----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Cohane <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2000 7:58 PM
Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] network problems.


> At 10:38 PM 4/22/2000, jim wrote:
> >i have two computers tied into a cable modem provided by "media one."
> >one computer, an older one running windows 95 with 48 megs of ram,
> >works fine, and connects at around 650 kbps. the second computer,
> >running win 98 with 128 megs of ram, only achieves a slightly better
> >than dial-up connection (57 kpbs or 7kbytes/second). in trouble
>
> <http://www.speedguide.net/Cable_modems/cable_registry.shtml>
> has a section on Win98 registry changes for speeding up cable
> modem connections.
>
> They also have a webpage where you can download patches that will
> make these changes (and others) automatically. See
> <http://www.speedguide.net/Cable_modems/cable_patches.shtml>.
>
> I have heard (from a fellow PCBUILD member) that using default
> registry settings (which are usually optimized for dial up
> connections) can result in very slow cable speeds...almost as
> slow as dial up. Following Speedguide's advice can fix this.
>
I think Bill is referring to me.  I had exactly the same symptoms that
you are seeing when I signed up for Roadrunner cable service.  Back when
I was using a phone line, I had run some programs that modified registry
settings, in particular MTU settings, to optimize them to get the
fastest throughput for a dial up line.  When I switched to the cable
modem, I couldn't get transfer speeds much faster than I was used to
seeing with a 56K modem.  I found the registry patches on Speedguide.net
that Bill mentions and tried them.  I got an immediate increase in speed
to what I should have been getting from the cable modem.  The MTU
setting in Wnidows 98 is set to the SMALLER of the value given in your
registry or the value requested by your provider.  Since the smaller
setting to optimize my system for a dial up was in effect, I was not
getting the increased throughput I should have from the cable network.
Setting the MTU value higher or letting it default to the value
requested by the provider gave me the improved speed of a LAN-optimized
setting.

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