Troubleshooting

Slow download speeds OR time-outs

Problem: My site seems to download slowly sometimes OR sometimes when using FTP or FrontPage it just stops.  Why is that?

Answer: There are a variety of factors that can contribute to occasional slow download speeds or time-outs.   One thing that you can rule out is lack of bandwidth directly into the facility where you site is located.  Click HERE for more information about the high-speed network that we use to house our servers.

If it seems that your site generally is always slow, it may be because you have images on your pages that are too large. A rule of thumb is to try to make images 20k or less. If you have larger images, try using image compression software which you can download free at http://www.download.com/ OR use this FREE WEB SITE to reduce image size.

Way to check where the slow-down is:

1) Check the path from your computer to your web site: When you download from your site, you are taking a path to get from your computer to your web site.  This tool below will show the path that you are taking to get to your site and where the slowdown may be. To do so using Windows:

• Go to START
• Click on PROGRAMS
• Click on MS-DOS PROMPT
• Type TRACERT MYDOMAIN.COM (replace mydomain.com with your domain or IP address)

You will see output that has lines like this:

Each of the three numbers above are three attempts that your computer makes to get to that location.  A * or any number over 350 is a sign of a slow link.  

In the example above, the slow link is with SPRINT.  If you see a slow link, we don't suggest you call your Internet provider and immediately report it.  Occasional slow links on the Internet are common.  However, if it is always like that, you may want to consider calling them.

2) Check the path from your web site to your computer:  The return path, that is, going from your web site back to your computer, may take a different path altogether.  To check the return path:

• Go to your Control Panel
• Click on NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTER
• Click on the top button which says "from yourdomain.com to you.current.IP.address"
• Follow the same guidelines for reading the output as the example above.

3) If you want to use a graphical program to show trace routes from your computer, try Neotrace.

4) To test the speed from another part of the Internet (and not your particular location), try this free site. ExpertInternetServices uses this site often to check our network speeds from a 'third-party' location.