The mystery of what speed I should be getting.

[Pib]

When doing downloads "multi-threading" is most likely occurring....torrents programs and download programs have/use multi-thread capabilities...this is why you are getting the high file download speeds...quite common even with Thai internet providers. However, if just browsing, live video streaming, emailing, etc., that is a "single-threaded" operation so you may get a much lower speed if it's a international connection due to throttling at the internet providers international gateway.

So, lets say the best international speed a person can get on their 10Mb plan is 1Mb international speed single-thread conneciton, well, that is the fastest/best case speed they'll get for single-threaded operations such as browsing, live video streaming, etc., as these type of program generally only have single-threaded capability. However, the peson could very well pull the full 10Mb speed (and quite often do) if using a torrent program/download manager since this software has the capability to use multiple threads/streams of data....or maybe like being able to setup ten 1 inch water pipes in your 10Mb plan connection versus having only one 1 inch water pipe.

Summary: whether the program/site you are using has single or multiple threaded/streaming capability can make a big difference in your download speed. Also, the server you are connecting to may have bandwidth controls which will only feed any connection with a certain about of bandwidth...like maybe you have 100Mb internet plan and even if you are connecting to a in-country server, that server may limit how much bandwidth it provides each connection to ensure it can support as many connection at once as possible and prevent those high bandwidth capable connections from hogging all the server's bandwidth. But with torrent/download managers it's due to their multi-thread capability.

[cnx37]

Thank you TV members

However your responses are way over my head.

From my telephone bill, I read the following -

ADSL 1 Point

Auto Up Speed

2556 Upto10Mb/512Kb

My monthly fee is B550 + VAT - same package for at least 7 years.

I have telephoned TOT & a tech will "come some time" - 10mins to 10 months???. TOT was only interested in the TOT speed test (of course). They did say that my DL speed was slow!

Last night @ 9.00pm, I used the TOT internet speedtest.

Ping 49

DL 2.13

UL 0.42

How close am I getting what I paid for?

The next service from TOT is 13Mb - B690 + VAT

Then, B990 + VAT - speed ??? ( I hardly think that B990 is worth it, given my type of usage).

Overall, it is not a huge problem with the current package. I do not DL files often eg books. In fact,, yesterday was my 1st time.

As previously posted, my internet is email (Yahoo), BKK bank (FE rates), Thativisa (very slow), SKYPE - that is about it..

[oTwoPies]

When doing downloads "multi-threading" is most likely occurring....torrents programs and download programs have/use multi-thread capabilities...this is why you are getting the high file download speeds...quite common even with Thai internet providers.

Maybe I did not make myself clear but I do not get high download speeds (remember I said my download could last overnight). The only fast download was the 3.2 Gb Win8.1 and I explained the reason I thought this occurred. That really was a one-off occurrence!

However, if just browsing, live video streaming, emailing, etc., that is a "single-threaded" operation....

Maybe you missed my original post but I am mainly downloading TV (television and not Thai Visa) programmes including the live stream from the BBC & ITV. In other words I am single threaded and not multi-threaded.

...if it's a international connection due to throttling at the internet providers international gateway.

It IS international but I believe it is congestion rather than throttling but the difference is irrelevant as the effect is the same. (Throttling implies the connection will always be slow and congestion implies the speed is variable. I see highly variable speed (100 kb/sec - 30 Mb/sec) hence congestion but the congestion occurs at the CM GH and not at the IIG and yes, I do know how to differentiate between these. As you said, it is BW allocation at the server.)

Summary: whether the program/site you are using has single or multiple threaded/streaming capability can make a big difference in your download speed.

Single thread............

