Optimize Your Connection to the Internet

Just because dial-up is slow doesn't mean you can't make the most of it.

There are a few things you can do to speed up your Internet connection.  I'll try to pass on some tricks I've learned.

• Check your modem type.  Obviously the single biggest thing you can do is make sure you're using a 56K modem.  However, not all 56Ks are born equal.  The major 56K standard (as of September 2002) is V.90.  Previous to V.90, two 56K standards had come out (X2 and K56Flex), but they weren't mutually compatible.  That meant that if you had a K56Flex modem but your ISP used X2, your modem would drop down to 33.6 because that was the fastest standard they had in common.  V.90 is currently the most common protocol, though a new standard--V.92--is gaining prominence.  V.92 offers faster upload speeds than V.90 (which is limited to 31.2K for uploading), and supports some higher compression standards, which can improve your download speed.
  
  However, don't rush out and get a V.92 modem if your ISP doesn't support it!  I flash-upgraded my V.90 modem to V.92 and actually experienced a performance decrease!  The best explanation I can offer is that, because my ISP doesn't support V.92, my modem is no longer using the protocol that it functions best on.
  
  
• Make your modem dial faster.  This won't speed up your connection, but it will let you connect just a little faster.  After you start using this tweak, you'll think other modems dial really slow.  This is also just a really neat trick that will make you feel like an expert. :)

  Windows 95/98/ME	Double-click on My Computer, and double-click on Dial-Up Networking. Right-click on the icon for your Internet connection (sorry, I can't really help you there, if you don't know what it is--you'll have to experiment) , and click Properties. Under Connect Using, click the Configure button. Click the Connection tab, and click the Advanced button. Under Extra setttings, enter S11=50. Click OK, OK, and OK, and close Dial-Up Networking.
  Windows 2000/XP	Right-click on My Computer, and click Properties. Click on the Hardware tab, and click Device Manager. Double-click on Modems, then right-click on the modem in there (the one you use most often, if more than one is showing), and click Properties. Click on the Advanced tab, and under Extra initialization commands, type in S11=50. Click OK, OK, and OK, and close Device Manager.
  What you've just done is told your modem to wait only 50 milliseconds (or is it microseconds? I forget) between numbers when it's dialing.  Some sources will tell you to enter S11=40 instead--that will dial somewhat faster, but I've found that it doesn't always allow enough time between digits, and can cause trouble connecting.  When it's set too low, it will dial up and connect, but you can't actually go anywhere on the Internet.  If you still have trouble connecting after implementing this tweak, you can increase the length (say, to 60), or just erase the line in your Modem Properties.

  
  
• Check your Port speed.  This isn't likely to make a difference, but it can help if your port speed has somehow been set too low.

  Windows 95/98/ME	Double-click on My Computer, and double-click on Dial-Up Networking. Right-click on the icon for your Internet connection (sorry, I can't really help you there, if you don't know what it is--you'll have to experiment), and click Properties. Under Connect Using, click the Configure button.   Check the Maximum Port Speed.
  Windows 2000/XP	Right-click on My Computer, and click Properties. Click on the Hardware tab, and click Device Manager. Double-click on Modems, then right-click on the modem in there (the one you use most often, if more than one is showing), and click Properties. Click on the Modem tab.  Check the Maximum Port Speed.
  The Maximum Port Speed should be set at least as high as your modem speed: 38400 if you're using a 28.8 or 33.6 modem, 57600 if you're using a 56k, etc.  Setting it higher than your modem won't necessarily make your modem run any faster; I've run bandwidth tests on my 56k when it was set at 57600 and at 115200, and both results came back identical.  What this setting does is tell the port connecting to your modem what maximum speed to allow.  It does not set anything on the modem itself.  So you want it set at least as fast as the modem will go, so the port (something whose speed you can control) isn't bottlenecking the modem (whose speed you can't really control).

  
  
• Disable unused Protocols.  Dial-Up Networking can support several different protocols: typically TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, and NetBEUI.  For Internet access, you only need TCP/IP, and you should be able to connect faster if you disable any other protocols.

