completely bewildered by connection

A few weeks ago my Belkin wireless modem router stopped working and I
replaced it with another identical machine. It worked, but, though it
reported a higher download speed, it was almost useless with streaming
video. This had not been the case with the old router.

I reverted to the old Speedtouch ADSL modem which Demon gave me years
ago. No problems, and a much higher reported speed. But of course no
network.

So I bought a new Netgear wireless modem router and got it connected
today. It reports the slowest speed of the lot, and the web is unusable.

What is going wrong?

The (USB) modem is about 1.7 mbps.

The old dead Belkin reported about 1000 kbps but worked fine, including
streaming video (eg Youtube).

The replacement Belkin reported 1.5 mbps but wouldn't run streaming
video as well as the old dead one.

And the brand new Netgear reports around 500 kbps and is useless.

I'm also getting occasional line drops with all of them (which didn't
happen before).

I'm not much good at this sort of thing. I can't see why they all
perform so differently. Extremely grateful for any suggestions.
--
Trevor Wright

Not sure what netgear router you have but found this on the demon
website, settings for their router:

I would begin by setting VPI to zero, VCI to 38, PROTOCOL to PPPoA and
if the netgear has the ability to accept the rest of the settings then
add them as per instructions.

http://www.demon.net/helpdesk/produc...losetting.html

If that does not improve the speed you get, then it may be the phone
wiring in your house, try connecting the router direct to the master
phone socket, remove any extensions you have for your phones if any and
do a speed test.


Modem/Router setup information
------------------------------
This information is intended as a guide to assist customers with
configuration details that may be required by your ADSL equipment.

Please note, although this information is believed to be correct, we
cannot directly support the use of any other hardware except that
provided by Demon Internet Ltd.

VPI setting 0 (zero)

VCI setting 38

Connection pipe As specified in your welcome pack
e.g. anchor-r26a.demonadsl.co.uk

Protocol type PPPoA
(also known as RFC 2364 in some equipment)

Authentication type CHAP

Traffic type UBR

Framing VC/MUX

Mode ITU G.dmt

Dial-up number Enter any number
For Fujitsu or Westell modems, please enter 0,38

IP address As specified in your welcome pack

WAN or external address


Enter your IP address if required WAN or external subnet mask

255.255.255.255 or 255.255.255.0
---
Mart47


Trevor Wright wrote:
> A few weeks ago my Belkin wireless modem router stopped working and I
> replaced it with another identical machine. It worked, but, though it
> reported a higher download speed, it was almost useless with streaming
> video. This had not been the case with the old router.
>
> I reverted to the old Speedtouch ADSL modem which Demon gave me years
> ago. No problems, and a much higher reported speed. But of course no
> network.
>
> So I bought a new Netgear wireless modem router and got it connected
> today. It reports the slowest speed of the lot, and the web is unusable.
>
> What is going wrong?
>
> The (USB) modem is about 1.7 mbps.
>
> The old dead Belkin reported about 1000 kbps but worked fine, including
> streaming video (eg Youtube).
>
> The replacement Belkin reported 1.5 mbps but wouldn't run streaming
> video as well as the old dead one.
>
> And the brand new Netgear reports around 500 kbps and is useless.
>
> I'm also getting occasional line drops with all of them (which didn't
> happen before).
>
> I'm not much good at this sort of thing. I can't see why they all
> perform so differently. Extremely grateful for any suggestions.

Use Netgear DG834 all the time for us and customers. The kids certainly
do their share of video streaming.

If by Netgear reporting you mean from the router status webpage

E.g.
ADSL Firmware Version 7.03.01.00
Modem Status Connected
DownStream Connection Speed 3872 kbps
UpStream Connection Speed 832 kbps
VPI 0
VCI 38


this is a good measure of the physical link speed. You may well find
that it changes and will go up if the unit is disconnected for 10
minutes and then reconnected. If not try changing the filter, plugging
the router into the "master socket" and unplugging every thing else and
seeing what happens.

Assuming that the Netgear is configured correctly (tends not to work at
all if not), how are the machines using video streaming connected.

If it is by WiFi. If you do a scan, do you pick up other base units on
your channel? Try changing the channel you using anyway.

Don




In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Trevor Wright
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>A few weeks ago my Belkin wireless modem router stopped working and
>I replaced it with another identical machine. It worked, but, though it
>reported a higher download speed, it was almost useless with streaming
>video. This had not been the case with the old router.
>
>I reverted to the old Speedtouch ADSL modem which Demon gave me
>years ago. No problems, and a much higher reported speed. But of
>course no network.
>
>So I bought a new Netgear wireless modem router and got it connected
>today. It reports the slowest speed of the lot, and the web is unusable.
>
>What is going wrong?
>
>The (USB) modem is about 1.7 mbps.
>
>The old dead Belkin reported about 1000 kbps but worked fine, including
>streaming video (eg Youtube).
>
>The replacement Belkin reported 1.5 mbps but wouldn't run streaming
>video as well as the old dead one.
>
>And the brand new Netgear reports around 500 kbps and is useless.
>
>I'm also getting occasional line drops with all of them (which didn't
>happen before).
>
>I'm not much good at this sort of thing. I can't see why they all perform
>so differently. Extremely grateful for any suggestions.

Thanks for these responses.

What I can't understand is why the Speedtouch (USB) Modem connects at
about 1.7 (apparently) and functions very well in terms of web,
streaming video etc, whereas the routers (connected by ethernet) are
almost useless.

This isn't really a network question. It's an Internet question. All
I'm trying to do is get a decent Internet connection through a router,
using my PC ethernet port. Nothing wireless here.

And until a couple of weeks ago (for a couple of years) I had no
problems.
--
Trevor Wright

Trevor Wright wrote:

> A few weeks ago my Belkin wireless modem router stopped working and I
> replaced it with another identical machine. It worked, but, though it
> reported a higher download speed, it was almost useless with streaming
> video. This had not been the case with the old router.

> I'm not much good at this sort of thing. I can't see why they all
> perform so differently. Extremely grateful for any suggestions.

Wifi can be very touchy as so much is using the 2.4mhz range now. Try
changing the channel as the Netgear might be conflicting with a neighbour.

Keep the wifi away from any large metal objects or large water
containers (Radiators are both) as this can affect the signal.

My microwave (When being used)affects the wifi badly.

The reported speed can be misleading, if there are a lot of errors then
the packets have to be downloaded again so effectively it slows the
connection.

I once had a problem with intermittent connections, tried alternative
routers, filters, relaced the phone wiring, changed ISP. It turned out
to be the cable that connected the router to the phone line.

Geoff Lane