NTL & BitTorrent problems

[WindyBut_UK]

So a friend said try BitTorrent as its fast as ****. So I got the latest version and tried it. Yes I loved the speed of the DL but then the problem started. As any files are DLing for a while they start to slow down until they reach 0k then I have to reset my NTL set top box to get the internet back on again. There lies the problem. How can I fix this? Can anyone please help ?

My System
=========
Intel 2.4 htz
Asus P4PE MB
1 Gig Ram DDR
Asus GForce 4 v8460 128 megs
SB Audigy
2 x 120 gig HD`s
Pioneer x4 DVD Writer
Windows XP Pro (fully updated)
ASUSTek/Broadcom 440x 10/100
1 megabit NTL Broadband

My cable box has a cable modem built in to it and connects to my system via a RJ45 cable. Using "Broadband Speed Test v2.8" I get good results from it so I think my broadband is ok

Just so you know I do use Kazaa and have NO problems with this and I also use Emule but I do get slow DL`s on that too :'( If I click on any files on a site they normaly DL at full speed which is 128k.

So any help in fixin this BitTorrent problem please ?:shy

[zaphodiv]

That has got to be a problem with the cable box. Is is set to do NAT (connection sharing)? Cheap domestic NAT routers are made with the minium of memory to reduce the cost and it's not unusuall for them to have problems with programs that open lots of connections. If you can turn off NAT it may cure the problem, that will alos allow incoming connections to your machine so you should make sure the windows networking ports are firewalled.

Normally I'd suggest looking for a firmware update but you probably don't have that kind of access to the box.

[Serps]

I can’t say much on the technical side, but im also with NTL and as yet have had no problem with Bit Torrent.

[phalkon30]

Are you uploading, or leeching?

[nasrules]

I'm on NTL running through my STB, and I don't have any problems with BitTorrent.

As Phalkon said, check you are uploading. BiTorrent is reliant on uploads for you to be able to download.

zaphodiv: There is no access to the setup of the Modem without the correct physical device, available only to NTL technicians. It doesn't have a built-in NAT, and, as you guessed, firmware updates aren't an option.

[mrlipring]

mine's fine, but i'm using it through a cm, not a stb. ring tech support.

[WindyBut_UK]

zaphodiv:- Im` sorry to say that you are right about the access to the set top box as there is none. So I will not be able to turn off the NAT (what ever that is) but thanks for trying to help :shy .

nasrules , Serps:- I know other NTL users have no problems with BitTorrent as my cousin has the same NTL box and he uses BitT all the time. I`m glad your both enjoying BitT and thanks for your help too :shy

phalkon30:- Although there are people out there that love to Leech i`m happy to say that i`m not one of them as I too upload :shy

[WindyBut_UK]

mrlipring :- I rang the Tech support and they said that the cable coming to the house was too small and causing interference but they now have changed that cable and the problem persists. Thanks anyhow :shy

[phalkon30]

Hmm, if you're uploading, then you should be getting around the speed you upload at or higher

What kind of firewall do you have? Can it accept incoming connections?

[Induna]

Download this and save yourself a lot of hassle.

http://torrentspy.sourceforge.net/


Next time, right click on the torrent link, and 'save target' to a folder, then use torrentspy to see if there is a complete seeder. You can also associate torrentspy as the default program for torrent files.

[WindyBut_UK]

phalkon30:- I only have the basic firewall that comes with WinXP Pro and that is not running.

Induna :- I am will to try anything to get the speeds that everyone else seems to enjoy so I'll give that link a go.

I havent mentioned this but I have tried a clean install of XP and a clean install of WinME but both have the same problem.

Thanks again guys

[phalkon30]

Hmm, I'm pretty much out of ideas, I'd do a few speed tests on different sites, but it shouldn't matter too much. That is very strange.

Could your ISP be somehow cranking down your bandwidth? try a port above 7000

[WindyBut_UK]

If I understand you correctly the port you mention (7000) can only be opened in a firewall?

If so I an NOT running ANY firewall so how can I open that port ?

[mrlipring]

post this over at nthellworld and see what they say mate, they know more than the tech support folks.

[Krell]

zaphodiv already nailed it

The problem is either with the modems send \ recieve buffer, or with your NETWORK card.

