G4 (Mac OS X 10.4.11) and Internet speed

[luceforall]

Hello community!

I have kept an old Mac because my favourite pastime is a MMORPG game for Macs, Oberin, that cannot be played yet on newer systems. With the help of more tech-wise friends, I have learnt that the Mac and its ethernet connection have a higher capacity and yet I hardly ever get a download speed greater than 5 MBps (even testing the speed on a webpage is a daunting task!). I have a Virgin Media router (Super-Hub 2ac) and on my Mavericks, which is connected via Wifi and sits next to the G4, I have speeds of around 50 MBps.

Is there a way of improving the internet speed or is this a lost cause?

Many thanks in advance of any help on the issue.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Which exact model G4 do you have?

C

 

[luceforall]

Hello,

Which exact model G4 do you have?

C

Hello and thanks for showing your interest! Mac OS x 10.4.11. Processor 533 Mhz Power PC G4. Memory 896 MB SDRAM.

 

[Cory Cooper]

No problem.

That should be a Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio) from 2001. It does have 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, so you should get faster than 5 Mbps.

Things that could be affecting the speed:
-Mac OS X 10.4.11
-Hard drive - is yours a 5400 rpm?
-Ethernet cable - make sure it's not a crossover cable
-Ethernet > Advanced network settings - is it set to Automatically or Manually? If Manually, what are the settings:

Ignore the orange box and arrow

C

 

[luceforall]

No problem.

That should be a Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio) from 2001. It does have 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, so you should get faster than 5 Mbps.

Things that could be affecting the speed:
-Mac OS X 10.4.11
-Hard drive - is yours a 5400 rpm?
-Ethernet cable - make sure it's not a crossover cable
-Ethernet > Advanced network settings - is it set to Automatically or Manually? If Manually, what are the settings:

Ignore the orange box and arrow

C

 

[luceforall]

Hello Cory and thanks again - sorry for the slight delay. Was waiting for my flat mate to help me a bit. OK, the hard drive is IBM Desktar 7200 RPM. Ethernet is set on automatic. Not sure what a cross over cable is - would you be patient enough to explain? My flat mate experimented by copying the Ethernet settings you show above but there was no change to the speed. Still hovers around 5 MBps.

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries.

It is best to keep the Ethernet settings set to Automatically. That image just shows what it would look like if set to Manually, and I wanted you to list them if you had changed them.

A standard Ethernet (patch or straight-through) cable vs Ethernet crossover cable:

Crossover cables are used to connect two computers directly, without an Ethernet switch/router/hub. You can tell which type yours is, by looking at the wires on both ends of the cable.

Let me look into it a bit further for additional suggestions.

C

 

[luceforall]

No worries.

It is best to keep the Ethernet settings set to Automatically. That image just shows what it would look like if set to Manually, and I wanted you to list them if you had changed them.

A standard Ethernet (patch or straight-through) cable vs Ethernet crossover cable:

Crossover cables are used to connect two computers directly, without an Ethernet switch/router/hub. You can tell which type yours is, by looking at the wires on both ends of the cable.

Let me look into it a bit further for additional suggestions.

C

I cannot thank you enough, regardless of results. If you need any help with some little translation from Italian into English or viceversa, or help with manipulating some image on Photoshop, I shall be glad to assist.

Annamaria

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello again,

You could check the connection speed using the Applications > Utilities > Network Utility app. Open it, and see what it states on the Info tab for Link Speed. You could also try a ping test in the Ping tab. enter google.com and click the Ping button.

Let me know the results.

C

 

[luceforall]

Hello Cory!

Link Speed shows 0 Megabytes. Link Status inactive. Ping is usually between 16 and 19 ms, but occasionally it shoots up to above 100 for a brief moment. In fact in such cases I do not lose Internet connection but I do get booted out of my favourite MMORPG game (a Mac only game), which frustrates me immensely

 

[Cory Cooper]

If you see Link Speed: 0 and Link Status: Active, then you aren't looking at your active Ethernet connection. You can click on the drop-down menu just below Select a network interface for information: and choose the one that gets you a speed greater than 0 and Active as a status.

Let me know what interfaces are listed there...i.e. Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc., and if there might be more than one Ethernet - i.e. Ethernet (2).

