Why is my download speed much slower than my download speed? Huh?

Okay, that was kind of a silly way to ask it, but here's my question: I am using cable internet and downloading a 6 MB file (Opera web browser installer), and it's taken several minutes.





IE 7.0 says the file is downloading at only about 12 KB/sec. But the Network Magic internet speed test says my download speed is over 10 MB/sec, nearly 10 times faster.





So if my download speed is 10 MB/sec, why is the file downloading at only 12 KB/sec? And what can I do about it?





Thanks!

Why is my download speed much slower than my download speed? Huh?
It take 2 to tango, so it may have been just the Opera site that was slow or the "mirror" you chose to download from.





You may have a 10Mbps connection BUT the Opera site may not be able to sustain that speed because it is trying to service too many cutomers at once.





Test it on multiple sites


When I went to the Opera Website to download it, they happen to have like 20 download sites to choose from.





Try downloading something from Microsoft.com (OR fileplanet if you're into games), etc. -- This will hopefully test if it's slowness on the other end or not.





Also realize that your Cable Internet Provider, like all ISPs rate their connection in MegaBITS not MegaBYTES. Windows generally displays download speeds in KiloBYTES not KiloBITS.


The difference between a BIT and a BYTE is a factor of 8, as there are 8 bits to every byte.





So your 6Mb connection probably translates into 750KBps downloads.. because you need to divide your ISPs number by 8 then by 1000 to convert to KBs.
Reply:The download speed being shown by your network magic is probably the speed of the connection between your computer and the modem/router, the box that sits between you and your computer. This has nothing to do with your actual connection to the internet, it is just a theoretical maximum.





When your internet connection is defined as, say, 8Mb/s, this is different to 8MB/s: b is bits, B is bytes. Bytes are 8 bits, so the actual real download speed in megabytes per second, the standard unit of measurement, is 8 times slower than the advertised connection speed, which by itself is only reached in some areas: my broadband connection is about 2/3Mb/s, when it should be 'up to' 8.
Reply:You download speed depends on several factors.





1. Rate that your ISP given you.


2. Site you download from


3. %26amp; the amount of traffic at the moment you do your download.





Basically your ISP download is fine...you have a 30" dia pipe, but the site you downloading limit their download rate to 1/10 of that. Lastly, if you download in early morning or late at night...those time are faster since there is less traffic.
Reply:actaully its nearly 1000 times faster aproximately 1000kb=1mb but anyway it might be that you are trying to download several things at once and they are splitting the bandwidth or you might be on a network and other people are using the connection and you are splitting the bandwidth with them, or you could have alot of spyware, viruses and stuff of that nature, it could be several different things.
Reply:Just because your line is CAPABLE of downloading 10/mb second, doesnt mean the sender on the other end is CAPABLE of sending it to you at 10/mb second.


The transfer only goes as fast as its slowest part.





Your car is CAPABLE of 100 mph. That doesnt mean it ALWAYS drives at 100mph.





You have to contend with all the other traffic on the net as well.





What can you do? Nothing, thats the way it is.
Reply:It has to deal with the upload rate of the server you are downloading from too. So thats why your speed is slower then what it should be.
Reply:You are connected to a computer that is sending out the same progam to lots of people at the same time.