Major issues arise with BT downloads

[BeerLuver]

Hey all..

I sat here searching and browsing around these forums as well as the net for the last several hours trying to find a proper resolution to my problem.

Basically, whenever I attempt to download ANY bittorrent; with ANY bt client, it'll start downloading and eventually cause complete system pausing/freezing. The system will pause or freeze for roughly 5+ seconds, then unfreeze for about 5 seconds, then freeze again, and so on. Only way to fix it even is reboot my system. I even simply tried unplugging the cable modem; Roadrunner, and reinitializing the modem/connection. A reboot is required to correct the issue then.

This same issue happens sometimes if I am downloading something from an irc channel as well. This issue is really ticking me off and I hope someone here has some useful suggestions I could look into or try. I have upgraded my NIC card drivers, my OS is up to date as well, plus all my hardware have current updated drivers too.

Some basic info if needed;

733 mhz PIII
896 mb of PC133 SDRAM
GeForce II Ultra 64mb vidcard
SB Audigy Plat soundcard
NIC: NetGear FA311 Fast Ethernet Adapter
Cable Modem: Toshiba PCX2600 (supplied by Roadrunner)
Download Speeds: 6 Mbit
Upload Speeds: 512 Kbit
OS: Windows XP Pro w/SP1
AV: AVG and NOD32
Firewall: Sygate (shutdown during d/ling though)

Hope some of you have info to help me combat and/or resolve this issue. Appreciate any useful replies and thank yall in advance. Thanks and have a good one :)

BeerLuver

[zaphodiv]

What OS?

Google (http://www.google.com/search?q=netgear+FA311+freezing&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official) lists a lot of message from people with FA311 network cards and the same problem suggesting that a different network card might cure the problem.

[Malicious Intent]

Norton Anti-virus?
An original copy of ZoneAlarm 5?

[BeerLuver]

OS: Windows XP Pro with SP1 (haven't gotten around to installing SP2 yet)
Anti-virus: AVG Anti-virus and NOD32 Anti-virus. Fuck Norton heh..
No Zone Alarm installed. I have Sygate firewall installed, but I shut that down when d/ling stuff like this.

[Rajarius]

How are you sure it is BT?

[BeerLuver]

How are you sure it is BT?

Uh gee... did you read through my initial post of this thread? This ONLY happens when trying to download torrents. ANY other kind of download works fine; p2p, irc, ftp, newsgroups, etc. all work fine. This issue is ONLY associated to BT's as already stated.

[bobhss]

IRC use and firewall gets shut off sometimes? Possible trojan/remote access program? Just a quick thought.

[BeerLuver]

Nah, I have the firewall on during irc use, I shut it off when trying to d/l bittorrents, and I always scan any files I d/l before opening or using them, just as a precautionary method. I'm no n00b here ok heh, this issue has just been an awkward one and not very common from what I can tell. Plus I do weekly system scans for viruses, trojans, spyware, adware, etc... I'm a nutcase when it comes to system maintenance to keep my system(s) running correctly and smoothly with minimal issues ;) It helps too; this system is 6+ yrs old (with various upgrades from time to time), and my older 9 yr old system is still in great running shape. Although that one I don't have online anymore so it's less of a problem for online-orientated issues arising. Use that mainly for desktop publishing/office-needs/file storage.

I'm assuming this may be a resolved issue now possibly. I completely uninstalled the Java JRE version I had installed on here since this is XP Pro; java isn't included with XP to begin with. So I downloaded and installed the latest JRE version, made sure the firmware to my NIC card was updated properly (found a thread from someone claiming the same NIC card I have was the cause of their issues/incompatibility to work with bt d/l's), and then installed the latest version of Azureus.

Been testing it now for the last 14+ hrs or so and so far, no system & net pausing/freezing has occurred. So I hope that it was primarily associated to the JRE version maybe. So if any other person comes along that has this same issue I was experiencing... hopefully this thread and what I did to resolve it, comes in handy to them :) Thanks anyways guys for your input. Later

[charlesmelissa]

It doesn't matter if the firewall is off or not with Zone Alarm 5 or any other firewall using the same code core. Try Computer Associates. For a free one try www.my-etrust.com\microsoft for computer associates free firewall. Also make sure you firewall and router are configured correctly suing the correct ports.

[BeerLuver]

1. Don't have a router yet, but plan to purchase one eventually.
2. I AM NOT USING ZONE ALARM ffs. Geesh, not once did I ever mention I was using Zone Alarm.. READ CAREFULLY! And Sygate does NOT use the same code core that Zone Alarm does. It's much better than that Zone Alarm crap. When Sygate is shutdown/closed... that is it. It doesn't affect my net connection or bandwidth in any way then when it is closed. Plus, since this issue has been resolved, I have used Azureus WHILE Sygate was running ... and IT RAN FINE THEN. This issue has been resolved anyways. It was the JRE version install that was affecting it as I mentioned in a previous post.

And EZ Armor is not that great of a firewall either. It's ok but not all that. I've read a lot of various reviews on numerous firewalls as well as discussed firewall subjects with very knowledgeable technician friends, and EZ Armor wasn't usually at the top of the lists or highly recommended. It's good for a novice user though. Personally, I'd like to use Smoothwall someday; http://www.smoothwall.org/ uses a dedicated system of it's own basically as a hardware firewall then. From the site:

SmoothWall is intended for use by anyone from home users to systems administrators. It can run on virtually any 32-bit Intel or i386-compatible PC from a 486 to an Athlon or Pentium 4, and it enables that PC to become a dedicated firewall appliance, aka a SmoothWall box. Apart from the PC to run SmoothWall on, all that is required is an Internet connection, some simple networking equipment to connect the SmoothWall box to the rest of your private LAN, and the SmoothWall CD image file.

[nukehella]

One of my computers is a Duron 750mhz.If I am bittorrenting and doing any other processor heavy task it freezes up then unfreezes.I think it's just to much for the processor.I just use that machine for usenet and it more than earns it's keep doing that full time.

Edit-Why are you running 2 antivirus programs?

[BeerLuver]

Edit-Why are you running 2 antivirus programs?

Why not? There ARE some types of viruses, trojans, worms, etc. that are not detectable by some antivirus programs; while other programs CAN detect them. Some viruses/etc. are even coded to take advantage of specific exploits in a specific antivirus program as well. So having more than one antivirus program just offers added security/scanning capabilities & prevention. As long as the av programs don't conflict with each other or cause any known issues, they should work fine. Such as the two I have installed; NOD32 and AVG Antivirus... no problems between the two & both run fine.

The only AV apps I would use are those 2 and maybe F-Secure. AV apps like Norton's and McAfee's are bloatware (as often referred by) and utilize a lot of system resources when running them. Numerous reviews, tech recommendations, etc. have shown the flaws in those apps, so I avoid using them and use better recommended applications.