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Question |
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My performance was great, but
has slowed down recently. What can I do?
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Answer |
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There may be several factors that are impacting performance.
This information will help you quickly isolate the cause of
your slow performance. Simply follow the steps below.
- Is Propel Accelerator active on your computer? If Propel Accelerator is
installed and active on your computer, a small blue propeller-like icon is
visible in the
Windows taskbar area near the system clock. As you surf Web pages, this icon
changes to alternating arrows as Propel Accelerator accelerates the content.Click
Here if you do not see the icon. If you see the icon try surfing to several popular
Web pages. Click Here if you do not see the Propel Accelerator icon or alternating
arrows.
- Other applications may be taking CPU or network resources from your dial-up
connection. Please confirm that you are not downloading files, and that you
do not have unnecessary
browser windows open, as well as any unnecessary applications, streaming media,
email, or chat windows open. Ensure that your computer is free of viruses. Any
of these things can cause slow CPU and network performance, which in turns impacts
acceleration performance.
- Run Propel Accelerator Diagnostics. To run Diagnostics, click the small
blue propeller icon in the Windows taskbar and select the Diagnostics option.
Click
Run Test. Do not run this test while downloading files.
Diagnostics runs an eight-part test. The Diagnostics should pass, but if any
of the steps fail, click the help button for recommendations. If there is no
obvious remedy, you should select the System Info test located in the Diagnostics
menu. Then click Copy Log to copy the diagnostic and system information to your
clipboard. Right-click to paste this information into an email message and send
it to Customer Support.
If the Diagnostics passes, review these steps.
Step 3 of Diagnostics - Testing your Internet connection for packet loss...
This step measures packets of data sent to and received by Propel Accelerator
in minimum, maximum, and average time (in milliseconds). In effect, this step
measures the quality of your phone connection from your house to the phone company.
The quality of your phone line can change over time. Things like poor connections,
bad telephone company equipment, or bad residential equipment can cause problems.
Lost packets must be retransmitted and therefore cause degradation of your Internet
performance. If your packet loss is above 5% or the average round trip time is
greater than 500 ms reconnect to the Internet and run Diagnostics again. If the
problem persists, we recommend that you talk to your local phone company and
report the problem.
Step 4 of Diagnostics - Determining current line speed...
The quality of phone service may vary in different countries. Check with your
phone company to see what you can expect.
Connection speeds will vary depending on your:
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Modem speed
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ISP modem speed
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Distance from central office
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Quality of phone line from the phone company
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Internal phone wiring
Based on user feedback, we have seen most modem connection speeds in the US range
from 28 Kbps to 42 Kbps. Anything above 42 Kbps is excellent, anything below
28 Kbps is considered poor. See the suggestions below to improve line speed.
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Did you add any new telephone equipment to your phone line, such as a fax machine,
phone, another modem, online gaming equipment, or alarm system? Other hardware
may impact your ability to get an acceptable baud rate. Anything you can do to
reduce other equipment on the same phone line will improve signal strength and
quality. Temporarily disconnect the device, connect again and see if the baud
rate improves.
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Because wall jack outlets and phone cord connections are made of copper or other
metals, they are subject to corrosion. Try a new phone cord and plug it into
another jack if one is available.
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Use a dial-up access number close to you. The distance to the phone number you
are dialing may affect your connection speed. Basically, the closer you are,
the fewer the number of switches or repeaters your signal may have to go through
before arriving at its destination. Your ISP may add phone numbers that are located
closer to you. Check with your ISP.
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If you are using a modem that is under 56 Kbps, upgrading to a faster modem will
likely give you better connection speeds.
Click Here to learn how to measure Acceleration performance.
To help us make this answer as effective as possible and provide better troubleshooting
information, we would like to get feedback on what caused your slow down. Please
click the Submit Rating button below.
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