Thunderbird and Firefox very slow on WLAN!?
Peter Lairo
(802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP
e-mails slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago. It
often won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads. I
often have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it
takes "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic are
similarly slow.
The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
reasonably fast.
Is there a setting I need to make (in my router or in Tb/Fx) that could
fix this problem? Is there a known bug I can follow?
This situation has put a major damper on my excitement about my new
netbook, and is preventing me from reading my e-mails and browsing
nearer to where my family "hangs-out" (aka living room & bedroom (the
main reason for buying the netbook).
Thanks for any insight you might be able to provide!
[1] Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.3a1pre)
Gecko/20100104 Lightning/1.1a1pre Shredder/3.2a1pre
[2] Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.3a1pre)
Gecko/20100106 Minefield/3.7a1pre (.NET CLR 3.5.30729) Creative ZENcast
v1.02.10
--
Regards,
Peter Lairo
Bugs I think should be fixed ASAP:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=250539
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=391057
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=436259
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=446444
Islam: http://www.jihadwatch.org/islam101/
Israel: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths2/
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster: http://www.venganza.org/
Anthropogenic Global Warming skepsis: http://tinyurl.com/AGW-Skepsis
Tarkus
> I just bought a netbook that connects to my DSL router via WLAN
> (802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
> shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP
> e-mails slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago. It
> often won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads. I
> often have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it
> takes "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic are
> similarly slow.
>
> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
> reasonably fast.
>
> Is there a setting I need to make (in my router or in Tb/Fx) that could
> fix this problem? Is there a known bug I can follow?
How do you know it's your router and not your ISP? Your Homegroup
doesn't use your ISP. The signal strength indicator just means you have
a good signal from your router; it says nothing about the connection
from your ISP.
Peter Lairo
I know because my other two PCs are connected tot the router via network
cable, and they are lightning fast. ;-)
Tarkus
> On Thu. 07.01.2010 21:29, Tarkus wrote:
>> On 1/7/2010 11:58 AM, Peter Lairo wrote:
>>> I just bought a netbook that connects to my DSL router via WLAN
>>> (802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
>>> shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP
>>> e-mails slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago. It
>>> often won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads. I
>>> often have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it
>>> takes "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic are
>>> similarly slow.
>>>
>>> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
>>> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
>>> reasonably fast.
>>>
>>> Is there a setting I need to make (in my router or in Tb/Fx) that could
>>> fix this problem? Is there a known bug I can follow?
>>
>> How do you know it's your router and not your ISP? Your Homegroup
>> doesn't use your ISP. The signal strength indicator just means you have
>> a good signal from your router; it says nothing about the connection
>> from your ISP.
>
> I know because my other two PCs are connected tot the router via network
> cable, and they are lightning fast. ;-)
Netbooks typically have slow processors and not much memory. Have you
looked at the Task Manager to see if that's an issue?
David Pyles
> On Thu. 07.01.2010 21:29, Tarkus wrote:
>> On 1/7/2010 11:58 AM, Peter Lairo wrote:
>>> I just bought a netbook that connects to my DSL router via WLAN
>>> (802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
>>> shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP
>>> e-mails slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago. It
>>> often won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads. I
>>> often have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it
>>> takes "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic are
>>> similarly slow.
>>>
>>> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
>>> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
>>> reasonably fast.
>>>
>>> Is there a setting I need to make (in my router or in Tb/Fx) that could
>>> fix this problem? Is there a known bug I can follow?
>>
>> How do you know it's your router and not your ISP? Your Homegroup
>> doesn't use your ISP. The signal strength indicator just means you have
>> a good signal from your router; it says nothing about the connection
>> from your ISP.
>
> I know because my other two PCs are connected tot the router via network
> cable, and they are lightning fast. ;-)
see if that speeds up the browsing? That would let you know whether the
problem is with TB & FF or with your wireless connection.
Dave Py;es
Ron Hunter
> I just bought a netbook that connects to my DSL router via WLAN
> (802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
> shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP e-mails
> slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago. It often
> won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads. I often
> have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it takes
> "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic are
> similarly slow.
>
> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
> reasonably fast.
>
> Is there a setting I need to make (in my router or in Tb/Fx) that could
> fix this problem? Is there a known bug I can follow?
>
> This situation has put a major damper on my excitement about my new
> netbook, and is preventing me from reading my e-mails and browsing
> nearer to where my family "hangs-out" (aka living room & bedroom (the
> main reason for buying the netbook).
>
> Thanks for any insight you might be able to provide!
>
> [1] Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.3a1pre)
> Gecko/20100104 Lightning/1.1a1pre Shredder/3.2a1pre
>
> [2] Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.3a1pre)
> Gecko/20100106 Minefield/3.7a1pre (.NET CLR 3.5.30729) Creative ZENcast
> v1.02.10
I have a Dell Netbook machine running WinXP that does quite well for
Firefox and Thunderbird, except that it take a while to load the
programs. After that, it is about as fast as my Win7 64 bit desktop
machine. You might check to see that the LAN is configured correctly.
