Wireless LAN gives only MY machine slow performance!!!

[dugawug]

i have DSL thru SBC Yahoo...we have a wireless 2WIRE modem. my other roommate connects thru her laptop wireless just fine and gets about 180KB/s down.

i just bought a Linksys PCI wireless adapter for my desktop (XP Pro SP2). it's installed fine, and connects fine, but only gives me 30-60KB/s down. the modem is extermeley close to my computer, so it's not weak signal. i had a ethernet cable run from it to my machine and then i would get full download speed.

so does anyone know what type of thing could cause one person on a wireless LAN to be able to connect, but not achieve full bandwidth/speed?

Linksys and SBC yahoo tech supports sure don't!

I'm no networking person at all (duh, obviously) but I do notice that our modem recognizes the IP of the modem something like:

172.16.0.1

and my roommate's machine with IP:

172.16.0.37

and mine with something very different, like:

64.234.34.2

could this be a clue?
any other suggestions?

 

[poertner_1274]

Are you sure you are connecting to your specific router? You could be connecting to your neighbors router and getting their slower package speeds, not your personal speeds.

 

[dugawug]

thanks, but i am sure i'm on our router...i can see a few available from my neighbors, but they are password protected anyway. (i tried :haha: )

ours is a 2WIRE connection, and a 2WIRE modem.

 

[Rick]

and mine with something very different, like:

64.234.34.2

could this be a clue?
any other suggestions?

That IP adderss is not a local address. It is an address used for the Internet (external). You'll have two IPs... one for Internet and one for your local network, provided you are connected through a router. Your router will have its own local IP as well, but also a second external IP which is how you will be recognized on the Internet.

If 64.234.34.2 is the correct IP address for your computer, this means you are connected directly to your modem somehow - Not through a router. 172.16.0.37 is an IP which will be used for LAN (internal).

What might be happening... If the above is the case, then it is possible you or your roommate is connecting to a nearby wireless network that is not your own. Being connected to two different networks might account for the speed difference and your IP being external, while your friend's being internal.

Why this might happen... 2wire modems often come with an encryption key. If you have not entered an encryption key into your wireless network configuration utility, then Windows will look for other networks and automatically connect if they are unencrypted. Just a possibility.

To verify you are on the same Internet connection, try visiting a site like www.whatismyip.com on your computer and your roomie's computer. If they are the same IP, we can dismiss this. If they are not the same IP, then you know you are connected to two different networks.

As far as download speeds go, make sure you are downloading from the same place in the same way at the same time of day. Traffic on the Internet goes up and down constantly and the same site you downloaded at 150kb/sec a few hours ago might give you really slow download speeds. A good way to benchmark your real download speeds at each computer is to visit this site: http://www.dslreports.com/stest

 

[dugawug]

That IP adderss is not a local address. It is an address used for the Internet (external). You'll have two IPs... one for Internet and one for your local network, provided you are connected through a router. Your router will have its own local IP as well, but also a second external IP which is how you will be recognized on the Internet.

Well, that is the IP that my modem shows for my computer on the network. When you say router, is that interchangeable term for my modem? I don't believe we have a router per se, it's just a wireless modem. Want to be clear on that first off.

If 64.234.34.2 is the correct IP address for your computer, this means you are connected directly to your modem somehow - Not through a router. 172.16.0.37 is an IP which will be used for LAN (internal)..

Again, that's what the network sees my computer as. And we don't have a router per se...we are all connected through one wireless modem (router?). I'm not sure how, but my simple logic says that if my computer was somehow identified along their lines (ie 172.16.0.38), then it would work as it should. Unfortunately, I know almost diddley about networking and SBC Yahoo and Linksys Tech supports don't either!!

What might be happening... If the above is the case, then it is possible you or your roommate is connecting to a nearby wireless network that is not your own. Being connected to two different networks might account for the speed difference and your IP being external, while your friend's being internal.

I checked her machine quite thoroughly. It's connected to our 2WIRE connection. Our neighbors connections are all protected, trust me, I tried them!

To verify you are on the same Internet connection, try visiting a site like www.whatismyip.com on your computer and your roomie's computer. If they are the same IP, we can dismiss this. If they are not the same IP, then you know you are connected to two different networks.

i'll try this, but if you say there are two IP's...i guess i'll have to see which it displays for us each...

As far as download speeds go, make sure you are downloading from the same place in the same way at the same time of day. Traffic on the Internet goes up and down constantly and the same site you downloaded at 150kb/sec a few hours ago might give you really slow download speeds. A good way to benchmark your real download speeds at each computer is to visit this site: http://www.dslreports.com/stest

Lastly, yes, I do realize some servers automatically have slow downloads at various times. I've tried several different sources.
Thanks for the reply...I feel otherwise helpless as both Linksys and SBC Yahoo can't seem to help :evil: