| |
Question |
| |
My performance was great, but has slowed down recently.
What can I do?
|
 |
| |
Answer |
| |
Note: This FAQ is useful if your performance
was good at one time, but has slowed down.
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.
- 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:
- Modem speed
- ISP modem speed
- Distance from central office
- Quality of phone line from the phone company
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- If you are using a modem that is under 56 Kbps, upgrading
to a faster modem will likely give you better connection speeds.
|
