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All you need to do is click on a configuration file to boost your cable to DSL connerction speed.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Free ways to speed up Windows and OS X on cable or DSL


June 12, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   I've been enjoying fast Internet connections for years, thanks to Time Warner's Road Runner cable Internet service. But I also have to give credit to my own dogged determination. Microsoft didn't design Windows to work well with high-speed Internet connections, so I had to spend a lot of time tweaking many hidden settings to get my Windows PCs up to speed.
   Before you assume that I'm slamming Microsoft again, I need to explain that other operating systems usually suffer from the same flaw. I even had to do some tweaking to improve the Internet speed on my new Apple G4. The problem, no doubt, is that Microsoft, Apple and the designers of the many versions of Linux aim for a middle ground. If most users are hooked up to dialup connections, operating system engineers will set up their defaults for dialup speeds, not cable and DSL speeds.
   Doing all this sort of testing is a pain in the byte. I'd rather not try to count up all the hours I spent trying one thing and then another. Luckily, Windows users don't need to do that any longer. Somebody else has done it for you, and all you need to do is click on a configuration file to install the changes.
   (Apple OS X users don't have to fiddle with anything, either. I'll tell you about the OS X tweaks later in this article.)
   Here's what to do if you have a Windows PC and a cable or DSL Internet connection:
   First, go to www.dslreports.com/stest for a free broadband speed test. ("Broadband" is the current jargon for a fast Internet connection.) The test requires a working Java installation on your PC. (Windows XP computers sometimes don't have Java installed, because Microsoft was acting childish in a dispute with the company that invented Java. If your PC doesn't have Java, go to Sun Microsystems, the inventor, and get its free version here: java.sun.com/getjava/download.html.)
   Make notes of your tests. Write down the date, time and tested speed. The time and date matter because Internet traffic jams can make accurate tests impossible. Choose different times of day until you're sure that you've recorded your system's actual speed.
   Then go to SpeedGuide.net and download the appropriate Windows tweak file for your version of Windows. The address is www.speedguide.net. Click the "Patches" link, probably visible on the left, and choose the "generic Registry patch" for your version of Windows. Be sure to download both the file that makes the change you want AND the file the undoes that change, so you can go back to the way things were if things go wrong.
   Apple OS X users can go to www.enigmarelle.com and download a free tweaker called Broadband Optimizer. I found it perfect for automatically adjusting my new Apple G4 to match the Internet speed I get on my Windows 2000 PC.