[carlingman]

Originally Posted by notmuffy

Please don't shoot the n00b.

Dony worry we we are nice here

Originally Posted by notmuffy

I live in Harlow, Essex (large town 25ish miles from London).
NTL 150 k connex...
External modem which is called "NTL Home 100"... it is light grey.
I use ethernet connection (instead of USB).
I am not connected to a proxy according to various links found here.

REMOTE_ADDR..............................**.***.** *.**
CLIENT_IP.....................................
HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR.............
. .
REQUEST_METHOD........................GET
SERVER_NAME..............................romulas.z mnt.co.uk

SERVER_PORT..............................80

Here is my result of Robin's speedtest. It is the same type of results I always get at these test sites.

Tue, 23 Mar 2004 09:43:02 GMT
1st 128K took 12500 ms = 10486 Bytes/sec = approx 87 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 12265 ms = 10687 Bytes/sec = approx 89 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 9766 ms = 13421 Bytes/sec = approx 112 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 14734 ms = 8896 Bytes/sec = approx 74 kbits/sec


Tue, 23 Mar 2004 09:56:05 GMT
1st 128K took 12625 ms = 10382 Bytes/sec = approx 86 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 9859 ms = 13295 Bytes/sec = approx 111 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 12078 ms = 10852 Bytes/sec = approx 90 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 12063 ms = 10866 Bytes/sec = approx 90 kbits/sec

Looks bad to me.

Theres definately something wrong there.

Have you tried using a bandwidth monitor program as an example this one found here called netmeter.

Originally Posted by notmuffy

After disabling Kerio Firewall and Trillan (the only things accessing the web besides the test page)

Tue, 23 Mar 2004 09:57:50 GMT
1st 128K took 12235 ms = 10713 Bytes/sec = approx 89 kbits/sec
2nd 128K took 12734 ms = 10293 Bytes/sec = approx 86 kbits/sec
3rd 128K took 12656 ms = 10357 Bytes/sec = approx 86 kbits/sec
4th 128K took 12735 ms = 10292 Bytes/sec = approx 86 kbits/sec

Ok time for some questions!
I realize that this is an appalling speed now that I have benchmarked it with others on this site. For the past 1.5 years of service, I thought that was how the service worked for everyone.

As i said above agreed speed looks bad.

Have you tried opening your browser and typing in http://192.168.100.1/ then when prompted enter user name root and password root.

That shoud take you to the internal diagnostics page of the modem and maybe you can post back the signal levels back here.

Originally Posted by notmuffy

1. Would finding a proxy help my speed?

Yes in most cases.

To specify a proxy manually -

Open Control Panel Internet Options
Click on the tab Connections.
Click on button LAN Settings.
UNcheck Automatically detect settings.
UNcheck Use automatic configuration script.
Check Use a proxy server but ensure that the boxes are left blank.
Click on button Advanced:
In the row HTTP fill in the name and port number of your chosen web proxy.
UNcheck Use the same proxy server for all protocols.
In the Exceptions box enter: 192.168.*
Click OK.
Click OK to exit LAN settings.
Click OK to apply the changes and exit Internet Options.

Full list of proxies can be found here

Originally Posted by notmuffy

2. Is my modem too outdated?

No.

Originally Posted by notmuffy

3. How do I get modem service through my STB? I have noticed that there is an ethernet jack at the back of my STB.

I dont think STB is available in Harlow.

Originally Posted by notmuffy

4. How do I find out if my area is too "clogged" with other cable users? (Maybe this is my problem?)

Download and run docsdiag from here

That should tell you if your UBR is oversubscribed.

Originally Posted by notmuffy

I am moving shortly, I want to get a 500-600k connex, and I am seriously thinking of turning to SKY and some kind of DSL connex. Has anyone done this?

Well i have not moved from NTL but do have Pipex ADSL connection on the 512 tier and it is ace.

Originally Posted by notmuffy

Why I like NTL so far:
I am a music downloader. (Yeah, yeah, buy me a Parrot.) My point is that I have heard of BT customers (and others) getting a lot of flack for connecting to Kazaa, BT, DC, etc, but it appears Ntl has adopted the "don't ask - don't tell" policy. I like that a lot and would rather have a cap than Big Brother breathing down my neck.

Pipex is cool as there are no restrictions at present.

Originally Posted by notmuffy

Reasons I would think of switching to DSL:
I want a bigger down/up speed proportion. I'm a professional graphic artist and I upload TONS of very large images + image archives. I am also concerned about the cable service bottleneck possibity.

Well if you switch to ADSL package they have some competitive deals around and about.

Take a looksie here

Originally Posted by notmuffy

Thoughts?:o

See above.