Need Advice Internet speed & thread problem

There are some IE fixes in newer versions I'll be applying soon.. might be it. I do see IE11 isn't liking the enhanced text editor.

My first recommendation would be don't use IE. There really is no reason to keep using IE when better browsers like Chrome and Firefox trump it. Chrome is my favorite largely because of the Google integration that keeps all my bookmarks, history, etc centralized so my experience is the same on all devices (home, work, mobile, etc)

As a workaround, if you disable the enhanced editor, IE seems happy (I'm typing this with IE11 right now). Click on your name in the menu bar and select preferences. On the preferences page, de-select the option for 'Use the rich text editor to create and edit messages'

As for your other slowdowns... common causes include
- your DNS (name lookup) is slow. This can be someone else's problem, or your computer can be setup wrong, or even hijacked to point at some 3rd party server for ads/etc.
- your browser is waiting for the proxy detection to complete. Auto proxy detection can be disabled and this eliminates this
- extra plugins/etc trying to interact with your web content and just slowing down the pc
- malware/etc also interfering with the browser

When I look at someone's PC like this.. first thing I do is use a browser with no plugins/etc all that extra stuff disabled. Then I watch the status bar at the bottom for what it says during this delay. It could say things like 'detecting proxy...' 'looking up...' or 'waiting for...' where that delay is most frequent is telling.

But in the wild.. it's 9 out 10 times extra crap toolbars/services/etc people have installed on the computer.. and the kinds that try to reconfigure your DNS/homepage/etc other settings to route through their service.

 

Bad router? not usually how they fail.. but misconfigured.. can cause slowdowns, yes. If you are on comcast or openband, you really shouldn't see any speed differences with just someone else browsing. Are you on wireless?

For Chrome.. yes, by logging into Google with it, all your saved passwords, history, bookmarks, etc are sync'd across all devices... PC, iphone, android, etc.

 

If it's slow consistently... you can try connecting hard-wired and see if that makes a difference. You can also differentiate between slow to open new connections or slow speed. Goto a speed test page like http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

That will test your throughput (raw transport speed to the test site). But slow browsing experiences can also be caused by slow name resolution (DNS) or software (add-ons, etc). But if you see the problem on all devices it would point to something more common. I would try bypassing your wireless router and see if you see any differences. Poor wireless performance obviously will hinder everything.

 

It keep it simple... your wireless router is a radio.... just like your FM/AM radios, your reception of the signal is a combination of the source's strength, distance/interference between the source and you, and your receiver's strength.

Life is more complicated than your old FM/AM radio because this is two way radio, the frequencies involved are different, etc.. but you can keep the same core concepts. Your reception (aka performance) is going to be a combination of those factors... the source, interference, and your receiver.

If you are hardwired and the issue goes away.. it's not openband.
If you can be in the same spot as the problem user and the issue goes away for you... it can be the specific computer. Poorer radio, software setup, etc.

The way to address this typically is
1) isolate the problem to just the wireless... test with the hardware stuff and the test computer and know all is good there. If that doesn't work, isolate the computer/settings. If it sucks for everyone even on hardwired, then you look more towards the network and upstream openband
2) once you know its just wireless performance... map out your signal strength and figure out where it's good and bad. Just use your phone or PC and monitor the strength as you move to different locations. This should confirm for you your observations that 'it sucks in the basement, its fine in the office', etc.

Then you can look at why it's bad. Think line of sight between you and the wireless router location. Distance, big electronics, dense things like kitchens, bathrooms, concrete vs drywall, etc all hinder the signal. Interference from OTHER wireless networks or radios are also big contributors.

You should check if there are other wireless networks that are on the same channel as you that are strong that could be interfering with your configuration. There are tools to show you what your radio can see. I don't know a easy lay way of explaining this to someone.. but you want to be on a free channel if possible and avoid other strong signals if you can. Which radio channel your router uses is configurable.

If that is as good as it can be, look to see if there is a better place you can place the router so it is more central and has the least obstructed paths to where people use it.

The last thing is 'get a stronger radio'. Newer wireless routers have more advanced setups that give them better potential top speed and potentially better for avoiding poor signal quality due to interference. The newer standards use higher frequency radios and better antenna designs. But they are not a magic bullet. Put in a bad situation, they can still run poorly. Your devices also need to support the newer standards (but anything in the last few years would be 802.11N or better)

Your router location is the easiest thing to look at
Also figure out if new wireless networks are causing issue for you as well (move to an uncrowded channel)
Lastly, if your router is an old B or G radio design.. consider upgrading to a N or AC router