Broadband speed (how can I go faster)

penrhyn

On Vista the little screens are on the right hand side of the system tray.
Two little screens and a globe, click on them, and then click on network.
Click on view status and you will see the speed. This only works if you have a USB modem. If you use a router you will need to log into that to check your speed.
OP, If you are talking kilobits and not bytes then may be its worth looking at your internal phone wiring.
If you have not tried before unscrew your master sockets face plate and connect to the test socket, this will eliminate any dodgy extension wiring you may have.

mikeopvc

I can't try that because my master socket is in the front bedroom and my P.C. is set up 20 metres away in the back room, there is a grey cable from the side of the master socket which runs outside and then back in through the back room wall, it has a white block at the end of it where I have a filter then a modem and phone/fax plugged in.

sco0ter

Check your extension. Extensions can cause slower speeds. Can you not try the laptop right into the master socket to check the speed

mikeopvc

I can't try my laptop as I havn't managed to get it connected due to other problems I'm having, (see my other thread "CAN'T CONNECT TO INTERNET HELP PLEASE") I don't fancy lugging my whole desktop set up from the back to the front of property. Do you think my landline provider might be able to check the line?

sco0ter

Doubt it as its internal wiring.. Cant you just take your router and plug it into the master socket then just plug the laptop in and not use wireless just to check your speed?As for the insert disk problem why not go to the manufacturers website and see what they have to say about it and maybe download drivers. Never heard of a router being hard wired asking for a disk... Have you set the router up with your username and password to access the internet or is this what is being asked for???

mikeopvc

Well I went through the instructions on the screen and even got to the stage where I had the green light on the router showing a connection but then there was a meassage saying this laptop has a choice of 4 ways to connect to the internet and asked me to select the right one, I obviously made the wrong choice as it failed the set up. I don't know what the 4 options were (I know I should have made a note), does this help or am I confusing you too?

penrhyn

Regarding your extension wiring, take off the master faceplate and see how many wires are connected to your extension. You only need the wires connected to pins 2 and 5 normally the blue/white and white/blue.
If you have additional wires, and you are feeling brave clip them out, do the same at the extension, you may find an improvement although this normally affects people running at higher speeds more.
This article explains it better.

http://www.dslzoneuk.net/socket.php?type=html

ceridwen

Thanks both for answer to query re little screens. Tried that - worked. It came up with a speed of 100.0 Mbps. Thought that meant 1Mb. But I have paid for a speed of 2MB. Am I right on that? How could that be? (NB I am only one in my house using a computer).

Hmmmm...just gone into speedtestnet recommended earlier in this thread and it said 2069kbps (isnt that comfortably than my 2Mb I am supposed to have?) - confused.

penrhyn

You are using a router and 100mbs is the speed of the link between your PC and the router, you will need to log into your router to discovery what speed it is synchronising with the exchange.