--
Ron Hunter - rphu...@charter.net
Ron Hunter
> On Thu. 07.01.2010 21:29, Tarkus wrote:
>> On 1/7/2010 11:58 AM, Peter Lairo wrote:
>>> I just bought a netbook that connects to my DSL router via WLAN
>>> (802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
>>> shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP
>>> e-mails slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago. It
>>> often won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads. I
>>> often have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it
>>> takes "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic are
>>> similarly slow.
>>>
>>> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
>>> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
>>> reasonably fast.
>>>
>>> Is there a setting I need to make (in my router or in Tb/Fx) that could
>>> fix this problem? Is there a known bug I can follow?
>>
>> How do you know it's your router and not your ISP? Your Homegroup
>> doesn't use your ISP. The signal strength indicator just means you have
>> a good signal from your router; it says nothing about the connection
>> from your ISP.
>
> I know because my other two PCs are connected tot the router via network
> cable, and they are lightning fast. ;-)
wireless became VERY slow, and sporadic.
Ron Hunter
>> On 1/7/2010 11:58 AM, Peter Lairo wrote:
>>> I just bought a netbook that connects to my DSL router via WLAN
>>> (802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
>>> shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP
>>> e-mails slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago. It
>>> often won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads. I
>>> often have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it
>>> takes "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic are
>>> similarly slow.
>>>
>>> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
>>> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
>>> reasonably fast.
>>>
>>> Is there a setting I need to make (in my router or in Tb/Fx) that could
>>> fix this problem? Is there a known bug I can follow?
>>
>> How do you know it's your router and not your ISP? Your Homegroup
>> doesn't use your ISP. The signal strength indicator just means you have
>> a good signal from your router; it says nothing about the connection
>> from your ISP.
>
> I know because my other two PCs are connected tot the router via network
> cable, and they are lightning fast. ;-)
Is there an AV program that might be slowing the Netbook? Netbook
processors usually run at 1.6GHz, and have pretty slow hard drives.
Throwing in an inefficient AV program can kill them.
Paul B
> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
> reasonably fast.
Have you tried alternate browsers and emailers?
X'Posted to: mozilla.support.thunderbird,mozilla.support.firefox
--
Using FF 3.5.2 on Win XP Home
Behold, I will allure her, I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her - Ho. 2.14.
http://onfollowingchrist.wordpress.com/
Barry Jackson
> On Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:58:14 +0100, Peter Lairo wrote:
>
>> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
>> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
>> reasonably fast.
>
> Have you tried alternate browsers and emailers?
>
>
>
> X'Posted to: mozilla.support.thunderbird,mozilla.support.firefox
Try disabling ipv6.
Barry Jackson
>
>> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
>> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
>> reasonably fast.
>
> Have you tried alternate browsers and emailers?
>
>
>
> X'Posted to: mozilla.support.thunderbird,mozilla.support.firefox
Try disabling ipv6.
Peter Lairo
This netbook is different. ;-) It has a dual-core Pentium and 2 GB RAM.
Everything on it runs smoothly.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-Timeline-1810TZ-Subnotebook.21322.0.html
Peter Lairo
> I just bought a netbook that connects to my DSL router via WLAN
> (802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
> shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP
> e-mails slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago.
> It often won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads.
> I often have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it
> takes "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic
> are similarly slow.
Thanks for all your great suggestions. I'll summarize my responses here:
Tarkus:
> Netbooks typically have slow processors and not much memory. Have
> you looked at the Task Manager to see if that's an issue?
This netbook[1] is different. ;-) It has a dual-core Pentium (1.3 GHz)
and 2 GB RAM. Everything on it runs smoothly (OpenOffice, Picasa, etc.).
Task Manager shows my CPU at about 0-50% and my RAM at 50%.
[1]
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-Timeline-1810TZ-Subnotebook.21322.0.html
David Pyles:
> Have you, as an experiment, connected your LAN cable to your netbook
> and see if that speeds up the browsing? That would let you know
> whether the problem is with TB & FF or with your wireless
> connection.
When I'm connected via LAN cable, Thunderbird and Firefox become just as
fast as my desktop PC. So it's "something" with my WLAN or Thunderbird's
handling of WLAN...
Ron Hunter:
> Is there an AV program that might be slowing the Netbook? Netbook
> processors usually run at 1.6GHz, and have pretty slow hard drives.
> Throwing in an inefficient AV program can kill them.
There's no AV program running. Just some autostart programs like
songbirditunesagent.exe (600kb, 0% CPU), Pidgin IM (15 MB, 0% CPU), and
a bunch of system stuff.
Ron Hunter:
> You might check to see that the LAN is configured correctly.
I don't understand. My LAN seems OK (fast). My WLAN settings are shown
in these screenshots:
http://picasaweb.google.com/PeterLairo/TempWLAN#
Barry Jackson:
> Try disabling ipv6.
That seems to speed up Firefox a bit. I didn't notice any effect in
Thunderbird.
