New User Speed Problems

[LackingEmotions]

Hi, I am a new µTorrent user and am having trouble with my download/upload speeds. On average I get 12 kB/s down and 10 kB/s up. I have seen it go as high as 100 kB/s download and 65 kB/s (have since limited the upload speed), and was wondering if and how to maintain a higher rate. I have included any and all information (that I could find) that was requested by the moderator Ultima.

PC - HP Pavilion a430n

OS - Windows XP Operating System with SP2

Security - Symantec Client Security 3.1.4.4000 (Symantec Antivirus & Symantec Client Firewall)

Modem - Motorola SURFboard SB5101 (with assigned µTorrent port forwarded)

Router - Belkin F5D7230-4 Wireless-G

ISP – Time Warner Cable: RoadRunner High Speed Internet

Network connect flag is green (OK)

Port is correctly forwarded (and it says it's ok when I use the "Test if port is forwarded correctly" program)

µTorrent Preferences –

Global maximum upload rate (kB/s): [0: unlimited] – 22

Global maximum download rate (kB/s): [0: unlimited] - 0

Global maximum number of connections – 130

Maximum number of peers connected per torrent – 70

Number of upload slots per torrent – 3

Maximum number of active torrents (upload or download) - 2

Maximum number of active downloads – 1

Speakeasy Speed Test results-

Server Latency: 32ms

Download Speed: 3962 kbps (495.3 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 365 kbps (45.6 KB/sec transfer rate)

And µTorrent is "All Permitted" in the firewall

Also, I have applied the SP2 patch TCPIP.sys to 50 and 70 respectively and changed the net_max.halfopen to 50 and search these and other forums and followed many different suggestions to speed up the download/upload speeds.

Any help/tweaks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Ultima]

Hm. Did you try the test torrents listed in the first link in my signature?

[funchords]

Those settings look really good. If you're having speed problems with those settings, it's not due to your settings.

It could be that you're in a torrent swarm that is dying (most of the good peers have completed, and now the swarm is mostly people with misconfigured uploads that will give you less than 3 KB/s per peer).

Still, give it time. If you have 60 connections in your peer list, it takes up to 30 minutes to find the best reciprocators in the swarm.

[LackingEmotions]

Thanks Ultima and funchords ...

I downloaded the OpenOffice.org torrent (OOo_2.2.1_Win32Intel_install_wJRE_en-US) and here are the specs.

Total download time: 6:22

Maximum Download Speed: 458.7 kB/s

Average Download Speed: 299.2 kB/s

It was beautiful .... But besides this torrent I have been maxing out at like 180 kB/s and averaging around 30 kB/s. Why was the OpenOffice torrent soo fast and others soo slow (sorry I am new to the whole "torrent" thing)? Is there anything that I can do? Maybe specific sites to download them from? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks.

BTW: What exactly is OpenOffice? Should I install it? What does it do? Thanks again!

Update ... I am now maxing out at like 30 kB/s and averaging around 5 kB/s. I am still getting a "green light" and my port forwarding is fine. I have rebooted the PC, modem and router as well as changing my IP Address. Nothing has helped. Please advise. Thanks!

[kingchris626]

It's ridiculous. I can't get this thing to work either. It's driving me crazy

[Ultima]

@LackingEmotions: If the OOo torrent worked fine for you, then you're simply running into a problem with the swarm for the slower torrents. Torrents don't guarantee speeds, so there's nothing you can do about it (seeing as how things are set up almost properly for you). In the Speed Guide, select xx/384k, by the way.