Pauses in data transfer from internet (2002/SP2)

**rdashner1** · 2005-12-30 00:02

For the past month, data seems to stop for a while, while I'm using the internet. When browsing, windows partially load, then stall and then continue loading after 30 sec or a minute. Depending on the page content, it may never finish. I cannot seem to get streaming video to finish loading at all. Sites like TVguide channel load the ads first and may take ten minutes to finish. I use firefox for the most part but explorer acts the same way. Mail (using Eudora) coming to me with an attachment just sits for a time and finally flashes through to finish. I am on cable and testing in the past has always been high in speed. When the data transfer is working, it is still fast but it is these pauses with 0 transfer going on that makes it real frustrating.
Checked with my ISP and they confirmed that the signal is OK. Am using netgear router feeding an older win98 laptop and the data speed on the laptop is still OK. They suggested I uninstall my virus checker and firewall to test for problems there. I did both, one at a time (no difference,found), reinstalled. This computer is ECS MB, Pentium IV, 2.4, 1g ddr ram. I have been reading the posts here for WinXP, Hardware, and Security for weeks and have found nothing like my symptoms. I don't know what to try next.

**DocWatson** · 2005-12-30 03:17

Are You running any anti-malware software ??

**rdashner1** · 2005-12-30 09:53

I run Spysweeper, ZoneAlarm and E-trust antivirus and when this problem started, I ran Adaware and search & destroy and found nothing but the usual tracking cookies which I deleted.

**rdashner1** · 2005-12-30 10:31

Just prior to the delays in data transfer, I thought I had a memory problem. When running Musicmatch I would get an error message like (The instruction at "0x7c2821b2" referenced memory at "0x0000001c", the memory could not be "read" Click OK to terminate the program.). Also when correcting photos with photoshop, the first few would do OK and as more photos were worked on, the refresh took longer and longer. I downloaded the Windows Memory Diagnostics program, tested each memory chip individually (3) and the utility found that each of the three chips of memory were having errors. By the guide for the utility, three bad chips was unlikely so I thought maybe my MB was having a problem. Then the internet pauses started and I thought the network hardware built into the MB may also be having a problem.
I purchased a new ASUS board, installed it and found it was unable to boot beyond the screen asking for a normal boot, safe mode, safe mode w/ netw etc.,etc.) Whatever I chose, the unit went through the post and took me to the choice screen. I attempted to communicate with asus on their web site using the old laptop, but was unable to fill out the forms (the laptop has a mind of its own) and reinstalled the old board and sent in my problem description. The response came back to call as the problem seemed too complex for e-mail. I have not reinstalled the new board but am trying to see if there is something I can try with the current setup. I don't know if this is hardware, Windows or what?

**StuartR** · 2005-12-30 11:18

> The instruction at "0x7c2821b2" referenced memory at "0x0000001c", the memory could not be "read"
Is not a "memory error".

The hardware makes sure that virtual addresses such as 0x0000001c never map to actual physical memory. This helps to catch common programming errors where a programmer accidentally uses data as an address. The error message can also be caused by other faulty hardware causing data corruption.

StuartR

**Bob Archell** · 2005-12-31 20:04

Couple of possible suggestions...

1) You say that you are running SpySweeper. There is a known issue with the current version of SpySweeper and Java. Try turning off SpySweeper to see if the problem disappears. Refer to <post#=541251>post 541251</post#> for more information.

2) A couple of days ago I was building a new system and stripped an old system for some parts. While I had the old system opened up I decided to clean out the dust-bunnies and stripped the system completely and gave it a good hosing (air, not water). After reassembling the old unit, I powered up and the unit went into a pause mode like you described. That is, it would process information for a few minutes, hesitate for what seemed like 1 or 2 minutes and then started processing again only to be followed by the pausing problem. The pausing situation would not go away. What I did notice was that my Zone Alarm indicator in the System tray was flashing during the pauses. This led me to think the problem was with the network card. I powered down the system removed the network card and lo and behold, there was a tiny shred of material caught up in the gold connectors. Removal of the foreign material eliminated the pausing problem. So, my question might be...have you performed any like "cleansing" operation on your beast?

Cheers, Bob

**rdashner1** · 2006-01-01 14:40

Thank you Doc, Stuart and Bob for your replies.

Stuart - I don't understand what "virtual addresses" are. I am not a programmer. Are these references in a program and have nothing to do with hardware? Also, what hardware "other faulty hardware causing data corruption", do you believe could be causing the problem?

Bob - When I installed an upgrade to Spysweeper (at about the time this pausing started) the installation did not go so well. Usually it just installs, you reboot and you're done and you don't notice any changes. After this upgrade installed, it started popping up warning windows at odd times for stuff that which had previously been approved. I uninstalled the program and reinstalled the previous version. After a week or so of no problems, I downloaded a fresh copy of the upgrade and reinstalled it again. This time, install went OK and the program seemed to be running OK.
It was about the same time that I was exploring the possibility that my memory was bad and I did a general cleaning of the computer and reseated all of the components. The nic is integrated into the motherboard and I don't remember specifically cleaning it or the other external connections on the back of the unit. I'll try uninstalling the spysweeper and running without it for a while and I'll check all my plug-in points for foreign matter. If that doesn't do anything I can try to disable the on-board nic and using another from my old computer. Thank you very much for your suggestions.
Ray

**StuartR** · 2006-01-01 15:41

Ray,

Programs refer to "virtual memory". The operating system allocates some real physical memory to each process and the hardware sets up a mapping between program virtual addresses and real memory. Two copies of the same program can run at the same time, and each can refer to (say) address 1234560 - they will each be directed to a different bit of physical memory.

