world. That makes it harder for things like page requests to get out - any other outgoing connections. If nothing can come out from your computer, your internet pretty much stops.

PS: My opinion on manual port forwarding is that it's an old, outdated technology and should never be required. Enable UPnP on the router and it all just works.

Think about it this way: Would you rather futz around in the deep layers of local networking, or would you like the computer to do these things for you? That's UPnP.

Edited January 8, 2011 by nikster

[Supernova]

^ Manual port forwarding is still preferable to UPnP. The only disadvantage is that it locks a given port (or port range) to a single IP address, so if you use multiple PC's or have dynamic IP addresses, it won't work.

UPnP is designed to workaround this issue by automatically forwarding and unforwarding ports as needed. However, it doesn't always work as expected. Therefore, port forwarding is a more reliable option IMHO. Furthermore, UPnP also poses a significant security risk by allowing any program (malicious or otherwise) to map ports through the router without the user's knowledge or consent. That said, the added convenience afforded by UPnP just isn't worth it.

Each to his/her own I guess.

[Hog Head]

The upload was set to 22 and changed to 20. As expected it made no difference

Download was and still is unlimited

UPnP was and still is on

DHT is now disabled (was on)Made no difference

Google sharing enabled or disabled makes no difference

Global max number of connections was and is 130

Harddrive is large

Still no other web functions when u-torrent on open

[MikeWill]

Try to uninstall uTorrent completely. Reboot. Check that there are no uTorrent related entries in your registry. Download the latest stable uTorrent version from uTorrent website. After the installation run the 'Setup Guide' under the Options menu. Click on 'Save & Close' button after the test is completed.

[Hog Head]

I noticed that it slows to a crawl as soon as I launch u-torrent and before it even starts to download anything

[Hog Head]

Tried to uninstall u-torrent using control panel but it just won't go away.

It goes through the uninstall process fine, but when I try and download a tracker using Bit Che, bad old u-torrent comes back from the dead

How to kill it?

[Supernova]

Locate and delete the folders below manually. You may need to set Folder Options to "Show hidden files and folders" in order to access the %AppData% folder.

Windows XP:

C:\Program Files\uTorrent
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\uTorrent

Windows 7:

C:\Program Files\uTorrent  
C:\Program Files (x86)\uTorrent
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\uTorrent

[nikster]

^ Manual port forwarding is still preferable to UPnP. The only disadvantage is that it locks a given port (or port range) to a single IP address, so if you use multiple PC's or have dynamic IP addresses, it won't work.

Ok.. who doesn't have dynamic IP addresses or multiple PCs? We have 2 laptops, 2 iPhones, and an iPad... then there's guests who will connect to our WiFi...

I think the added hassle of manually forwarding ports - assigning static IP to specific MAC addresses, then there's the problem that only one person can use torrents... it's all silly. Just use UPnP and be done with it.

As for "unauthorized programs" - as soon as you have infected your Windows PC with a virus it's all over anyway. UPnP or not won't make any difference. That is, your PC will listen to remote commands, and your PC will send out spam, or do whatever else the master wants. Anything that Skype can do - e.g. work around various firewalls, network configurations, and so on - a virus can do too.

@ the OP: Any way you can use Windows restore points to go back to an older version, before you had uTorrent installed? That should take care of it, but should be done only after all other options have failed.

[Supernova]

I think the added hassle of manually forwarding ports - assigning static IP to specific MAC addresses, then there's the problem that only one person can use torrents... it's all silly. Just use UPnP and be done with it.

While it can be somewhat of a hassle in setting up, traditional port forwarding puts me in control unlike the alternative. I have 4 PC's on my home network, all have their own static IP and ports assigned accordingly. Using torrents on multiple machines at the same time isn't a problem, although it's something I try to avoid doing for obvious reasons -- limited bandwidth.

As for "unauthorized programs" - as soon as you have infected your Windows PC with a virus it's all over anyway. UPnP or not won't make any difference.

It doesn't change the fact that UPnP can be used to map ports without my knowledge or consent, which to me is unacceptable. If you can live with that sort of thing, then fine.

Edited January 8, 2011 by Supernova