Also, the server you are connecting to may have bandwidth controls which will only feed any connection with a certain about of bandwidth

Agreed; and as stated in my first post:-

My current connection is in a CM GH with a (business) 50Mb/sec fibre optic link. This should be brilliant but I have seen my download speed vary from around 30Mb/s to less than 100kb/sec, UK - CM. I have had numerous discussions with the owner and slowly they are beginning to listen when I tell them their 'IT Expert' has set their Internet BW allocation wrongly......(at their server. In fact their 'IT Expert' has used the server to deliberately split the BW as 20 Mb/sec Owner; 20 Mb/sec shared between the Farangs; and 10 Mb/sec shared between the Thai's and no, I do not believe the owner realises the disastrous implications of this split. Yeah gods and they wonder why the Farang's and Thai's complain about poor internet and the owner simply says, "There is nothing wrong with MY internet, look it is working perfectly!!" BTW I cannot be certain of this statement but the limited testing I have been able to carry out gives a strong indication to this being the correct diagnosis.)

As I said, I have an uphill task here because, apart from the very variable internet connection speed, the GH is just bril.

As you guys may realise, I have spent a lot of time and effort investigating the internet connection speed problem at this GH and the alternatives available from the various ISP's hence my knowledge of the IIG problem and the variability between the ISP's. Many posters on this and other forums have blamed the Thai Internet but I personally do not believe it is as simple as that. At this GH I have NEVER seen a slow speed that I can identify as being at the IIG and I am downloading many large files daily. The congestion has ALWAYS been at the GH but again, the GH has a 50 Mb/sec fiber optic business link.

My summary and answer to Worgeodie's original question is that TOT do not have an adequate BW at the IIG to adequately satisfy supply and demand. This statement can be easily proven by running the 3 different speed tests I provided and publishing the results. If the international download speed at the TOT customer services FTTx connection is 100 kb/sec I think I can safely rest my case. Please keep in mind their customer service personnel even advised me to go elsewhere if I wanted a good IIG connection!

cheers.............

[oTwoPies]

As previously posted, my internet is email (Yahoo), BKK bank (FE rates), Thativisa (very slow), SKYPE - that is about it..

Interestingly, ThaiVisa is not slow with my connection

You use Skype but again, not enough information

Are you only using Skype voice or

Do you make Skype video calls

Are the calls inside or outside Thailand

If outside Thailand what is the destination country/countries

How good is the quality of the Skype audio/video on your calls...........

It's okay, you said you're not technical so I do not expect you to understand the significance of these questions but they are very relevant to a diagnosis.

Also, you may not be technical but you can open links so please open each one of the following and run the test. ONLY RUN ONE TEST AT A TIME.

http://www.speedtest.net/

http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

Connect to the San Francisco connection....

http://www.bbc.co.uk...yer/diagnostics

the speed info I need is shown in the attachment. The download speed I require is not the download speed that is shown at the end of the test. This is an aggregate speed and I am not sure how the beeb have come up with this result. I need the real download speed as per the attachment, and the streaming speeds would be useful. Sorry to labour the point but you did say you were not technical.

I will try to assist but no guarantees..............

cheers

[Pib]

Thank you TV members

However your responses are way over my head.

From my telephone bill, I read the following -

ADSL 1 Point

Auto Up Speed

2556 Upto10Mb/512Kb

My monthly fee is B550 + VAT - same package for at least 7 years.

I have telephoned TOT & a tech will "come some time" - 10mins to 10 months???. TOT was only interested in the TOT speed test (of course). They did say that my DL speed was slow!

Last night @ 9.00pm, I used the TOT internet speedtest.

Ping 49

DL 2.13

UL 0.42

How close am I getting what I paid for?

The next service from TOT is 13Mb - B690 + VAT

Then, B990 + VAT - speed ??? ( I hardly think that B990 is worth it, given my type of usage).

Overall, it is not a huge problem with the current package. I do not DL files often eg books. In fact,, yesterday was my 1st time.

As previously posted, my internet is email (Yahoo), BKK bank (FE rates), Thativisa (very slow), SKYPE - that is about it..

