Hi Phil, thanks a lot for finding the time to help with my problem this boxing day!

When you say both port options, does that mean both laptops? In which case we've now done that, and it's come up the same results.

Neither of us use p2p programmes, and even though we both have skype on our computer, this program is not open on either computer.

If the reason is due to Talk Talk throttling our uploads or due to a congestion problem, do you know what, if anything, we can do about it?

Thanks.

Edited by neilsolaris (Wed 26-Dec-07 16:48:56)

I've just phoned yes another talktalk advisor from India, and he tried to claim, after doing a speed test, that an upload value of zero is quite normal. Am I correct in saying that this is complete rubbish?! Thanks again for any replies.

It's rubbish, but perhaps you would do better not to rely on the trickery of testers, but instead try uploading a file, maybe to PhotoBucket. That will give you a far more accurate result.

It is impossible to say what the reason for your problem is until you do the tests you have been asked to provide. You should have posted your stats (line rate, attenuation and s/n margin).

(It is impossible to say what the reason for your problem is until you do the tests you have been asked to provide. You should have posted your stats (line rate, attenuation and s/n margin))

I'll try my hardest to find out this infomation - the only thing standing in my way is my lack of computer knowledge! Does this information relate to my router, and can I find it out by looking at the router settings?

Thanks for your help.

the thinkbroadband speed tester has tick box options for what port it uses for the test - port 80 and something else (from memory). Try both and see if they are the same.

Skype may install itself as a service and not need to be "open" to consume bandwidth.

Put 'cmd' in the Run box of Start
type 'netstat' at the C:/> prompt

this shows up connections to the outside world. If you do it with the browser etc closed there shouldn't be many connections.

see http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.htm#anchor11 for how to find stats - as said earlier it'll be on router status / ADSL or similar page

Ok, I think I may have got the results of the tests - let me know if I have got the wrong ones and I'll try again.

Line Rate - 8127kbps downstream, 444 kbps upstream

Line attentuation - 24.5dB downstream, 10.5dB upstream

Noise margin - 18.9dB downstream, 26.8dB upstream

I've typed netstat into the command box, and it's come up with the following result

TCP acer-c6bac00326:12192 voyager.home.5431 TIME WAIT

TCP acer-c6bac00326:41148 voyager.home.5431 TIME WAIT

I can't say I understand any of that, but I'm guessing it is to do with my router? Should it not be there?

I have just attempted to do a think broadband speed test, with both boxes ticked, and it hasn't been succesful. Here is what it came up with.

Downloading 131070 bytes (0.12 MB) of data...
Uploading 131070 bytes (0.12 MB) of data...
** An error has occurred while testing **
A connection error occurred while testing. Please try again later.

Speed test stopped.

I'll try later as suggested, although I suspect maybe the error is connected to the problem I'm having.