Very slow upload speed?. [Archive]

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maureen2317

16-01-2006, 22:19

I hope somebody can help with an annoying problem my friend has.
He has NTL broadband and pays 24.99 i think for a 2mb connection.He uses Bittorent for downloading music and movies,not to excess but enough fNTL to class him as heavy user.His problem is not his download speeds (i think he gets about 200-250kb/s) but with his upload speeds.The maximum he can get on any site with any amount of peers and seeds is 10-12 kb/s.I told him that i didnt think this was right and he conntacted customer services and they said he should get between 20 and 25 kb/s and that he should contact technical help.He contacted technical help but they told him it was a software problem.It isnt a software problem as he has had the problem for quite some time and has had a full pc rebuild.We tried disabling Norton Antivirus and Firewall but have got the same results.He conntacted the technical help again but they wanted to know what software programs he was using.I told him that if he mentioned Bittorent that they would probably blame the program as the fault, so he said it was picture transfers and online gaming.They still stay a software program is causing the problem.
Could it be something else or what can he say to tech help.The only thing i can think that is common is the modem, could it be that causing the problem.It is a Motorola Surfboard think its either a SB3100 or SB4100.
Thanks for any help.

Chris W

16-01-2006, 22:22

:welcome:

without some test information from your friends pc it will be difficult to diagnose whether this is an issue with the ntl connection or something else.

Firstly, are upload speeds using other protocols good, eg an upload speed test, ftp?

Also why is having a low upload on bittorrent an issue :confused:

maureen2317

16-01-2006, 22:39

Firstly thanks for the quick reply.
Bittorents sites now mostly have ratios on them and a ban is always possible for not keeping up a decent ratio.Being able to upload at a decent speed is always an advantage on Bittorent.
Secondly im a bit new to the speed testing stuff.So what tests and what else do you need to know.I wont be able to run any tests until tommorrow but need to know what exactly you need.
Thanks again.

Chris W

16-01-2006, 22:49

http://www.pcpitstop.com/internet/BandwidthUp.asp here's one to start with.

Get your friend to try uploading to his webspace as this will use FTP and give and indication of speed

also try sending files over msn/ yahoo/ aim etc and see what kind of speeds you get there as well.

oh and if you friend is d/ling at 250kbps and uploading at 12 at the same time that is quite reasonable- acks have to be considered.

Mick Fisher

16-01-2006, 22:53

Bittorents sites now mostly have ratios on them and a ban is always possible for not keeping up a decent ratio.

So adjust your download rate to match your upload rate then you are always 1:1.
As for your slow upload it is probably due to the torrent you are on. Like if not many want the pieces you have.
See what rate you get uploading a small file to your webspace and let us know if it is not around 20kB.

maureen2317

16-01-2006, 23:01

Thanks ill run the test tomorrow and let you know the results.
It doesnt seem to matter which torrent hes on wether there are lots of seeds and peers he can still only get about 12 kb/s.Even when hes only uploading and not downloading anything.Also when hes uploading 2 or 3 torrent files and not downloading his upload still shares out to be about 12 kb/s.

Ignition

17-01-2006, 08:12

Hope your 'friend' gets it fixed soon ;)

neo123

17-01-2006, 16:42

lol don't forget to tell your 'friend' that downloading copyrighted material is illegal ;)

maureenscasa

17-01-2006, 19:15

Hi.Im back and registered round at my friends pc now.Just ran the pcpitstop upload test and it came back at 112 kb/s.Not sure if he should be getting more or less.
Waiting for next reply.Thanks.

---------- Post added at 19:15 ---------- Previous post was at 18:49 ----------

Just thought id memtion that the test was ran with and without Norton Firewall enabled and returned the same results.

SnoopZ

17-01-2006, 19:15

73arm3

17-01-2006, 19:25

Have you tried setting the upload limit to around 19kbs(roughly that is 85% of your connection)....higher settings can sometimes bottleneck your connection and stop you reaching your upload limits....Im on 2mb connection and use bittorrent clients and my best upload is usually 19-22kbs.

maureenscasa

17-01-2006, 19:35

So what would 85% of my connection speed be?.I have it set to unlimited and my client (Bittornado) has a sliding pointer ive moved it up and down but it doesnt seem to be making any difference.At the moment i have it set to 100 Kb/s, figured that would be about 85-90% of the 114 Kb/s i got during the test.

73arm3

17-01-2006, 19:49

Being on a 2mb connection, having a 256Kbs Upload speed...85% of your connection is around 25kbs (256 divided by 8.5 then times by .85 to get 85% of your upload speed)..This is for the Upload setting, your download can be set to maximum, but I would strongly suggest you limit your max upload limit to around 19-22kbs (providing your bittorrent client allows for the settings of upload speeds) for the most stable speed and closest to the 20-25 you will be able to ever achieve.

SnoopZ

17-01-2006, 20:05

The upload speed on 2Mb is 200kbs and you would expect around 25k/s on that (200/8=25).

maureenscasa

17-01-2006, 20:13

Thanks for the replies 73arm3. But i really dont think that the bittorent settings are the problem.I changed the settings as you say.At the moment i am uploading 2 torrent files and am getting a combined upload speed of 11 kb/s.If i switched one of the other would go upto 11 kb/s and stop there.This isnt a new problem he has put up with it for quite some time like i said earlier has had a pc rebuild in the time (probably @2 years) but he always thought these were normal speeds till he said otherwise.Ntl has confirmed he should be getting @20-25 but cant seem to say where the other 10-15kb/s are going.

73arm3

17-01-2006, 20:42

Not sure what bittorrent client you use, but do you only get that u/l speed from one clent, or have you used other BT clients? ..try use another client...Utorrent e.g and d/load around 50-100mb of a new torrent ...stop the torrent and set it to seed/upload and see if it still stays around 11kbs.

I used to have real bad speeds using bittornado, switched to bitcomet and that solved my speed problems.

maureenscasa

17-01-2006, 21:31

Tried Bitcomet for about 45 mins and got exactly the same (about 12Kb/s) upload speeds.Are there any more tests to check the modem is performing right or the ethernet card or something?.

maureen2317

18-01-2006, 21:31

Do i take it there are no more tests for the modem?.

maureenscasa

23-01-2006, 10:55

Just an update.Still not fixed the problem.Just thought id have another go at finding a cure.
Booted into safe mode with networking-administrator.
Still getting same results cannot upload any torrent on any site faster than about 12kb/s.
Ran the pcpitstop upload test while in administrator mode and still get 114kb/s.Still not sure what this should be for a 2 mb connection.
Is there anything else it can be?.Ntl will not offer any help at all because they say its a bittorrent problem.

maureen2317

23-01-2006, 12:17

Ignition

23-01-2006, 16:56

My friend is on ntl broadband too.He has no problem with either his up or download speeds.Would it be possible to use his modem to rule out such a problem.
Is it possible just to uplug mine and plug his in and reboot?.

Thought it was your friend who was having the issues with Bittorrent :p:

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asp

grubbymitts

23-01-2006, 17:00

the truth is that if you used all your upload speed ie 20-25k - you would throttle your download speed and get horrid download speeds. When I used Bit torrent, 10k/s was perfectly fine. If you are using a private tracker and are forced to have a ratio then, afraid to say this, but you'll have to leave your pc on a few nights and seed a full copy of the file you have got until your ratio is topped up.

So, don't worry that you are not using the full upload. If you need faster upload, you're going to have to find a provider that offers it, which means more money to you. Not worth it just to keep the wheels of piracy oiled, is it?