Since you said you live in a condo/14th floor and based on the name of your plan it sounds like a certain bandwidth is being feed to your building and then distributed throughout the building on its internal exchange/redistribution network. And how much speed you end up getting will depend on how many other people in the building may be using the internet/building network. Kinda sounds like you don't have a dedicated ADSL line like would run to a single family house, but more of a sharing type setup due to your building internal wiring/network.

Do you actually have a modem your ADSL line hooks into and then you hook your computer to the modem, or do you just hook your Wifi router and/or computer into an ethernet port in the wall? If you just hook your computer directly into the wall (i.e., no ADSL modem needed) then you are on a building network which means your are sharing bandwidth with others in the building. If you do have a ADSL modem/router which you hook into the wall and then your computer hooks into the modem/router (or connects via Wifi) then you may have a dedicated line although it could still be routed through some building switching circuits.

Hopefully others who may have a similar setup will chime in.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Pib

[cnx37]

Thanks TV members -

Speakeasy - San Francisco

DL = 0.41

UL = 0.27

BBC (virus threatened!)

DL 588kpbs

? #1 7k

? #2 3k

? #3 5k

I have a private telephone - TOT & private TOT BB router (4 ports) - I assume no sharing!

I pay B550/mth + VAT (10Mb) - see above.

For B690/mth, I can get 13Mb - TOT

[oTwoPies]

Thanks TV members -

BBC (virus threatened!)

The BBC is similar to a government institution so definitely not a virus source.

I gave you three links but you only tested two

I asked for info on Skype and you did not reply

Sorry but I cannot help you

[Dork]

Just ran the BBC iPlayer speed test (4.27pm) on TOT FTTX located in Nonthaburi. Here is a screenshot.

[cnx37]

oTwoPies

My apologies!

OOKLA - Speed test

Ping 39ms

DL 7.44Mbps

UL 0.54Mpbs

I do not have any problems with SKYPE.- audio & visual is OK.

[oTwoPies]

Just ran the BBC iPlayer speed test (4.27pm) on TOT FTTX located in Nonthaburi. Here is a screenshot.

BBC SpeedTest.png

The beeb speed test is a download and stream from the UK to Thailand via the IIG. It HAS to go through the IIG. I emphasis this because you test shows a download of over 10Mb/sec. I understand the variation in the stream speeds, tests 2 - 4, but over 10Mb/sec download, hmmm. That is just a brilliant speed and does not explain the original posters problems or the speed I saw at the TOT customer services offices. I actually tested 1x FTTx and 1x ADSL at the TOT customer service offices and a TOT ADSL residential connection; none came anywhere near your speed.

What confuses me with my testing is all the internal to Thailand speed-tests I ran on the 3 TOT locations were good, 8Mish and all IIG tests were bad, 200ish k. Your single IIG test result is very good especially your download speed. My download is 'lo' but streaming 'hi' and your are almost vice-versa. So, put simply I am confused and I have no ideas and need to think. Sorry.

Hopefully there are more readers with fiber from TOT who can post their results please..............

How about Worgeordie posting his results here?

Again, to get a full picture I need the results from the three links in my original posting so we have internal to Thailand i.e. Bangkok to (UrLocal), then US to Thai-(UrLocal) and finally UK to Thai-(UrLocal) speed test results taken at aprox. the same time of day in order to try to draw any sensible conclusions.

Been thinking whilst typing and still confused, this does not make sense, but I do not suspect you have doctored your results. Most puzzling.

You did not say but I take it you are very pleased with your TOT Internet services. I know I certainly would be very happy if I had that sort of consistent connection speed.

thanks

[Dork]

The TOT FTTX connection is at my house but I've only had it a couple of days so haven't come to a conclusion yet about it's performance. What I have noticed so far is that the Intl. speeds fluctuate considerably depending on the time of day. More so than the TRUE ADSL I've been using.