From a clean reboot, go to dslreports.com, and test your bandwidth. Then clear your internet cache, do it again, clear it again. Leave that page open.


Start a torrent and while you have great down load speed, run the bandwidth test again. It will be MUCH lower, as the torrent is sucking up most of your bandwidth potential.

Clear the browser cache, then run again in 15 minute increments, observing the results by clear, repeat, clear repeat . . .

When your torrent speed starts to crawl, either the score on your dslreports will go up, or they will both decrease together.

If they both decrease to nothing, go to Start > Run > cmd
Type in ipconfig /release all and wait a bit, then type in ipconfig /renew all.

Then try your downloads again.

Tell us the result of these findings.

[phalkon30]

No, I'm not talking about opening them in your firewall

In the program you can usually choose what port the program will use. Try changing this port number to something above 7000

[WindyBut_UK]

I hope you forgive my stupidity but as I’m using “BitTurrent EXPERIMENTAL UNOFFICIAL v3.2.1b-2” I can see no where to put the port to 7000+ . Sorry phalkon30 but I’m not very knowledgeable about how to do this. Maybe you’re flogging a dead horse.

[phalkon30]

I could also be talking out of my ass. I've never used that client before. I use shareaza for bittorent, and you can change it in that

Tried krells suggestion?

[WindyBut_UK]

Yes i`m trying it now but the strange thing is that the program has been running now for 4 hours (1 hour to go) and is still working? I dont know why though , wierd eh .

These results came from a online test connecting to
"LinkLine ...to LA" at http://www.dslreports.com/stest?loc=2

Test Restults before BitT is run 961kbps down 191kbps up

22:36 Bit at 13dl/8up Test Results 724kbps down 101 kbps up
22:51 Bit at 40dl/20up Test Results 542kbps down 96 kbps up
23:06 Bit at 40dl/20up Test Results 239kbps down 76kbps up
23:21 Bit at 35dl/24up Test Results 415kbps down 153kbps up
23:37 Bit at 31dl/21up Test Results 538kbps down 100kbps up
23:52 Bit at 41dl/20up Test Results 333kbps down 61kbps up
00:07 Bit at 49dl/17up Test Results 299kbps down 95kbps up
00:22 Bit at 41dl/18up Test Results 386kbps down 76kbps up
00:37 Bit at 56dl/24up Test Results 275kbps down 92kbps up
00:52 Bit at 50dl/23up Test Results 370kbps down 79kbps up
01:07 Bit at 35dl/22up Test Results 304kbps down 37kbps up
01:22 Bit at 38dl/24up Test Results 312kbps down 52kbps up
01:37 Bit at 34dl/24up Test Results 300kbps down 39kbps up

I have to say I got bored at this point and stopped collecting results. Sorry Krell

[Krell]

Np I have the attention span of a gnat with A.D.D.


Examine the results, what can you determine from them?

nothing, other than in 3 hours the combined speeds decreased by 50%.

they are only relavent in relation to what you are downloading from your BT. So if these number appear to go down, it may be due to your BT speed going UP, and vs.vs

The dslreports is just a way to tax any unused bandwidth.

It is part of an over all picture that tells you if your total speed is going down down down. What you dont want to see, is if they both go Bllthththth

0


.

[WindyBut_UK]

Krell

Your not going to believe this but as I was typing a reply to you my internet died again. I went to a Dos prompt and typed ipconfig /release all but I got an error message which said:-

Windows IP Configuration

The operation failed as no adapter is in the state permissible for
this operation.

I tried disabling the network card and re-enabling it again but the internet didn't come back on again. So I ended up reseting the set top box again.

As for "Examine the results" it looks to like i`m only using between 60-80% of my download speed? If thats not right then I look a fool again LOL , no change there then :D thats all i can see , is that right?

[Krell]

This is the progress you must make.

The goal is to try to block diagram where the problem lies, and see if it is your PC, or the cable modem.

The cable modem has lights on it, that tell you if you are still connected to the network.

At this point I think you either need to change your network card or get your isp to give you a better modem. Call and ask to speak to a level 2 person, then email the this transcript showing that it persists thru 2 O\Ss and is ongoing.

