6.3kbps max on 2.5mbps connection?
 

Hi there guys, I'm having a bit of an irritating problem here....

Anyhow, I have a 2.5mbps connection, right? The connection is very fast when I use it to browse the internet, you know, surfin the web with my firefox.....but the thing is - for some reason, limewire is VERY slow!!! I've only gotten 6.3kbps max!!! Usually it goes up to 80kbps and even more!!!!

It's weird - my data allowance has not been capped yet - I still have about 15 gigs of data allowance - so they have not reduced me to 64kbps.

My brother have also complained about Azureus being very slow - much like limewire now. But when he's using uTorrent, he said the speed is normal again - up to 50kbps.

So, is it a problem with some kind p2p techno-mefob I don't understand?

Could anyone please identy my problem, and help me fix it?

Thanks in advance!

Do you have a wall in front of the globe in Limewire ???Attachment 2745

Download a file from here & see what speeds you get.
http://www.magnetmix.com/video.shtml

Who is your ISP?

Are you & your brother sharing a connection? You could find out what port number he's using for uTorrent & try using that port for your LW.
Tools > options > advanced > firewall config will take you to the page where you can change LW's listening port. Remember, if you change port numbers, you'll also have to change numbers for any port forwarding that's in place & also ports allowed within your software firewall;)

My ISP is ihug, "the best internet provider in New Zealand" although they are cheap, their customer service is the worst I've ever seen in my whole entire life, and there are occasional problems with their connections.

And lol, I have no idea what you are talking about ports....I do not understand. Can you please explain it to me like I'm an 80 year old grandpa? :p

First of all, try downloading a magnetmix file from that link & see how fast it downloads.

As WW asked... do you see the firewall icon?

(I think the worst customer service award must go to iPrimus, here in Oz!!)

OK, tried the magnetmix thingie video....and guess what? it downloaded at 0kbps!!! Although it starterd on 3kbps for 2 secs, than 2kbps for 1 sec, than 0kbps, and OCCASIONALLY goes to 1kbps, then it drops back down to 0kbps.

And nope, I can't see any walls blocking my poor limewire....

As for the worst ISP, guess how many minutes I had to wait until there was an "available customer representative" to talk to me? 46 minutes!!! And they didn't solve my problem!!! They said my question was not in his 'department' and someone in that department was out for his 'lunch'.....talk about TERRIBLE customer service!!!

Those magnetmix files should download really quickly. If they don't, it can point to a problem with the ISP. I can't find any info about ihug blocking or shaping p2p, though.

How many green connection bars do you have?

(I phoned to upgrade my plan. To pay more money. I spoke to 3 different customer disservice officers. All 3 times I was put on hold & then disconnected after 15 minutes.)

Hmmm....there's definitely something wrong then? I always end up either on "Excellent" or "TurboCharged" after a minute or two for my LimeWire connection....

Hehe, the world of the ISP is a bad one, ain't it? ;)

If your connection is that good & you're finding results ok then I'd be a bit suspicious of the ISP. If you want to try changing ports, go tools > options > advanced > firewall config. You'll see LW's listening port in the top right corner of the page. You can change that to either the port number your brother's using for uTorrent (he should be able to find out what port he's using) or try a port number between 49152 - 65535. Change the number & apply to save the change.

Are you forwarding a port through your router? If you are, then you'll have to change the port number you used within your router configuration & also change the port number chosen in the 'manual port forward' option on that same page with the listening port number. If you're not port forwarding then don't worry about this bit.

Now also change the port numbers allowed within your software firewall (you would have had to set that up when you first started using LW). All the port numbers you use should be the same as the LW listening port.
There's no guarantee that this will work, but it does for some people.

Eeeerr....You've lost me....what program do I use to change the port? Limewire itself?

Yep. In LW go tools > options > advanced > firewall config.
You'll see what I mean when you see the page.

Hmmm....it kinda worked....now I'm getting up to 9kbps, but averages around 5kbps....anymore ideas?

I am now using uTorrent's port, 29087, but there's no change.....still about 5kbps average.....

There's a heap of info about how to set up your LW for best performance in the thread below.
Configuring LW for best performance

You'll need to do a speed test & find out your download/upload speed in KB/s. You can do a speed test here (scroll down the page to find more test sites for other countries). Then follow the advice in the thread above for how to set up your LW.
http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest?more=1

If I were you, I'd call your ISP (painful I know) & ask if they've started using traffic shaping for p2p apps. If you were getting 80 KB/s (I know you said kbps but I'm guessing you meant KB/s as that's how LW measures speed) before then such a sudden drop just sounds very suss.

Well, I've messed around with random port numbers, and got to a point where I am getting 16KB/s average on all my downloads, but I know my connection can do more than this....is it really msy ISP's fault?

Given that you've got a 2.5mbps connection speed, excellent or turbo LW connection, no firewall then I don't know what else it could really be.