I'm at my office now which though nearby has a TRUE DOCSIS connection. I'm pretty dubious about these speed tests in general and especially so with a DOCSIS connection because I think that the "bursting" technology they use skews the results. I think that downloading a large file from a known good server gives a much better real world indication of what to expect.

Anyway, here is the BBC iPlayer test through a TRUE DOCSIS connection at 5.53pm.

[oTwoPies]

Hi Dork

This maybe my last post this evening.............

You are so right about the skew on your Docsis tests in your last post. From what I have seen the beeb speed test shows the real world download speed in Test1, the streaming speed in Test2-Test4, from 3 different stream web-sites and the aggregate speed of either tests 1-4 or tests 2-4 in the overall results. I am not sure which of those is correct because I have not paid a great deal of attention to the aggregate. It is not possible no matter how you combine the results of your Docsis speed tests 2-4 to provide your beeb overall speed that is slower than any of the individual test results. This just does not make any sense. It would be most interesting to see the green/red bars of the results because, from the overall speed test, the first two bars should be red followed by three green bars however, the individual speed tests1-4 says the results should be all green. I agree with you; I think something has been skewed by Docsis xDSL but as I know nothing at all about Docsis I cannot comment.

I still have no ideas for a sensible explanation for your home TOT test results.

I am out for most of tomorrow so I may be silent all day though I will have access to a residential TOT ADSL connection so I will test again. Maybe my silence will give others a chance to post some ideas as I am at a loss for the moment...........

I have considered that I have made an error in my hypothesis but I cannot provide a sensible alternative.

I have considered that you work for TOT but do not see how you could skew the IIG.

The obvious conclusion is your results are a one off and not repeatable though even this is extremely unlikely. How can I test 4 times during a day on 3 different TOT connections at 13:30 ADSL, 15:00 FTTx, 17:00 ADSL and finally 19:00 ADSL: all test results had good internal Thai speeds and poor IIG speeds and your one off test be excellent.

Most confusing...............

Edited March 26, 2014 by oTwoPies

[Pib]

Just as FYI/for comparison, below are the speed results I got on the BBC iplayer diagnostics at 9:45am Bangkok time today. I'm in Bangkok on a True DOCSIS 15Mb/1.5Mb internet plan (Bt699/mo).

Since the DOCSIS system has "bursting" capabilty, my domestic speed results are usually much higher than 15Mb download on speedtesters that only take 30 seconds or so to run the test, like the BBC iplayer diagnostics test where I got a download speed of over 28Mb. Heck, sometimes I see bursting occurring for a second or two of around 45Mb. This bursting capability really helps to speed-up browsing since browsing is nothing more than downloading the many small files/weblinks that compose a webpage...also makes email attachment downloads/uploads go much faster....also makes small file downloads go a lot faster. But for live video streaming bursting really don't help much as live video streaming is looking for a "consistent, steady download speed of a certain minimum amount" versus a stop & go/bursting download speed of a certain minimum amount. Note: appears the BBC iplayer tester is a Flash-based tester which means it's more easily fooled (i.e., inaccurate/skewed results) by cache servers a network provider may/usually uses whereas a Java-based tester is harder to fool. Plus, if the tester is setup to provide "multiple-thread" testing, like many speed testers are setup to do, it may not be a good way to check your ability to stream video since live video is usually a "single-thread" operation.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Pib

[cnx37]

Just an update on my exploration re internet speed & TOT.

Tech from TOT arrived today - VG! Thorough!

1) changed telephone cable/connection in my condo - cable is 7 years old - speed up by 20%?

2) telephoned his boss for advice

3) he will check connections in the condo complex before making a recommendation

4) no hard sell!

5) Fibre optic not available in my complex - my situation

6) probably an increase from 10Mbps to 13Mbps recommended - 13Mbps is pretty standard now - difference in price - B140/mth + new modem (7 years old) - B480?

7) checked my desktop computer hardware & compared to his laptop - Lenova.