[WindyBut_UK]

Krell I think I will contact my Tech guys again but I have already told them about installing 2 OS`s before. As for the Network card well I do have one of NTL`s supplied USB network cards called AEI Fast Ethernet and I have a different make called a USB Linksys. Both of those show the same problem. So as you can see I have 3 network cards here and I have tried them all and even forced them to use 10mbits but to no avail. NTL have replaced the cable coming to the house with a wider one to reduce the static noise on the line. I have also had the set top box replaced incase it was that too.

Although I`m not the brightest person as you can tell from the above info I have tried to fix this logicaly I`m just at my wicks end now. I`ve just tried Shareaza1890 but that locks the network up too even though phalkon30 says it works for him.

NTL say the CAN supply me with a modem to try but there unsure if that will help. I think I will ask them to give me it to try anyhow.

Thanks again Krell for all your advice.

[Krell]

np, with what you have to work with there isnt a lot more you can do. Another thing, you may want to get off the USB adapters.

It would be a bitch to realize that your USB root hub in windows was the source of grief as the controller on your MB was bad.


thx for the info, best wishes

[phalkon30]

In shareaza did you try changing the port?

Go to tools > Shareaza settings, then under internet click on connection, change that port number, and make sure the rest of the settings look good

[WindyBut_UK]

phalkon30 I left all the Shareaza settings alone except the port which I changed to 7777. You said try a port above 7000 to I did.

Krell Well as I`m not a lover of using extra devices if my motherboad already has them I have already removed the USB adapters. To confirm that my system was NOT at fault I used a friends computer which I was fixing. Having just install XP and nothing else I thought I`d try BitT on that PC so I did. You guessed it it did the same thing.

I dont know when it will be but I intend getting NTL to give me a modem to use and see if that helps otherwise whats the point in having a 1 megabit line.

Thanks again guys for taking the time to respond to my cry for help.


Save gas , Fart in a bottle !!

[phalkon30]

Yeah, at that point, bitch very loudly to them.

You can allways say you're downloading the redhat ISO from bittorent, that was one of the first legit uses for it, so you really can't get in trouble if they don't like file sharing ;)

[Cleric]

Also, when you speak with them, dont use the "it does the same on two OS's story. TRUST ME, all that does is immediately make them think that its your system.
Just let them know of your speed issue and relations.

Let them know that your computer is at its default settings. Because most ISPs, use DHCP for thier connections and Linux, Mac and Windows are pretty much preset for a DHCP connection and will hint to them that you have changed nothing or just tell them you have made no changes.
NO CHANGES> Thats the big thing.

If you have cable tv with the same company, let them know that your tv has had intermittent fuzziness or interuption.
Letting THEM come to the conclusion that it maybe a cable or signal issue will get them to work more effieciently for you.

Kind of like the "catch more bees with honey" sort of philosophy.

You could also goto www.speedguide.net and use the tcp/ip optimzer> then choose these settings

modify all adapters
extreme(at top right)
custom settings (at bottom right)
then change your ttl to 128

Then apply and restart.
Your system plays a big part on downloads. If your recieve window is too small or big for instants, your connection could be awesome, but your pc is whats slowing how much info actually gets processed. Cause processing the data as it downloads plays a part on how fast more data gets past to you.


:tol

Good Luck

[WindyBut_UK]

Cleric thanks for that and I`m TCP Optimizer now.

TCP Receive Window :- 513920
MTU :- YES
Black Hole Dectect:- No
Selective ACKs:- YES
Max Duplicate ACKs:- 2

Max MTU:- 1500
Time to Live TLL:- 128 ( now was 64 )

TCP 1323 Options
--------------------------
Windows Scaling :- ticked only

Are the rest of these options correct for a 1 megabit line too?

[Krell]

Originally posted by Cleric
Also, when you speak with them, dont use the "it does the same on two OS's story. TRUST ME, all that does is immediately make them think that its your system.
Just let them know of your speed issue and relations.

Let them know that your computer is at its default settings. Because most ISPs, use DHCP for thier connections and Linux, Mac and Windows are pretty much preset for a DHCP connection and will hint to them that you have changed nothing or just tell them you have made no changes.
NO CHANGES> Thats the big thing.

If you have cable tv with the same company, let them know that your tv has had intermittent fuzziness or interuption.
Letting THEM come to the conclusion that it maybe a cable or signal issue will get them to work more effieciently for you.

