Slow speeds with MBP and ethernet

I'm connected through ethernet at my dorm complex which was working fine until a week or so ago. Recently, the speeds have dramatically slowed down: It takes ages to load yahoo and pretty much all sites in general. I've tried calling my ISP which is time warner which offers roadrunner here and they insist that the slow speeds are due to the number of dowloads of music, movies, etc. However, I've attempted to see if it's my MBP that's acting up and not the ethernet. I made an appointment with a mac genius and we plugged the computer to the apple store's ethernet and it ran fine. However, here, it still runs slow. I also plugged my roommates laptop(running windows) to see if i'd get the same slow speeds and of course, his laptop ran at almost normal speeds.

Can i just get some feedback as to why my connection is so slow and any solutions? And is it my computer or the ethernet connection?

 

if people are getting normal speeds in the dorms, wouldn't that mean there is a problem with your laptop?

 

Someone posted similar about this. Connection speed dropped dramatically while using on campus ethernet. Basically their computer was identified as an iPhone and the data rates were reduced. He said the bandwidth issue was just a symptom of the network load.. but perhaps it has something to do with this filter.. It's worth a look. I can't believe that your system should be at fault if it works fine under other networks, and mean while your friends have no real issue on campus.

Look here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=167367&highlight=internet+problem

Just another note: you can try doing bandwidth tests at speakeasy.net
You could also call TW and have them transfer you to level3 tech for diagnostics.. Make sure they test packet loss.
Maybe there's an online utility for packet loss? Lastly.. try going online on Friday nights when everyone's drinking and partying.

Good luck: I remember how bad my College WiFi sucked.. it was litterally as slow as dial up most days.

 

Thanks for the feedback. However, time warner has been anything but helpful in this situation. I called their tech support and was routed to the national office which told me they could not run a line test because it is a courtesy account and they cannot access the modem. Then i was routed to the local office which agreed to send out a tech. I thought this would end my problems, and then i get a call from a rep from time warner saying that no technician would be sent because there is nothing they can do and that they do not have any authority over our network here. Only a technician from my dorm complex can troubleshoot the problem. I was told that speeds will "come and go" and by that he means that speeds will be the exact same at 7pm and at 7am in the morning: basically, speeds just never come. On top of that, i was told that it is normal to stare at a white screen for 20 seconds until my home page loads with the exorbitant amount of torrents that are aparently going 24/7. They told me the only solution to the problem is for the students to stop downloading and there was nothing they could do. In essence, i'm up a creek with my internet connection and to think that "At Time Warner serving our customers is our number one priority. That means providing you with the support you need to get the most out of your entertainment, information and communication choices."

 

You still haven't uncovered why your MBP internet runs "slower" than your friends laptop right? Anyhow, I know all too well the headaches of dealing with crappy internet. TimeWarner isn't really at fault here. There are channels you have to go through for help at your college IT department first. This is pretty standard. That is, if you're still trying to solve the discrepancy in performance between you and your friends computer. I know it's frustrating as all hell to basically be worse of than using dial-up. At my previous school, I spent 200 on a wireless card, only to discover the internet really really sucked. 3 years later during an upgrade, we learned that the poor service was because our entire school was being served on 2 T1 connections which caused a HUGE bottleneck... idiots. Chances are nothing short of divine intervention will get your school to invest in an adequate amount of internet service.

 

I know with my friends at one school, while in residence they could only download 500mb a week. As soon as they went over that their internet went really really slow like the way you were describing.
So maybe they cap the internet like that there? Try aksing around if theres a cap or something like that, might be the problem.