To catch a whole class of common programming errors, virtual addresses below about 2000 are never used, they are left as invalid addresses with no corresponding physical memory. If a programmer attempts to use one of these addresses then they get the error you showed.

This could be caused by a programming error, or by any faulty hardware that has changed a value - such as a faulty CPU, data path, memory chip or controller, disk controller etc.

StuartR

**rdashner1** · 2006-01-01 17:40

StuartR, thanks for the quick reply and explanation. I am trying to identify what is going on with my computer causing the various symptoms and trying to see if they are all related. Last night when I was going through a directory of photos in Photoshop Bridge by just hitting the down arrow, causing the photos to load in the display window one after the other, I was at about the twentieth photo, when the system just shut down and rebooted on its own. It did a scandisk and it then finished booting normally. It has occasionally done this, maybe once a month, usually while editing numerous photos. Is this to be expected, loading that much data, that fast with 1 GB of ram?

Bob - I didn't see anything in the connection port for the nic but I blew it out thoroughly with compressed air and I have disabled spysweeper. I have had Musicmatch Jukebox streaming radio (cd quality) running for about 45 min now without any breaks. At the same time I have been browsing with Firefox. The first time I went to the TV Guide site, it fully loaded right away but when I went back to the home page (NY Times) it sat there for a while and in the lower left of the taskbar it said "looking up nytimes.com" (for 15-20 sec.) then it loaded. Isn't there a local file which keeps track of the internet addresses of frequently visited sites and should it forget where to go? Though the web page didn't load right away, musicmatch didn't quit so the data stream was maintained.
Ill leave the computer set up this way for a few days and see if it functions properly. I only use firefox so the difficulty with IE and spysweeper is probably not the problem. I only use IE on those sites which are set up with activex forms and such where firefox will just not work.

**StuartR** · 2006-01-01 19:30

This sounds like a hardware fault to me, could be memory, motherboard or CPU. It is not expected behaviour.

StuartR

**rdashner1** · 2006-01-02 01:24

Is it possible (likely) that these types of hardware faults could be related to the internet data transfer pauses as well? Are there ways to test the cpu or motherboard? I ran the tests on my memory sticks and the tests identified errors in all three sticks(2ea. Kingston 256 & 1 generic 512). The test guide indicated that if all are showing errors, it is more likely that the difficulty is elsewhere.
Though the computer ran quite well this afternoon as I noted above, this evening, pages are taking forever to load which is the usual problem

Ray

**StuartR** · 2006-01-02 09:08

The easiest way to identify which component is faulty is to replace things one at a time till the fault goes away! There are some diagnostic programs around that can help to verify that everything is working, but when they fail they can't reliably tell you which component is responsible.

Since all three of your RAM sticks fail, we can assume that the fault is unlikely to be one of them, so I guess the next two things to suspect are Motherboard and CPU. Do you have a spare of either laying around? Depending on how old they are you might want to just go out and buy a new motherboard/CPU bundle.

StuartR

**rdashner1** · 2006-01-02 14:16

Before I posted to the Lounge, I suspected the mb might be going away. Since I built the unit in April of '03, I have had few problems until just lately. First, my DVD rom drive stopped seeing disks, It shows up in My Computer but does not function. I tried using a cleaning disk but no go. Decided that the drive had failed but I also have a DVD burner so I just used that instead. Next was the apparent memory problem with occasional freezes, unexpected reboots and errors when using high data programs. Last were the pauses when accessing the internet.

I bought an ASUS mb last month and attached is the letter I sent to their tech outlining the problems I encountered after installation. Their response was to call them during their normal tech service hours. I hesitated to reinstall the board because I then cannot communicate other than by phone. As an aside, when I reinstalled my original board after the Asus, my a: drive would no longer work. It would only say that this disk is not formatted, would you like to format it now. So now I have no a: either. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and reinstall the new board and give them a call. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be the processor.

StuartR, thank you very much for your patience and advice. I'll post my results, when I get this resolved

Ray

**StuartR** · 2006-01-02 19:28

Good luck, let us know what happens.

StuartR

**rdashner1** · 2006-02-07 23:35

Don't know if you'll remember this problem but I finally talked to the ASUS tech people about the new motherboard this evening. Prior to that, since changing a board a second time is a job I am not crazy about, I thought I'd explore one more avenue. I purchased a new WD hard drive (on sale) and decided to install everything from scratch to eliminate the possibility that my software was broken somewhere. I kept the old drive in the computer as a secondary master and reinstalled windows and the most important programs I use. I was able to migrate most preferences from the original HD for most of the programs. However, since the first hookup with Internet Explorer behaved exactly as before, I know that software wasn't the problem.
I hen disabled the onboard nic and installed a netgear nic I had in a previous computer. The drivers loaded up fine but I still had exactly the same problem. So this weekend I reinstalled the new board and it still would not boot past the 'unusual shutdown" "choose normal, safe mode, etc." I tried all combinations of the old drive as the primary master, the new drive as the primary master and cableing, and on and on. I finally reinstalled the original motherboard again, booted up just fine and the internet still is the same, turning on and off.
When I talked to the tech at ASUS he said that the new motherboard would not be able to boot with a hard drive that had an operating system already on it since it would be looking for all the old mb settings. He suggested that I should reformat my hard drive, leaving it blank and reinstall the new ASUS board and then reinstall windows from the Window cd. Since I have spent the last week and a half installing the stuff I use on the new hard drive, this does not come as good news. This whole post is moving more toward the hardware section, but I would like to know what any of you would think about this suggestion by the tech. I thought I had changed motherboards in the past without having to redo the whole system. I thought it only involved installing the new mb drivers. It was a few years ago now so I'm really not sure. Thanks! Ray

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