Ethernet light on cable modem flickers

[SilvaLiz]

Is it normal for the ethernet light on my cable modem to flicker on and off constantly when surfing the net ?

I'm a new subscriber to virgin 4mb cable and struggling with slow internet despite having a new built pc. :(

Last night I ran a tcp optimiser programme, and I think that the ethernet light may have only started flickering after using this programme, but I'm not sure. I just may not have noticed it before.

At times my browser just stops working completely, most nights it crashes or maybe I'm just impatient, but waiting 30 seconds or a minute or more for the browser to obey seems ridiculous to me. Other times it seems fast enough. I'm thinking of formatting and reinstalling win xp since my sata drivers arent installed correctly, dont know if that would affect my browsing.

I notice my hard drive controller and ethernet drivers are sharing the same IRQ, would that cuase slow internet ? I'm wondering about getting a pci network card instead of using the onboard one.

Thanks for any help.

[bigcat]

Its perfectly normal for the ethernet light to flicker when your surfing the net. Thats just data going to & from the pc to the modem.

As for the pc running slow, have your scanned for spyware?

[SilvaLiz]

Oh good, thanks for that.

Yes, I scan everyday using lavasoft ad aware. It finds tons of cookies but nothing else.

[haydnwalker]

I'm wondering about getting a pci network card instead of using the onboard one.
Thanks for any help.

The onboard network card, because its on the motherboard the data transfer between it and the other components on the motherboard is much faster than it would be using a PCI bus. Not that you can notice a difference in everyday working though.

Various things share IRQs and this is not an issue, it certainly wouldn't slow your internet down.

I think your internet issue is probably due to congestion on the cable network in your area.

try a speed test at www.speedtest.net to see if it is an issue with your connection or if its the software on your PC slowing the computer itself down.

Hope this Helps

[AbyssUnderground]

Don't use speedtest.net whatever you do. It is NOT an accurate way of measuring the speed of your connection.

You need to go to http://gamefiles.virginmedia.com and download 2 or 3 large items at once, and add the speeds together to get your connection speed. The server is inside the virgin media network so it does not suffer congestion unless there is a problem with oversubscription on your UBR.

[Graham M]

The onboard network card, because its on the motherboard the data transfer between it and the other components on the motherboard is much faster than it would be using a PCI bus.

Not noticably so.

[SilvaLiz]

Thanks for the info everyone.

try a speed test at www.speedtest.net to see if it is an issue with your connection or if its the software on your PC slowing the computer itself down

Done that a few times, for the uk server it gives speeds of close to 4mb, for europe it drops a bit, for usa it's about 2.5 mb which is annoying since alot of the sites I go to are american.

Also tried testing today with Dan Elwell's speed test, initially it gave some really really bad results, something like 145 kbs for european servers. Also had some lost packets on some servers. Then I tweaked things a bit using tcp optimiser and the results improved vastly, though american servers were maybe a little slow still. Still had some lost packets on a couple of servers. I'm gonna keep testing for a few days, see how it goes.

think your internet issue is probably due to congestion on the cable network in your area

It always seems to get bad about midnight or so, I'm in poole dorset, anyone else getting slow speeds in this area ?

You need to go to http://gamefiles.virginmedia.com and download 2 or 3 large items at once, and add the speeds together to get your connection speed. The server is inside the virgin media network so it does not suffer congestion unless there is a problem with oversubscription on your UBR.

Well I tried downloading one so far and got speed of about 485 kbs, though it did fluctuate alot, started off very slow then got faster.

I'll try again later. Whats UBR ?

[Cobbydaler]

A UBR is a universal broadband router that your cable connection travels through on its way into the wider VM network.

[hokkers999]

Is it normal for the ethernet light on my cable modem to flicker on and off constantly when surfing the net ?

I'm a new subscriber to virgin 4mb cable and struggling with slow internet despite having a new built pc. :(

Last night I ran a tcp optimiser programme, and I think that the ethernet light may have only started flickering after using this programme, but I'm not sure. I just may not have noticed it before.

At times my browser just stops working completely, most nights it crashes or maybe I'm just impatient, but waiting 30 seconds or a minute or more for the browser to obey seems ridiculous to me. Other times it seems fast enough. I'm thinking of formatting and reinstalling win xp since my sata drivers arent installed correctly, dont know if that would affect my browsing.

I notice my hard drive controller and ethernet drivers are sharing the same IRQ, would that cuase slow internet ? I'm wondering about getting a pci network card instead of using the onboard one.

Thanks for any help.

1. Flickering = traffic moving so that's ok

2. The TCP optimiser is a waste of time and if done with the wrong settings can cause all sorts of problems....

3. If you can read the drive then the drivers are working!

4. Onboard or PCI is going to move data MANY times faster than the modem can deliver it so don't worry about it.

[Markly Darkly]

Surely it is the Upload and Download lights which are supposed to flicker and the Ethernet light should remain steady - mine does. That light is simply to confirm that there is a "live" connection to a network card. My Ethernet light goes on as soon as I switch my computer on and stays steady until I switch it off.

[sstainer]

Surely it is the Upload and Download lights which are supposed to flicker and the Ethernet light should remain steady - mine does. That light is simply to confirm that there is a "live" connection to a network card. My Ethernet light goes on as soon as I switch my computer on and stays steady until I switch it off.

well i have a ntl 255 modem & my ethernet flickers when network activity is ongoing so does the up/down too

[SilvaLiz]

Urgh well I was wrong optimising didnt help at all, it's still really really slow. So bad that most of the time the internet is just unusuable, my browser just seizes up and does nothing for a couple of minutes, ridiculous. I'm really wishing I never got virgin.

I've only had it about two weeks, is there anyway I can cancel the contract or am I stuck with this rubbish service for the next 12 months ?

I suppose my only other option would be upgrade to 20mb since I could probably still get that at the special offer price, keep that for 12 months and then change since I dont wanna pay the full price for 20 mb. Or is 20 mb equally rubbish ?

Anyone know if moving the cable modem away from power sources helps with speed ? It's on top of the pc at the moment.

Despeartely seeking for solutions, sigh.

[fatassmichael]

You may have a virus or ad/spyware on your pc, which can cause slow internet connections and especially slow computer response. Before you give up all hope, try these, if you haven't already.
Run an online virus scan, i reccomend eset, http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/ That has to be run from internet explorer.
Download and install Adaware, http://www.lavasoft.com/single/mirror_download.php?f=g2Obc772A Run the update after install and run a full system scan.
Finally if you still have a slow connection, go to http://192.168.100.1 login and type in root as the user and password, and post your Downstream power level, Downstream SNR and Upstream power levels.

[ECW_Original]

I suppose my only other option would be upgrade to 20mb since I could probably still get that at the special offer price, keep that for 12 months and then change since I dont wanna pay the full price for 20 mb. Or is 20 mb equally rubbish ?

Chances are fella, if you'r having problems on your current tier, upgrading would only be the same old!