7 replies to this topic

[glennhoffmania]

My computer slows to a halt after watching a couple of videos.  Otherwise it's fine.  I have no issues loading web pages or using Office or anything else.  But if I watch a couple of videos it starts slowing down to the point where I could wait five minutes for the thing to load and then it keeps freezing up.

 

So far I've checked and replaced the modem, tested the router, done a full virus scan, and cleared the internet history.  If it matters, I'm using Vista and I've tried using both Chrome and IE but the results are the same.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

Edit: it also seems to mostly happen at night so I'm assuming higher usage in my area is part of the problem, but it shouldn't make it almost impossible to use my computer. 

Edited by glennhoffmania, 02 February 2013 - 12:46 PM.

[ChinaCat2]

it might be that something (whatever you use to watch video?) has a memory leak.  You can use the task manager to see whats using a lot of ram, and perhaps kill that process and restart it (or restart the whole computer).

 

if it IS a memory leak, there is little you can do besides a restart, and hope that some patch fixes the problem.

[glennhoffmania]

Thanks.  What if I'm just using a browser and watching something on say youtube?  Should I just kill that browser?

[ChinaCat2]

if that's the guy that's leaking memory, yes.  you could try just killing the browser and starting a new one and see if that solves the loading issue.

[glennhoffmania]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

 

It seems like this may also be a TWC issue with more people going online at night.  Their service keeps getting worse and worse.

[jercra]

Run a bandwidth speed test when everything is working well.  Then the next time it happens close all open apps, including the browser, re-open the browser and run a bandwidth speed test.  You'll at least be able to rule out your internet connection or be able to point the finger at it.

 

You may also try dialing up the same video on a tablet or phone connected to your WiFi when the issue is happening.  If the video plays fine on another device it's almost surely your PM that's at fault.

[glennhoffmania]

If you run a speed test and it's slow, is it automatically a cable issue or is it possible that my computer is downloading very slowly but another device may work fine?

 

Also, if the speed test is slow but it's only due to the higher usage at night (or in other words, because TWC sucks) how would I be able to figure out that that's the issue and there's nothing I can do to resolve it?

[jercra]

Your computer would have to be slow in a very specific way for it to be your computer causing any noticeable change in download speed.  As far as node sharing goes in cable, the difference in speed you see due to contention should be minimal.  If it's significant (like 30% - 40% slower) and you can verify the speed on multiple devices then you should PM me.

 

 

Edit: Also, the reason I asked for you to run the speed test when the problem was happening and then again when it wasn't is to get a baseline.  If it's your computer it should impact download speeds the same no matter what the actual bandwidth.

Edited by jercra, 03 February 2013 - 02:44 AM.