# Computer help please?



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

I have Windows 7 on my laptop & use Chrome for browsing. Lately I notice pages are opening slower than before, the icon is "spinning" & I get a number of messages flashing saying "waiting for": this site, or that site etc. Do I need an anti-malware or ad-blocking program-or whatever- installed, to eliminate this & speed things up? I'm leery of changing anything, because it seems like when I make any changes to try to fix something - it only shags up something else. A while back I tried something - I think it was called Avast, or something, and it only made matters slower & worse so I deleted it. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Sounds like it may be more related to connection speed or network congestion. Does that sound like a possibility?
I have Win 7 and Chrome as well and only occasionally does a website take a while to load (with whirling icon to left of web tab).
At http://www.speedtest.net/, I just clicked begin test, my results were ping=19ms, download=16.15Mbps, upload=0.86mbps


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

(psssst...scorpion) how 'bout starting your OWN thread??


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

only: yes, it very well could be a speed/connection thing. I'm just more worried about seeing all these sites loading while I'm waiting - and possibly putting malware or viruses into my computer. Should I be worried? I'll try that speedtest thing.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

ok speedtest results: ping-108ms, download speed-7.74Mbps, upload speed-.70Mbps.
what's it all mean? slow?


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Well you are slower than the ping 19 / download 16.4 / upload .88 that mine just tested. So that's a start. It is the download speed (ours 16.4, yours 7.74) that affects how fast webpages will load on your computer.
If your connection to the internet is through a wireless connection to your modem that could be a bottleneck. Do you have a Cat5 computer cable that you can plug your computer directly into one of the ports on your modem/router to then test your connection? 
You should also confirm what speed your internet plan is supposed deliver - is it advertised to be faster than the 7.74 you are getting? If so, then contact your provider and raise the issue with them. Our plan advertises a download of 15 Mbps and we test at 16. 
The issue you report will depend on the website you are trying to view as well. Some are real 'hogs', others are lean - does it seem to be a few sites that are always very slow?
Here is a site (Telus) that discusses some of the other things that can affect your connection speed: http://www.telus.com/en/ab/support/article/understanding-internet-speed
Good luck!


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

thanks for the input! it's really my email site that bugs me. I use hotmail (which now seems to be called outlook, or live...). It's slower than it used to be.... All pages generally seem to be slow, some more than others. I don't really mind waiting a few extra nanoseconds most of the time . I'll see if i can find a Cat5 cable & try that to compare. Thanks. (I'm with Rogers cable BTW, but all my neighbors seem to be with Bell Aliant)


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Rogers appears to have Internet 5 (5 Mbps download speed), then Internet 30 and several even higher speed plans. So if you have Internet 5 you might want to bump up to their Internet 30 speed. Looks like another $15/mo though? 
If you have Internet 30 or more, then you are not getting the performance you should.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

hmmmm .... not sure what I have. I'll find out.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

jargey3000 said:


> (psssst...scorpion) how 'bout starting your OWN thread??




(psssst jargey) AFAIK there are no rules that say any member maintains any sort of proprietary connection to or control over a thread once he has launched said thread.

most members have posted that they like it that way. Moreover, cmf is a bit chaotic, as are most lively forums. Chaos is the price members pay for lively.

imho scorpion is well within the boundaries of this broad theme, which is that something - nobody knows what it is yet - is slowing your computer.

please now hear this, jargey. It's an observation you probably don't want to hear. But the tiny handful of it's-my-thread-so-get-out complainers are *always* novice or marginal investors, or else they are new members with not much to say, or else they are both.

you don't want to be one of those, do you, jar? surely you want to keep your standing in the SNASTIs - the Smart Newfoundlander All-Star Team Investors?


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

Jargey3000, on certain web sites my computer is slow as molasses. 

onlymyopinion thanks for posting that link. The numbers don't mean anything to me but I tested:

ping=9ms, download=51.62Mbps, upload=5.24mbps 

Anyone that knows anything about this stuff feel free to weigh in.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

jargey3000 said:


> I have Windows 7 on my laptop & use Chrome for browsing. Lately I notice pages are opening slower than before, the icon is "spinning" & I get a number of messages flashing saying "waiting for": this site, or that site etc. Do I need an anti-malware or ad-blocking program-or whatever- installed, to eliminate this & speed things up? I'm leery of changing anything, because it seems like when I make any changes to try to fix something - it only shags up something else. A while back I tried something - I think it was called Avast, or something, and it only made matters slower & worse so I deleted it. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.


The best way to get an OS back to how it was is to do a fresh install (of Chrome or even Windows)

I plan for this now - all my data is kept separate from the OS so that I can easily do a clean install of the OS from time to time. This takes far less time and hassle than chasing down the 1000's of gremlins that creep into Windows over time. If that doesn't help entirely, I have a rogue theory that obsolescence is programmed into software now. Also, I use AdBlock extension on Chrome to clean up all the ads.

Lastly, those internet specs are horrendous for 2015.. not so much the 7Mbps download (my phone does get 45Mbps though) but even Africans would balk at the 0.7Mbps upload. Yay for private sector oligopolies


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## protomok (Jul 9, 2012)

Definitely try plugging your laptop into your router using an Ethernet cable. I would say very high chance the issue is either:

A - slow internet plan, in which case you need to call Rogers and upgrade your plan.

B - WiFi - the Rogers Modem/Router devices are absolutely terrible, but could also be poor location of the router, the WiFi card on your laptop could be flaky, interference (especially if you're using 2.4 GHz), etc.


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## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

there is a windows program from google that "cleans" the chrome browser
https://www.google.com/chrome/cleanup-tool/


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

humble: duly noted. FYI, on some other forums that I participate in, (TA for one) it isn't uncommon for an OP to try to keep his/her thread on topic - in fact it seems to be encouraged and supported by other members of the forums. DSFDF I guess.
I wasn't aware there was a rule agin it in here.
In future I'll try to refrain, in keeping with the chaotic spirit of this place. 
GB!


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

there's no cmf rule either fer or agin, is why it's chaotic

you were quoting William Blake the other day i believe?

so here it's tiger tiger burning bright/in the forests of the night


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## scorpion_ca (Nov 3, 2014)

jargey3000 said:


> (psssst...scorpion) how 'bout starting your OWN thread??


Sorry.... I thought instead of starting another thread, we could use this thread to solve all computer related issues....I have deleted my post.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Blake? Was I? if so, I don't recall (maybe you can refresh my memory?)
BTW..I'm just curious ... your cmf handle "humple_pie". Is that with a nod to the old expression? or to the 60's English heavy metal rock band?? or neither?


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

RBull said:


> Jargey3000, on certain web sites my computer is slow as molasses.
> onlymyopinion thanks for posting that link. The numbers don't mean anything to me but I tested:
> ping=9ms, download=51.62Mbps, upload=5.24mbps
> Anyone that knows anything about this stuff feel free to weigh in.


You have excellent download speed so the websites you are referring to must be slow to load regardless. It could bandwidth into their host, etc.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

scorpion(#17) thanks for your co-operation.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> You have excellent download speed so the websites you are referring to must be slow to load regardless. It could bandwidth into their host, etc.


Thank you. It's interesting because I went to my providers site and checked their claimed specs after my post. They have 2 internet choices- I have the cheap slower version. However the speeds from my test are well above the cheap version and roughly halfway to the faster more expensive one. 

Yes, I am sure that's the case with a couple of those sites.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

I had the same problem and ran Ccleaner on Chrome to clean out the cache. This sped it up considerably for me.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Yes, clearing the cache of browser data can help. You don't need to install or run a program to do this however. For Chrome instructions see: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95582?hl=en


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