  Windows 95/98/ME	Double-click on My Computer, and double-click on Dial-Up Networking. Right-click on the icon for your Internet connection (sorry, I can't really help you there, if you don't know what it is--you'll have to experiment), and click Properties. Click on the Server Types tab.  Uncheck NetBEUI and IPX/SPX Compatible. While you're at it, uncheck Log on to network. Click OK.
  Windows 2000/XP	Right-click on My Network Places, and click Properties. Right-click on the icon for your Internet connection (sorry, I can't really help you there, if you don't know what it is--you'll have to experiment), and click Properties. Click on the Networking tab.  Remove check marks from anything but Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Click OK, and close Network and Dial-up Connections.

  
  
• Use a multithreaded Download Manager.  If you do a lot of downloads, especially a lot of small files, or from a server that keeps cutting you off, I recommend trying NetAnts, which is freely downloadable.  NetAnts will assign up to 5 threads (which it calls "ants") to each download.  The threads work together to download as quickly as your modem can keep up.  Internet Explorer and Netscape only assign one thread to each download.  This is important for a couple of reasons.
  • If the server drops a thread while you're downloading using IE or Netscape, your download stops entirely and you have to start over (since they don't support resuming).  By contrast, if you're using NetAnts and a thread is dropped, the other threads continue downloading--not quite as fast, perhaps, but they keep going.  And if they all get dropped, NetAnts does support resuming, so you can pick up where you left off.
  • I've also found that this multithreading trick just makes downloads faster.  For some reason, the single thread that IE and Netscape use doesn't always use your modem's full bandwidth.  Possibly, during the call part of file--download part of file--save part of file to hard disk process, that single thread can only do one of those functions at once.  So, during the times that it's saving part of the file to your drive, it's not downloading the next part.  I don't know if that's what's happening exactly, but it does seem to explain the difference.  NetAnts' five threads are all at work simultaneously, one downloading while another saveds to disk, so they're able to use your modem's entire bandwidth.  It's not lightning-fast, but the difference is noticeable.
  • Another feature of NetAnts is that, if you want to download a lot of files, say all the images on a particular page, it lets you select all the items you want to download, then it downloads them automatically (each getting five threads, of course).  It will download several at once, moving on to the next when one is finished.
  NetAnts won't have you downloading large movies in the blink of an eye, but it should help boost your download speed somewhat.  Over dial-up, any speed increase is significant!
  
  
• You might try Propel.com.  (Juno and NetZero apparently now offer an equivalent service to their members.)  I've recently heard about this service.  Apparently it's less than $10/month (over and above what you pay to your ISP, of course).  It's designed to make the most of your Internet connection.  I haven't tried it myself, so I can't speak to its usefulness, but if you're interested, this is what I know about it:
  
  What Propel does is:
  • Persistent connections (keeping you online)--It uses special software to prevent your ISP disconnecting you.
  • Caching (saved Web pages)--It saves pages you've visited before so they load quicker next time you open them.  Now Internet Explorer does this anyway, so I'm not sure how Propel is any different, except maybe they keep a bigger cache that you can't delete.
  • CompressionProbably their biggest advantage.  Apparently Propel uses a special compression technology that reduces the size of pages that are sent over your modem line.  Smaller-sized pages will, of course, load more quickly.
  If you're thinking of trying Propel, please note that their technology seems to be most effective on downloading Web pages themselves.  It won't speed up download of audio or video files (including MP3s), including streaming audio or video (See here for more info.)
  
  Of course, for the cost of $15-25 for Internet access, plus $5-10 for Propel ($20-35 total), you might start to wonder if the small additional per month for DSL or Cable ($50 total) wouldn't be a better use of your money.  It's faster by an order of magnitude, and leaves your phone line free.  But Propel is another option, if you're looking for one.
  
  
• Multilink your modems.  This is an option only if you have two modems, two phone lines, and two Internet accounts.  It is recommended only for advanced users.  Multilinking was big before high-speed Internet access (DSL, Cable, etc.) became available.
  
  Multilinking basically has two modems on two separate phone lines work together, which boosts your Internet access by more than the sum of their connect speeds (except that mulitlinked modems will only connect at the slower speed of the two, so don't try multilinking a 56k and a 28.8; you're better off with the single 56k).  Unfortunately, most ISPs don't support multilinking.  It is possible, however, to effectively get around that using Multi-RAS.  Incidentally, for those out there with high-speed connectivity, the latest version of Multi-RAS is supposed to effectively multilink DSL & Cable connections.  No guarantees, but it's an option you can try if you're feeling motivated.