You could also try Set Service Order in Network preferences, and make sure Ethernet is at the top of the list.

C

 

[luceforall]

Hello Cory!

On the info tab of the Network Utility, the Network Interface (fw0) shows as I said before Link Speed 0 Mb and the Link Status inactive. There is only one other element in the scroll down menu: Network Interface (en0). This shows a Link Speed of 100 Mb and Link Status active. But it's not that you can select this second interface from here - if I close the window and then reopen, it shows the first interface again (the one with zero values). Remember this is an old system and has no wifi. It is connected by built-in ethernet. I have no Bluetooth hardware, if this is at all relevant.

Network is set to automatic and it shows Built-in Ethernet.

Many thanks, once again

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks.

(fw0) should be a FireWire interface. Ethernet will be (en0). So, that is showing correct.

As I mentioned previously, you could try reordering the network service in System Preferences... > Network:
1. In the Network preference pane, click the gear icon to the right of the + - buttons at the bottom left of the window
2. Select Set Service Order...
3, Click and drag Ethernet to the top of the list, then click OK

You can also disable the FireWire network interface as follows:
1. Click once on FireWire in list on the left to select
2. Click the same gear icon as above and select Make Service Inactive

Not sure why it is showing link speed as 100 Mbit/s, unless your router doesn't have a Gigabit Ethernet port, or you are using an older Cat 5 Ethernet cable that only supports 10/100 speed. You could try a Cat 5e or Cat 6 Ethernet cable to see if that helps.

C

 

[luceforall]

Me again!

Thanks for the latest. Took me a bit to sort out but this is all the window showed:

So I scrolled down and there were these options:

This is what I did - I selected Network Port Configurations. Firewire was not ticked anyway, so all I did was to drag ethernet at the top (was in the middle), but it made no difference to the speed.

I then searched the web for information on my Super Hub 2ac and founds it on this link:
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/virgin-media/1402804/virgin-media-superhub-2ac-review

The article said:-
"Four Gigabit Ethernet ports on the back ensure there are no speed bottlenecks, whether you connect your devices with a cable or via Wi-Fi. "

Finally, with the help of my flatmate, we established we have a Cat 5 ethernet cable. He experimented further - my computers are in a different room (but next to) the lounge, where the router is situated, so my Mac is connected by electricity socket. He unplugged the device that connects me and plugged it into his Mac which, being a little more advanced than the G4, has a speed of around 40MBPS download on wifi. switched his connection from wifi to ethernet and obtained the usual speed, so it is not the way I am connected that affects speed.

I will try and obtain a Cat 6 ethernet cable but, if this does not improve things, my flatmate suggests that maybe it is my ethernet card which limits the speed. Does this make sense to you?

Many thanks.

 

[luceforall]

Hello Cory!

I have some news: Yesterday a Virgin Media engineer came to check things and install a new Hub - Super Hub 3. The company also offered me a free upgrade to VIVID 100 Optical fibre for a year. I could certainly see the increased speed on the Mac Mavericks (connected via wifi) but it did not change anything for the G4. At this stage, would it stand to reason to assume that there is some limit imposed somehow by the built-in ethernet, or would a more sophisticated power line adaptor help at all? Apparently I have a basic one.

If you are still following this thread, many thanks!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Yes, I am still following. I will read this further, and give you a reply when time allows.

C

 

[luceforall]

Hello,

Yes, I am still following. I will read this further, and give you a reply when time allows.

C

Once again, many thanks, Cory!

I have established that it not a matter of power line adapter. Moved the G4 to the room where the router is and connected it directly to the router using a Cat 6 cable - no change to the internet speed, so must be something inside the machine!

Have an enjoyable weekend.

A.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Wow...this really has me stumped so far. Of course, older hardware will not be as fast as current Macs, but you should getting more than the speed you are getting.

I will have to consult with some friends/colleagues to see if they have any insight.

C

 

[luceforall]

Wow...this really has me stumped so far. Of course, older hardware will not be as fast as current Macs, but you should getting more than the speed you are getting.

I will have to consult with some friends/colleagues to see if they have any insight.

C

Many thanks for that - truly appreciated!