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WC
Lv 7
WC asked in Computers & InternetHardwareDesktops · 1 decade ago

Brand new computer operating as slow as molasses.?

I have dial up service with Earthlink, and I just bought a new Dell Inspiron 1501 computer from Dell. The thing takes about at least over a minute or more to log on to a link or something else while on the internet. This is way way too slow for a computer with duo core technology and a speedy AMD Athlon 64x2 TK 53 processor.

What is happening, and what can be done? My old computer works fine and processes things on the web very fast. Any thoughts on this matter will be appreciated.

13 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Well, first thing...This issue doesn't matter how powerful your computer's processor is. The processor is limited to the amount of information being fed to it. With dial-up internet service you are very limited.

    Since your older computer seemed faster, the problem has to be in the new computer's modem. Try playing around with it's settings to optimize it. Someone else may be able to point you to specific information on what can be done, but I wouldn't expect a lot of improvement. Dial-up is old technology and most people don't focus on it anymore.

    After all, with dial-up, you'll download data at around 40-50 kilo-bytes per second. With cable or DSl, you are downloading at 3-5 mega-bytes per second. With most people having broadband, most websites are fancier and contain more data to display...which also continues to strain dial-up users.

    Long story short, a super-computer will access the Internet on a 56k modem at the same speed as an old Pentium 3 computer on a 56k modem. Don't think that buying a more powerful computer will increase your surfing speed. If that's your goal, get Broadband.

  • 1 decade ago

    It can be a number of different things. The main culprit I see is the fact that you have dial up. DSL itself is about 50x faster than dial up, and that is the standard in today's modern internet connections. For instance, you might be comparing your speed to that of your company's network (if they have one) and they probably run off of a DSL connection MINIMAL, so it'll see really really fast at work and really really slow at home.

    Also, another thing to consider: Spyware. They eat up dial up connections for BREAKFAST. They don't effect DSL+ connections as much, they just slow down the computer. One quick fix to this is to get an anti-spyware program. They scan and clean your computer fast and easy (and safely!) and make sure that no other spyware can get in. If updated on a regular basis, you can have a spyware-resistant computer with very very little effort. One anti-spyware program I highly recommend is SpyBot S&D. www.safer-networking.org - it's free and easy to use. It's also the most popular free anti-spyware out there along with AdAware.

    Hopefully this helps!

    Source(s): Years of personal computer knowledge.
  • 1 decade ago

    It could be that your old computer already has the website in the cache so it doesn't have to download it. It could be the phone cable, is too long, too short, or damaged. It could be the modem drivers. It could be the modem. It could be the OS. I'd uninstall drivers & dial-up, shut down, uninstall modem, boot up, install drivers, shut down, install modem, boot up, (if driver didn't take without modem install them here), install dial-up, connect, if it is still slow either the modem and/or firmware is bad or it is not 100% compatible with your service or the OS has problems. This no fun at all.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Try pc booster: http://www.pc-booster.info/

    PC Booster contains all the secrets to speeding up and optimizing your PC, without spending a single $ on hardware. It turbo-charges your PC to make it much more stable by preventing system inefficiencies that cause crashes, lockups and slowdowns of your computer. By running PC Booster's Auto Tune, you'll be left with a faster and more responsive system that is less prone to crashes and fatal error messages. So you have no more troubles running important programs or memory consuming multimedia or Internet applications.

  • 1 decade ago

    It isn't your computer. It is your connection. In the past most sites configured their web pages to load fast, ex: small pic files, text. With the rise of dsl, cable, broadband that standard is gone. As for the performance of your old computer, you probably have some files from often visited sites in temporary files on that system.

  • 1 decade ago

    Do you have any other applications running while the machine is on ? Check your task manager and disable any unwated applications ( CTRL + ALT + DEL and goto TASK MANAGER and then Applications).

    Also like the previous poster said, check your drivers. Maybe even consider going DSL ? Its a world of a difference :)

  • 1 decade ago

    Try updating the drivers. Here they are... http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driversl... ... the netow And you should do it anyways on a new computer. Also you should check your local AT&T Yahoo website to see if your area is one that has the $10 DSL connections.

  • 1 decade ago

    I remember when I had earthlink dial-up. You need to get comcast or verizon. It is so much better.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Get broadband - it is always going to crawl on dial-up.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Ditch dial-up, this is 2007, go cable.

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