[G4] Re: Bandwith dropped

[Michael]

> Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2006 09:59:06 -0500
> From: "S. Kennedy" <skenn at earthlink.net>

>> Good morning and welcome to planet Earth.
>> Where ya been?
> 
> Michael,
> 
> I have gone back and reread all of your posts on this subject.  

I feel yer pain..

> One thing I could not find was a test of the Mac connected directly to 
the modem with a known good cable.

Yep, I have at least 8 cables.  Two, from Comcast seem to be _jazzier_

All have been used w/the G4 & the G4 has used each of the four ports on 
the router.

> Maybe I just missed it.  

You did.

On the 26th I wrote
(Regarding modem - router)
"Not only do they check-out...They don't seem to have had an effect on 
the Winboxes on the 3 other LAN ports and the G4 was happy till Friday.
If it's been running for months at 6+MB/s....It seems risky to tamper 
with settings which prolly didn't have anything to do with losing 1/2 of 
my DL speed in one day.
(I did connect the G4 directly to the modem...same, same...So that takes 
the router out of he equation, and the same modem is OK with the Winboxes?)"

> If you were to do this and the speed returns, then it probably is something with the lan setup.  

I wrote that before contacting Comcast a box must have a direct line to 
a a modem...(They fob ya off and will blame it on anything...so, not 
only did I check that (early)..it's part of the routine for a Comcast call)

 > If the speed remains low, then it probably is something in the OS

That narrows it down...
_something_
(in the)
_OS_

More on that later..

> and the easiest thing to do would be to backup 
 > data you want to keep and reload the OS and see how that goes.

Or, I wuz told at a Mac, Usenet group to zap the PRAM...a less drastic, 
easier (faster) & *known* to fix NET glitches.  I checked out some 
documentation & it might be effective.
The only hitch  is I received this box well *beyond* the default 
settings (dunno what I may not be lose, some apps were inherited with 
the box. I'd like to thing zapping the PRAM wouldn't effect them...I 
think it's probable I'll lose more than my date/time...)  Further, 
though I'm hardly an expert (after seven months?) but I have it 
configed...umm, not out of the box.  Yeah, I can prolly back track & get 
*my" config back...It was a little here - - a little there...over six 
montths.

Regardless, I'd do that before an install.
1. I'd have to do a clean install.  No way am I gonna *know* what is 
screwed up unless I wipe the OS...(If I install 'over' what I have...It 
may not rewrite/repair the prob.
2. _Backing up_  Hmm, what if I'm backing up *something" which is 
causing the prob!
Yeah, I do a clean install and (even if it's OK with the clean OS?) What 
if - - -   If I trow my data (& apps) back in...and it fails...

> If that doesn't work when connected to the modem directly, then there is likely a hardware problem somewhere. 

So, it's either the OS or hardware?  (But the NIC moves data on the LAN 
at half-a-gig in thirty seconds or so?  Seems like the router/cables/Nic 
don't hang...there?
What *other* hardware is at risk.  (Which is flawless moving data on the 
LAN, but not the Internet?)

> 
>  As near as I can tell, everyone that has replied has tried to be helpful and are not trying to put down your efforts though many of us are not able to present out thoughts as clearly as you or nearly as proficient with networking problems as you.

I'm just surprised that I can't think of a sitch with an M$ box where I 
don't know at least a few ways of dealing with NET/LAN probs.  (Short of 
an install)
I've seen and had my share & Net glitches - - Is not necessary to 
"re-install".

Jeeze, check out the M$ Knowledge Base!  There are stack of pages to 
deal with any imaginable NET/LAN prob (short of an re-install).
Most deal with the Reg or accessing the code from the command prompt?  I 
can't believe a Unix OS locks a person out from that layer...

No, if this were a M$ prob it would not require a re-install.

See, nothing with the network in general (& I share with XP & W2K which 
cause many folks headaches)..it's only my DL (NOT UL) bandwidth? And the 
machine, overall is fine.

Nah, I'm not buying that the only solution to a narrow/specific problem 
is a clean-install.
Go to M$, you'll find many options for a *fix" (which is short of an new 
install).  But, I don't know this sys's file structure/config well 
enough to translate what I'd do in a Winbox.
& Apple's support at their site barely addresses my sitch?

It was the same with the config to share with the Winboxes...loads of 
advise from third-parties...the Apple site told me little more than the 
HELP file.

Dunno why they're so unwilling to reveal much? Do they have no faith in 
the user?  Seems like they'd prefer a scratch install/fix to digging 
into the OS via the Terminal...

Michael