Did you try the optimising tips? What do you have your LW speed set at (cable/dsl, T1, T3)?

Lots of ISPs do use traffic shaping when it comes to p2p, they justify it by saying that people who use p2p are hogging bandwidth. Do you know anyone else who uses ihug & LW? If so, do they get a decent download speed?

Hehe, most of my friends (much like me), are broadband noobs. Laugh at us - we are in New Zealand, where broadband is pretty much like cavemen seeing cars for the first time lol. :p

Anyhow, after 6 minutes of waiting, a 'customer representative' told me it must be because of limewire itself - but I don't get it - limewire was just fine last month, and it hasnt been touched until yesterday???

I can't say for sure what your ISP are doing. But when download speed drops so dramatically ( & there's nothing obviously wrong with your LW - connection's good & you're not firewalled) it is often because of the ISP shaping bandwidth.

You haven't changed any hardware, have you? Has anything changed since LW was working well? Anything at all? What version of Java & LW are you using (in LW if you go help > about LW, it will tell you)? Have you updated to a new version of LW recently?

Hmmm...changed hardware? Yes, a couple, upgrading from a Pentium 4 2.8GHz to a Pentium D 930 3GHz and from an X300 to an X800Pro, and replacing a burned CRT monitor to an LCD monitor.

My LW version is 4.8.1 PRO
and my JAVA is 1.5.0_01

I'd be a bit hesitant to tell you to update your Java (don't think it would help anyway) as 4.8.1 is quite an old version & some LW versions behave very strangely with different Java versions. Let me ask a guru.

Like I said, I don't know that this would make a diff anyway... your connection & firewall status are fine. I'm still thinking it's your ISP. I'll get back to you...

The magnet link site is just that, an arguably normal download site except that instead of downloading thru your browser it downloads through the gnutella network via LW. With a 2.5 Mbps connection you should be getting over 200 KB/s if downloading a magnet link thru the site birdy suggested. So why isn't it? Obviously the site isn't to blame. LW isn't to blame because others who used 4.8.1 in the past had downlded magnet links over 200 KB/s. So somewhere along the way your speeds are being affected. It's either a line issue, an ISP issue, a connection device issue (perhaps the data isn't parsing properly due to your device ... eg: dropping packets. Or the device isn't designed to cater for such speeds), or something about your setup on your computer is stopping you from receiving good speeds.

1. What brand & model of modem/router do you have?

2. Have you done a speed test? Choose nearest location for a speed test & only have your browser open: http://www.t1shopper.com/tools/speedtest/

3. Are you using other p2p sharing programs at the same time as LimeWire?

4. Are you sharing the connection with other computers & if yes, are they also downlding at the same time you're using LW?

5. What speed setting to you have LW set to. (a) Go to LW's menu bar, Tools > Options > Speed & tell us which connection type it's set to.
(b) Tools > Options > Downloads & tell us what bandwidth it's set to.
(c) Tools > Options > Uploads > Basic & tell us what bandwidth it's set to.
(d) Tools > Options > Uploads > Slots & is there at least one slot available or is it set to zero?

If you're using Windows XP with SP2, then I suggest you apply the following patch: MS & 3rd party patches

I also previously used iHug until iinet bought up their Australian interests, after which we upgraded to broadband. But then I was using dial up with iHug.

Damn it, now it's back to slow speeds again, even after I messed around with the port numbers.

I don't have a router, I only have 1 PC, modem is D-Link DSL 200.

I did a speedtest with iHug's speedtest, and got estimated 220KB/s.

Nope, no other p2p programs other than LW.

This is the only PC I have.

My LW speed is set on "Cable/DSL"
Download bandwidth is on "Unlimited"
Uploads bandwidth was reduced to minimum, and slots both 0, in hopes LW will speed up, but did not help me at all. I've messed around with all of these, but no luck. :/

And what does the patch do?

Thank you :)

You are not using DSL but ADSL so your uploads won't affect you like as if you were using dial up or something. So change the upload slots to at least one or I'd recommend 2-3. This can help you find more sources when searching by connecting thru more people.

I've heard that D-Link is better used in port forward mode (like I have my router configured). You can check here but I don't see your model mentioned http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm Otherwise check D-Links website for support. Look for it under the UPnP section here Connection problems? Check here first! (click on link)

Your device might not have an internal NAT firewall. But that I don't know. You'd need to speak to support via your isp or D-Link to find out.

What bothers me is one moment your speeds were fine. Next month they were suddenly miserable. Sounds like the ISP has turned a switch on. Such as a p2p filter. They will "never" tell you this because most employees don't know & the company probably also have a policy of not telling customers. That's how it is in the USA & many parts of Europe.

Have you heard of iinet in NZ?

Hi there guys, I'm back again.....with the same darn problem!! I've tried everything....nothing works. My brother suggested that LW is dying - like Kaazaa once did. Is that true?

And why would ISPs filter P2P? Why?