Kind of like the "catch more bees with honey" sort of philosophy.




You could also goto www.speedguide.net and use the tcp/ip optimzer> then choose these settings

modify all adapters
extreme(at top right)
custom settings (at bottom right)
then change your ttl to 128

Then apply and restart.
Your system plays a big part on downloads. If your recieve window is too small or big for instants, your connection could be awesome, but your pc is whats slowing how much info actually gets processed. Cause processing the data as it downloads plays a part on how fast more data gets past to you.


:tol

Good Luck

Baaahhhhh

When you have a problem that transcends operating systems, and even different computers, then it is DEFINATELY their fault.

Nice doesnt have anything to do with it, neither does beating around the bush and beleaguring the point. Furthermore if I thought that the TTL and the MTU and Recieve windows were the culprit, I would have CLEARLY STATED so.

I asked WindyBut_UK to do a test that replicated the problem and provided numeric results, none of which are symptomatic of a registry tweak.

Quite the opposite, I would call them and ask to talk to someone that MATTERS. I would get straight to it, and not take some flimsy excuse for an answer. I have already outlined an effective plan based on my experience, as a consultant an a former ISP lead tech.


Letting THEM come to the conclusion that it maybe a cable or signal issue will get them to work more effieciently for you.

El Wrongo Againo

They have already been there and determined that the cable was insufficient, and this has been an ongoing process, how many tries do they require to finally come to the correct conclusion, by guessing?

Cleric - save the pop psychology for someone else.


.

[Cleric]

Krell take a xanax

you come out with guns smoking and I didnt even know it was HIGH NOON>>

Just point me to the nearest saloon. :ass

I was just adding a perspective of what to do to keep from losing your mind due to a bad connection.

Your views didnt interest me because I was not in competition.
I was just adding some other views, sorry if that hurt your feelings.

I thought possibly another view as to what could be done on thier end so they dont feel so powerless.

If this is wrong, I cant wait for you to explain why.

[Krell]

Empowerment is having the correct information to work with so you dont get screwed for the low monthly fee of internet access. He's losing his mind because underpaid tech support monkeys throw dung at him.

I'm sure that if he needed to beg Ms Beasley for a new dial up # . . . a tea spoon of suger might help, but in his case, he needs good solid advise, not conflicting namby-pamby 2 cents worth.

If this is wrong, I cant wait for you to explain why. Because I am right, and you arent. While it is true that "processing the data as it downloads plays a part on how fast more data gets past to you" , the cumulative degradation and eventual total cessation of processing alltogether is not indicative of or resultant of the settings you stated.

Telling him to trust you, and let "them" make the decisions for him, isnt at all what I said. So thats the fundamental reason I had a problem with your statement, sorry if that hurt your feelings.

Oh . . . and I dont consider it competition.


.

[DJ2liveUK]

Hey guys and gals. I have the same problem on BY broadband. I was okay for a while using the classic BT client then I moved to the Experimental client and i then started to experience problems. I think it has something to do with a duff install of the BT files. Is there a way to clear out all the BT files so as the machine thinks that it has never been installed on the system before? or do I need to do a reinstall of WinXP pro?

[DJ2liveUK]

Might have found the solution to this problem:

It appears to be ZA version 5 and above. If you replace ZA V5 with V4.5 then the problem stops, or alternatively install an alternative firewall.

[Stoo_Pot]

I've done quite alot of research on this and it seems to definately be a line or modem problem. This is quite a widespread problem with NTL at the moment and the connection only seems to drop while usin bit torrent (not while just surfing etc). It also drops when under heavy upload strain using ftp and http. What seems to happen is the modem reboots and it takes a minute or so for everything to come back online. That's why it said you weren't connected at the time in ipconfig. Seems as though as soon as you get some speed going on bit torrent it just reboots. Some people have had their modem replaced with a different version and it seems tohave worked but I've got the newest I think (250) and while using bit torrent the modem resets every 10 minutes or so.
I'm thinking about upgrading from a 1Mb to higher and will probably go with a different company because have read that lots of 10Mb NTL customers are having the same problem. GRR!

[Zee19]

These may help you:

www.morpheusforum.com/showthread.php?t=1542
www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=38743