8) wll return later today - he needs to attend school

Opinion to date (from a non-tech)

Service - excellent!

Professionalism - excellent!

Hard-sell - No!

Negative - he could not speak English. My problem - not his (I live in LOS - Thai language proficiency - so-so). However, I have a Thai wife - a huge advantage - entrance to my condo, communication, Q & A.

Probable outcome - a new modem. Upgrade package to 13Mbps.

Satisfaction with TOT? Excellent!

Thank you TV members - thank you TOT.

[Turkleton]

Probable outcome - a new modem. Upgrade package to 13Mbps.

Satisfaction with TOT? Excellent!

Thank you TV members - thank you TOT.

Stockholm syndrome?

Seriously, the "upgrade" is wasted money, except your main target are Thailand hosted websites.

For international connections useless, because the bottleneck is the international Gateway.

[khunPer]

Agree that TOT has an excellent service. However, the International speed problems are beyond TOT. 7Mb may work as well as any more speedy connection – another possibility is to get rid of some of the shares on the line. With TOT normally 10 users share a domestic line – if they all download movies at the same time the Internet sucks – but paying a bit more, only 5 users will share a line. Having a decicated line with no share is costly and may not be worth the price, as that will not speed up the route out of Thailand.

[khunPer]

Edit: UPS double post – sometimes happens, as TV don't renew the page...

Edited March 27, 2014 by khunPer

[robertthebruce]

If you have ''WI-FI'' ''Bingo'' thats sufficient.... my speed varies from SLOW TO MEGA SLOW.. TO ''STAND STILL''...

Annoying or what..

but i keep saying to myself to keep me sane ''What did we do before Wi-Fi''.. ??? had a life probably...

anyway, all the best..

[cnx37]

UPDATE - INTERNET - see #44 post.

Since that time, a drastic/dramatic turnaround! I live in a condo - 15-20yrs old - 14th floor.

Went to TOT office today - cancel land-line etc.

No - maximum speed avaiable to me - old condo - 10Mbps! (I had this speed before). 13Mpbs - unavailable. I asked the management of my condo re this matter - max is 10Mbps!

Cancel - landline - B1700 exit fee. Then sorry, a mistake - B1070. After expressing my disappointment & loyalty to TOT, cancelltion fee was waived. I should be thankful? Currently, I am with TOT. I asked the question re penalty for cancellation of Wi-fi - no idea!

Now, I have Wi-fi - no speed increase - maybe worse! The monthly fee has increased by 25%. The speed is a disaster eg loading to respond to this post required 2 attempts say 10min.

I telephoned 3BBB (???) - BKK. Response - telephone CNX branch. I complied - ask a question re availability - answer - irrelevant. Then provided with another tele no. Similar procedure - response - drivel. Then, they sought my email address in order to respond. I am still waiting! (I was very polite to both companies, of course). Pass on this one!

SUMMARY:

If you live in a condo, you are probably controlled by the efficiency of the management re Wi-fi options.

Live in a house - I do not know - probably OK.

Where does responsibility lie - TIT! Nobody - mai bpen rai (robertthe bruce is spot on!)

Why bother? "Smooth as Thai silk"!

[cnx37]

Update - pre/post change to Wi-fi

Yesterday - TOT speedtest - land-line

Ping - 49ms

DL - 2.13Mbps

UL - 0.42Mbps

Today - TOT speedtest - Wi-fi - 3.30pm

Ping - 50ms

DL - 2.09Mbps

UL - 0.42Mbps

DRAMATIC CHANGE! NO CHANGE - SAME - SAME!

Yesterday - land-line - no Wi-fi!

Today - no-land-line - Wi-fi!

Both operate on 10Mps.

HELP! What I do not understand!

With W-fi, what is the dependence on the actual building? Wi-fi v Land-line?

With Wi-fi, why is there a limitation on max speed? Now, I have no land-line - no dependency on building or physical attachments.