BTW: I have my netbook about 2 m from the router (in my basement
office). Normally, I want to use my netbook in the 1st floor (EG) living
room and on the 2nd floor (1. OG) bedroom. My house is made of brick
(walls) and concrete (floors). The WLAN properties in Win7 says speed:
54 Mbps. The router is set to 802.11b/g.
Peter Lairo
> I don't understand. My LAN seems OK (fast). My WLAN settings are shown
> in these screenshots:
>
> http://picasaweb.google.com/PeterLairo/TempWLAN#
BTW: Is showing my MAC address a security risk?
Ron Hunter
desktops, and it is slow on the wireless, that suggests the problem is
with the wireless part of either your Netbook, or the router. Have you
tried any other Netbook, or notebook on your router? Have you tried the
Netbook on another wireless connection? This should narrow the scope of
the problem greatly.
Tarkus
Good idea. If he doesn't have another wireless connection available, at
least if he lives in the U.S., there are plenty of places with free WiFi
internet, including most public libraries.
Ron Hunter
motels/hotels. Truck stops, Texas Rest Stops, etc. LOTS of places to
test. When I had that problem, I got my neighbor to bring his laptop over.
Turned out that my Router had a problem.
G. R. Woodring
> On Thu. 07.01.2010 21:29, Tarkus wrote:
>> On 1/7/2010 11:58 AM, Peter Lairo wrote:
>>> I just bought a netbook that connects to my DSL router via WLAN
>>> (802.11b/g). Even though the signal strength indicator in Windows 7
>>> shows all bars (i.e., "excellent"), Thunderbird[1] loads my IMAP
>>> e-mails slower than I can remember my modem used to be 15 years ago. It
>>> often won't even load the current messages when Thunderbird loads. I
>>> often have to click the "Get new messages" button, and even then it
>>> takes "forever" (3+ minutes). In Firefox[2], web pages with graphic are
>>> similarly slow.
>>>
>>> The reason I suspect it may be Thunderbird and Firefox (and not my WLAN)
>>> is that I can copy files over the "Homegroup" network over the WLAN
>>> reasonably fast.
>>>
>>> Is there a setting I need to make (in my router or in Tb/Fx) that could
>>> fix this problem? Is there a known bug I can follow?
>>
>> How do you know it's your router and not your ISP? Your Homegroup
>> doesn't use your ISP. The signal strength indicator just means you have
>> a good signal from your router; it says nothing about the connection
>> from your ISP.
>
> I know because my other two PCs are connected tot the router via network
> cable, and they are lightning fast. ;-)
My Daughter-in-law got a new Vista computer. With a new wireless router neither
the Vista nor the older Windows XP computer would connect to the internet even
though both showed "excellent" signal strength. With the older router the older
computer would connect, the Vista showed only a local connection although it
would sometimes show /momentarily/ as local and internet. My son returned the
new router and got a different new router, a D-Link. Now both machines connect
successfully.
FWIW they were using Internet Explorer. Do you get a slow or intermittent
connection using IE8?
--
G. R. Woodring
Peter Lairo
I live in Germany. Anyone know a cheap/free flight to the US? ;-)
Ron: I'll try your excellent suggestions with my netbook on my
neighbor's WLAN and with his laptop on my WLAN, and report back here...
Tarkus
> On Sun. 10.01.2010 20:58, Ron Hunter wrote:
>> On 1/10/2010 11:53 AM, Tarkus wrote:
>>> Good idea. If he doesn't have another wireless connection available, at
>>> least if he lives in the U.S., there are plenty of places with free WiFi
>>> internet, including most public libraries.
>> Along with most McDonald's, and Panera Pita bread, and most
>> motels/hotels. Truck stops, Texas Rest Stops, etc. LOTS of places to
>> test. When I had that problem, I got my neighbor to bring his laptop
>> over.
>> Turned out that my Router had a problem.
>
> I live in Germany. Anyone know a cheap/free flight to the US? ;-)
You guys don't have free hotspots over there?
> Ron: I'll try your excellent suggestions with my netbook on my
> neighbor's WLAN and with his laptop on my WLAN, and report back here...
That's probably the best idea, actually, since many free WiFi hotspots
are slow, and thus, wouldn't be great for testing.
Ron Hunter
> On Sun. 10.01.2010 20:58, Ron Hunter wrote:
>> On 1/10/2010 11:53 AM, Tarkus wrote:
>>> Good idea. If he doesn't have another wireless connection available, at
>>> least if he lives in the U.S., there are plenty of places with free WiFi
>>> internet, including most public libraries.
>> Along with most McDonald's, and Panera Pita bread, and most
>> motels/hotels. Truck stops, Texas Rest Stops, etc. LOTS of places to
>> test. When I had that problem, I got my neighbor to bring his laptop
>> over.
>> Turned out that my Router had a problem.
>
> I live in Germany. Anyone know a cheap/free flight to the US? ;-)
>
> Ron: I'll try your excellent suggestions with my netbook on my
> neighbor's WLAN and with his laptop on my WLAN, and report back here...
Ok. Sorry you don't have a lot of free wireless 'hot spots' in Germany.
You can get pretty good rates on flights sometimes, but all the
security hassle on transatlantic flights these days takes a bit of the
fun out of it.