Internet connection speed goes from normal to unusable and back again

alyson · 09-03-2006, 08:09 PM

I installed Ubuntu 6.06 on a new Dell E1405 laptop with an Intel/PRO 3945 internal wireless card. I can connect to the internet (DSL), but my connection speed fluctuates from fast to completely unusable, going back and forth indefinitely. Unfortunately, it stays at the unusably slow speed more often than the fast.

So I've been trying to narrow down the issue, and here's what I've got so far (not much, admittedly):

I have another Ubuntu 6.06 laptop that connects at a fast speed and stays connected at a fast speed here. This makes me think it probably isn't a router/ISP problem, but I could be wrong (and I likely am wrong).
I tried disabling IPv6 in Firefox and in the entire laptop, but it didn't fix the problem
I've noticed a lot of (DUP!)s when I ping addresses, although the ping speeds are roughly the same as they are in the other (working internet) laptop
I set aside an IP for the laptop, and it's using that IP
iwconfig shows a lot of "Invalid misc"
ifconfig shows a lot of dropped RX packets
I checked resolv.conf, and it shows the correct DNS-nameservers (or at least I think so--they're the same that the laptop with working internet shows)
I tried to disable the network interfaces I wasn't using, but that didn't help
Speed fluctuates regardless of browser, and also in Synaptic. I've tried Firefox and Epiphany, and they both slow down too much to use, then work for a while, then slow down again, etc.

If anyone can help me out, I'd really appreciate it! Let me know if you need more information (and go easy on me, as I'm a noob).

phoenix49 · 09-04-2006, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alyson

I installed Ubuntu 6.06 on a new Dell E1405 laptop with an Intel/PRO 3945 internal wireless card. I can connect to the internet (DSL), but my connection speed fluctuates from fast to completely unusable, going back and forth indefinitely. Unfortunately, it stays at the unusably slow speed more often than the fast.

So I've been trying to narrow down the issue, and here's what I've got so far (not much, admittedly):

I have another Ubuntu 6.06 laptop that connects at a fast speed and stays connected at a fast speed here. This makes me think it probably isn't a router/ISP problem, but I could be wrong (and I likely am wrong).
I tried disabling IPv6 in Firefox and in the entire laptop, but it didn't fix the problem
I've noticed a lot of (DUP!)s when I ping addresses, although the ping speeds are roughly the same as they are in the other (working internet) laptop
I set aside an IP for the laptop, and it's using that IP
iwconfig shows a lot of "Invalid misc"
ifconfig shows a lot of dropped RX packets
I checked resolv.conf, and it shows the correct DNS-nameservers (or at least I think so--they're the same that the laptop with working internet shows)
I tried to disable the network interfaces I wasn't using, but that didn't help
Speed fluctuates regardless of browser, and also in Synaptic. I've tried Firefox and Epiphany, and they both slow down too much to use, then work for a while, then slow down again, etc.

If anyone can help me out, I'd really appreciate it! Let me know if you need more information (and go easy on me, as I'm a noob).

What type of ethernet adapter do you have?
Does that mashine works with other distros/OSs?
Are you sure that your eth cable is ok? (jack, and cable itself, try to replace)

alyson · 09-04-2006, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoenix49

What type of ethernet adapter do you have?

Where do I find out? (Sorry...)

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoenix49

Does that mashine works with other distros/OSs?

I haven't tried to connect with other distros or OSs, but my other laptop (which also uses Ubuntu 6.06) works fine on the same connection, wired or wireless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoenix49

Are you sure that your eth cable is ok? (jack, and cable itself, try to replace)

Yeah, it should be, since it works with my other laptop. Also, the problem occurs when I use wireless.

I'm just totally baffled here. My other laptop, which is quite similar to the one whose connection I'm trying to fix, works fine.

randell6564 · 09-04-2006, 03:32 PM

Hi alyson!

I'm definately not a techy, but I experienced this EXACT problem some time ago when I was a Windoze user.

I am using a Linksys WRT54G Router. I was connecting at the time, to my WEP security enabled network using my wusb11 ver. 2.6 wireless antenna.

I kept either losing my connection, or it would become very weak!
After requesting assistence from Linksys, I would always be directed to my Routers security page where I would discover that all my settings had changed!

I know.,you are not having the same issue with your other laptop, but I also was not having the same issue with my box in the garage! Just the box that I used fulltime.

I never did figure out why my routers settings would always change, but after I would correct them, my problem would be solved.

Hope this gives some kind of clue! Good Luck!

archtoad6 · 09-05-2006, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alyson

Where do I find out? (Sorry...)

Try one of these:

Code:

#1
lspci  | less -S

#2
lspci  | grep Ether

#3
lspci  | grep -v 'USB\|PCI\|Host\|SMB\|audio\|VGA\|IDE\|ISA'

#1 will show interfaces.
#2 will look for ethernet interfaces, but probably not find your wireless card(s).
#3 shows (by exclusion of everything else) only the ethernet interfaces on my machine -- YMMV.

alyson · 09-07-2006, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randell6564

I never did figure out why my routers settings would always change, but after I would correct them, my problem would be solved.

Hope this gives some kind of clue! Good Luck!

Actually, this did give me a clue! I started thinking that maybe the router was the culprit for my weird connection. The settings were fine, but I saw that there was newer firmware available for it, so I upgraded its firmware and now I have a stable, consistent connection to the internet!

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

randell6564 · 09-07-2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alyson

Actually, this did give me a clue! I started thinking that maybe the router was the culprit for my weird connection. The settings were fine, but I saw that there was newer firmware available for it, so I upgraded its firmware and now I have a stable, consistent connection to the internet!

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

AWESOME! Glad you got her fixed!