How to Fix My Download Speed
By Todd Bowerman
There's nothing more frustrating than slow downloads. Even if your computer is top of the line and super fast, you'll still be at the mercy of your Internet connection. Luckily, there are a few things you can do that will have a big impact on your download speed. If you're experiencing slow downloads, try these solutions and see how your experience improves.
Increase your DNS Cache
Click the "Start" button and select "Run." When the run prompt appears, type in the phrase "REGEDIT" and press "Enter."
Navigate to the following directory in your registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters.
Right-click on the white space to the right and add four new DWORD entries to the registry: CacheHashTableBucketSize, CacheHashTableSize, MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit and MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit.
Set the data values to the following decimal values: CacheHashTableBucketSize to 1, CacheHashTableSize to 384, MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit to 64000 and MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit to 301.
Restart your computer to save the changes to your registry. Your browser should experience a significant boost in speed upon restarting.
Clear Your Bandwidth
Load up the REGEDIT menu again by hitting "Start," "Run," then enter "REGEDIT" and hit the Enter key.
Locate the following registry entry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows.
Right-click on the Windows folder and create a new key, titled "Psched."
Right-click on the white space in the right panel, select "New" and choose "DWORD." Create a new DWORD entry named "NonBestEffortLimit."
Set the value of this new entry to zero. This will disable the Windows's automatic reserving of 20 percent of your bandwidth and should make your computer noticeably faster on the web.
References
Tips
- There are many tools that can analyze your connection speed and give recommendations on what steps will make things faster. Consider speaking with a networking expert for suggestions on these programs should your connection remain slow.
Warnings
- Be careful when editing files in the Windows registry. Adjusting or adding files to this sensitive area of your computer can cause irreparable harm if not done correctly.