(I am missing something)

[Dork]

Update - pre/post change to Wi-fi

Yesterday - TOT speedtest - land-line

Ping - 49ms

DL - 2.13Mbps

UL - 0.42Mbps

Today - TOT speedtest - Wi-fi - 3.30pm

Ping - 50ms

DL - 2.09Mbps

UL - 0.42Mbps

DRAMATIC CHANGE! NO CHANGE - SAME - SAME!

Yesterday - land-line - no Wi-fi!

Today - no-land-line - Wi-fi!

Both operate on 10Mps.

HELP! What I do not understand!

With W-fi, what is the dependence on the actual building? Wi-fi v Land-line?

With Wi-fi, why is there a limitation on max speed? Now, I have no land-line - no dependency on building or physical attachments.

(I am missing something)

Hi cnx37,

From what you have posted so far I suspect your problem stems from a bad line from TOT's termination point at your condo building and your unit. If that isn't fixed you can never have a good ADSL connection no matter which ISP you use.

To confirm whether this is the case, are you able to post your ADSL line statistics from your ADSL modem/router? The important numbers are:

Sync rate

Attainable rate

SNR (signal noise ratio)

Line Attenuation

If you don't know how to find those, can you post the model number of your modem/router here and I'll see if I can find step by step instructions for you to find them.

Cheers

[cnx37]

Dork

I have zero understanding of the details requested.

My new Wi-Fi router - from the box - supplied from TOT -

Brand - TP-LINK

Long-range Wi-Fi - 5dBi (antenna)

300Mbps

Wireless N ADSL2+

There is an attachment supplied by TOT -

Line Protocol: G.dmt

Encapsulation: PPPoE LLC

Service ID: tothome10m

VPI = 1

VCI = 32

Model No - TD-W8961ND Ver 3.1

FC CE1588

5734

It is all ??? to me!

Thanks

The above was purchased from TOT @ B1100 + VAT (incl - I do not know)

[Dork]

Hi cnx37,

Open a browser (IE, Chrome etc.) and type in the address this address: http://192.168.1.1

You will be asked for a username/password. Type in admin/admin

On the page that appears, from the top menu select "Status" and then from the submenu select "Device Info"

You should see a page like this:

The important numbers are at the bottom of the page, under the headings Downstream / Upstream

Can you copy and paste those numbers here or else take a screenshot of the whole page.

[cnx37]

Dork

Snapshots etc - beyond me -

Download Upload

SNR Margin 17.6 27.5

Line Atten... 19.0 9.7

Data R... 12288 509

M..... 23352 556

CRC 1 0

This was a huge challenge!

Thanks

[Pib]

Those are OK to very good physical line connection metrics...the Download SNR is getting close to the dangerous area of 10-12db where you can start seeing frequent disconnects/slow speed but at 17.6db it should be OK. You'll need to check those metrics at different times to see if they change quite a bit. You just may have a situation of overloaded internet circuits in your building/area...not enough bandwidth to go around...other folks doing too much torrents/big downloads sucking up bandwidth, etc.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Pib

[Dork]

Dork

Snapshots etc - beyond me -

Download Upload

SNR Margin 17.6 27.5

Line Atten... 19.0 9.7

Data R... 12288 509

M..... 23352 556

CRC 1 0

This was a huge challenge!

Thanks

Hmmm. Those numbers are ok. I assume that you have a 10Mbs/512Kbps package. In that case the Upstream data rate should be approx. 600Kbps (to compensate for the ADSL overhead) but anyway I doubt that is causing the problem.

You mentioned doing a TOT speedtest with poor results. Was that http://speedtest1.totbb.net/ ?

That test should reflect the full speed of your package and is not subject to the network congestion issues of the IIG.

If you do get a poor result from that test the next thing I would try is to switch off the WiFi on your laptop and connect it directly to the router with a LAN cable and try the same test again.

[cnx37]

Dork!

