Can anyone tell me where in Vista do you find the actual speed that a thing is downloading at at any given time. I thought I used to just right click in tool bar at bottom where computers are that tell you are online but that might have been when I was on dial up. I'm now on broadband. I'm sure that I rarely get the speed that I am paying for and would like to check how I can improve it.Thanks, Zante.

Sorry I can't answer your question because "I don't know"

However, you will probably get a reasonably more accurate reading from somewhere like http://www.speedtest.net/

First stop any programs that may be downloading from the internet that you may have running.

If using this particular site, first select the "Yellow Pyramid" this is where you will be downloading and uploading a test file to and from, so chose somewhere reasonably close to yourself (but not too close)

You will find different readings depending on the time of day, night and location you chose.
But over a few tests it will give you a reasonable average.

Thank you. Zante

If you are connecting directly to the internet with a Modem (whether dialup or broadband), the speed shown in the System Tray / Notification Area will be your internet connection speed in kilobits per sec or Megabits per sec.

However, if you are connecting to a Router, the speed shown in the Notification Area will be the speed at which the PC and Router are communicating, normally 100Mbps for a "wired" connection and 54Mbps for "wireless". This is unrelated to your internet connection speed.

While downloading, a dialog box is usually displayed on screen which shows the speed in kilobytes per sec, so this figure needs to be multiplied by eight to give the speed in kilobits per sec for comparison with your internet connection speed.

The site at speedtest.net gives a reasonable indication of your connection speed, although I have downloaded large files from sites such as Microsoft at a higher speed than shown in checks with speedtest.net.

I used to have the thing in the system tray Mike but it is no longer there - I don't know if this is a vista thing or if it has happened since I went to broadband (Senior - can't remember!)
Have looked all over the place in vista and can't find it - was hoping that someone would know where to go to get it back. Cheers, Zante.

Right click the Taskbar, select Properties, then the "Notification Area" tab and tick the box for "Network". However, the icon in Vista isn't quite the same as the individual icons for each network adapter in XP.

Yes Mike I have that done and the computers are in the taskbar but there is nowhere (that I can find anyway) that tells you what speed you are getting for downloading. Before, I could click these and it would say ... perhaps ... 45 out of your possible 56. Having said that I think that would have been with XP and on dial up. Perhaps it doesn't do it on Vista. Zante.

It's the broadband that changes it Zante, expecially when you are connecting from your network card because it shows the LAN speed, not your Internet connection.

Nothing to do with it being Vista, it's the same on XP. Using a speed test site is the best, unless you download a program like Netlimiter.

Ah! and blush with shame etc! I have Firefox too but I just have never bothered to actually look at those windows!

Just as an interest thing - I got this from somewhere - I think it was in a link one of helpers gave me - what do you think of it :

Solution for slow speeds. - and I quote

After exhaustive diagnoses, and without getting the problem fixed, I decided to uninstall my NIC (Network Interface Card) drive, which was an onboard Realtek Ethernet card. So I removed it from the Device Manager. A popup prompted me whether to delete the driver software for this device, I chose Yes. After uninstallin, I issued an 'Scan for hardward changes' command to the Device Manager, it reinstalled my NIC. As soon as my NIC is installed, I tested my internet connection speed. It mysteriously went back to the normal! - unquote.



Would this just apply to the Realtek or would it be effective for any - if at all in all of you above's opinions?

Thanks for discussion on this - interesting and I learn a lot even if it doesn't apply. Zante.

Uninstalling the network adapter in Device Manager, Rebooting and letting Windows "find new hardware" and reinstall it shouldn't do any harm and, if there was a problem with the drivers, that should fix it, regardless of the make.

However, before doing so, run an application such as Belarc Advisor so you know exactly which network adapter you have and, if necessary, can get the drivers again from the manufacturer's website.

OK, thanks Mike I might try it just an exercise in doing stuff. Zante