Downloads freeze with Comcast cable *help*

[ArcticFox]

So an associate here has Comcast cable that offers around 200KB/s max. So of course I come up and try to download Mandrake ISO's and other ISO's and massive files like that. But why bother when they just "freeze"? It will be going along at whatever speed, and then all of a sudden the download, wether from an FTP site, HTTP, a users home comp, doesn't matter, the download stops and doesn't get any more data from the source. These are sources that I can use on my home DSL connection, which offers around 75KB/s.

Anyone else have this problem? I have used Download Accelerator Plus, IE downloader, Opera downloader, you name it. Help me help me!

[whitebeard21]

Try this site to see what the real speed is. It also has some tests you can run as well as some faq.

http://www.dslreports.com/stest

I have seen what you describe when a dl reserves space on the hdd then downloading will stop if there is not enough room even though the drive is not full. If that is the case you need to dl something like "incompact" available on the peer to peer networks.
This usually happens when downloading several large files at the same time.

[Jeordiewhite]

I got comcast cable, it works great, best thing I could have done for the internet here.
Tho the upload is capped at 256Kbit and averages at 29-30Kbyte, I still get 212KByte max for a download, that is what is average on most downloads, however this sounds like a problem with your computer, I download things with out a problem, my connection runs stable and does great as the max I am supposed to have is 1.5Mbit/256Kbit connection, pretty nice to have the extra speed, tho I wish they would upgrade it to 3Mbit instead like they are doing in many area's.
Which is strange why they didn't here because it is brand new to my area so it would have made sense to do it in the first place.
Anyhow, I would look into upgrading your nic drivers, making sure your connections are tight and looking at your modem logs if any, don't know if the terayon modem I have has that or not, if not call comcast as the connection should be stable as what you are recieving isn't normal, does your buddy get this?

[ArcticFox]

Well it happens among different comps, and different NICs. Guess it's time to give them a call...

[Jeordiewhite]

Do you see the lights on the modem shut off, maybe you got a bad modem or maybe the power is loose or ruined power connector or possibly even too many splitters inside the house?
The guy who hooked mine up had to replace my splitter for the cable because it was messed up, not sure as i got cable just fine and it was one of theirs, however the guy told me about my gold plated connector one was something I wanted to avoid with cable internet.
If there are an ok ammount of tv's hooked up to the cable line as well you should be fine.
If it is the modem itself, then hopefully you can go pick one up from their centers unless of coarse you purchased your own?

[ArcticFox]

The modem in question is a Motorola Surfboard, and it's not something that is going to be replaced any time soon. Tommorow I may call Comcast and give them the lowdown and what I'm gonna do if they don't fix this. *GRRRR*

[Jeordiewhite]

Is it a docsis 2.0 compatible modem? I believe it's required by comcast anyhow, have you looked into any new firmware for it by the way?

[ArcticFox]

Well they gave it to the guy, so you'd think it'd be compatible!

[Epyon9283]

Comcast is only using DOCSIS 1.0 or 1.1. Anyway Comcast is horrible. I tell everyone I know to avoid them at all costs. I have been getting 80% packet loss for a large part of the day every day since mid december. They won't fix it because they don't know what to do if the problem isn't the modem losing sync. They are completely clueless when I talk about pings, packet loss, and traceroutes. It's horrible.

[whitebeard21]

motorola surfboars or sharkfins as some people call the are a pos. Roadrunner quit using them years ago because of all the problems. I went through 3 in a month. They now use toshiba.