I am confident that I was using the site that you described in your latest post.

Nevertheless, I did the test again (9pm) to validate previous results - latest -

Ping 51ms

DL 2.08Mpbs

UL 0.42Mpbs

I wonder whether I can even access Chrome again & retrieve any more results.

In my building, I doubt that many are using TOT! I subscribed independently for my telephone no & router.

Now, I am on Wi-Fi & use a desktop.

[Dork]

Dork!

I am confident that I was using the site that you described in your latest post.

Nevertheless, I did the test again (9pm) to validate previous results - latest -

Ping 51ms

DL 2.08Mpbs

UL 0.42Mpbs

I wonder whether I can even access Chrome again & retrieve any more results.

In my building, I doubt that many are using TOT! I subscribed independently for my telephone no & router.

Now, I am on Wi-Fi & use a desktop.

Is it possible for you to connect your desktop to the router via a LAN cable instead of WiFi. There is a possibility that the problem is WiFi related.

It wouldn't make any difference how many TOT subscribers there were in your building. The TOT speedtest should be returning the correct speed and a much lower ping time.

[cnx37]

Dork

I do not know what a LAN cable is but am sure that I do not have one.

At this point, it seems that I should contact TOT & have a tech visit; test etc. Unfortunately, I do not even know what questions to ask you or the TOT tech!

I am extremely appreciative of the input you have provided. I retired in 1990 so you can assume that I have very little knowledge of Wi-Fi, internet, Windows - simple - internet, SKYPE, basic spreadsheets. What else? In my practice, I used "Wordstar", Lotus123, Quattro & an accounting package. My recollection is that I used DOS! I do not recollect having internet in those days - Australia. I am in "kindergarten' in this field.

I know how it turn on the various components & basically "drive" the thing. I feel that I am in "too deep" already. I do not know how to "paste", take screen shots etc.

I am "trudging" on. Do I "drop" out, continue with our discourse or contact TOT again? See above - I do not even know what questions to ask.

[Dork]

Dork

I do not know what a LAN cable is but am sure that I do not have one.

At this point, it seems that I should contact TOT & have a tech visit; test etc. Unfortunately, I do not even know what questions to ask you or the TOT tech!

I am extremely appreciative of the input you have provided. I retired in 1990 so you can assume that I have very little knowledge of Wi-Fi, internet, Windows - simple - internet, SKYPE, basic spreadsheets. What else? In my practice, I used "Wordstar", Lotus123, Quattro & an accounting package. My recollection is that I used DOS! I do not recollect having internet in those days - Australia. I am in "kindergarten' in this field.

I know how it turn on the various components & basically "drive" the thing. I feel that I am in "too deep" already. I do not know how to "paste", take screen shots etc.

I am "trudging" on. Do I "drop" out, continue with our discourse or contact TOT again? See above - I do not even know what questions to ask.

Morning cnx37,

You mentioned that you just got a new TP Link modem/router. In the box that came in there would normally be a short LAN cable sometimes called a patch cable which will be about 1 metre in length. Looks something like this:

The reason that I asked you to try connecting the LAN cable between your desktop and your router is because that eliminates WiFi (wireless LAN) from your internet connection in case that is the source of the poor internet speeds that you have.

Anyway there is another simple test that we could try without the LAN cable. Can you open a command prompt. I guess you know what that is from your DOS days. You will find that by going to "Run" from the start menu and typing "cmd" (without the quotation marks).

Once you have the command prompt window, type in "ping /t 192.168.1.1" (again, without the quotation marks). You should see this:

We are interested in the second to last column which says "time=2ms" or "time=4ms" etc. That number (2ms or 4ms) is the time in milliseconds that it is taking for your computer to send a ping signal to your router and receive a response. If that number is sometimes much higher than a single digit in milliseconds that indicates a problem and will help diagnose the fault.

Can you post the results of the first say 20 lines. Not the whole line, just the number before "ms".