Q: Why are my MacBooks so slow on the network when everything else is fast?

(a virus on both?)

Macs running OSX do not get viruses.  Your ISP rep only said that because he/she could not figure out what is wrong or even if the problem is on their end instead of yours.

1.  Connecting directly to ethernet (and turning off AirPort).

If your MBP is slow even when connected to the ethernet, there could be a number of reasons for this.  One of them is that the ISP is the problem.  You need to contact them and speak w/a senior tech who is familiar w/Macs.  These techs are usually Tiers 2 & 3 top level support.

Take a Speedtest & give your ISP the results: 

Another reason could be you do not have enough HD space.  How large is you HD and how much space do you have left?

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You may already tried a few of the following:

Try the basics first:

   Change your router channel number.  Most times this works & is all you have to do.

Disconnect & reconnect your modem.  unplug it for about 10 seconds.  Plug it back in.  Do the same for Apple’s routers.  Wait for everything to reboot.

System Preferences>Network

Click the Assist Me button.

In the next window that pops up, click the Diagnostic button & do the necessary.

Research Knowledge Base for network problems that pertain to the OS that is currently installed on your computer.   See these basic networking KB Articles:  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1401 AirPort troubleshooting guide

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712 Using network locations in Mac OS X

Manually provided DNS server addresses are higher priority than DHCP's

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1714 Solutions for connecting to the Internet, setting up a small network, and troubleshooting

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What to do when you can't connect to the Internet

Also, run the Airport Utility app which is located inside the Utilities folder.

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If using a  Linksys router, contact LinkSys Customer Support and/or post in their forums.

If using Apple's Airport, please re-post over in one of the AirPort Forums.

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THANK YOU very much for stating/listing all your troubleshooting efforts.  Very much appreciated.

Head to System Preferences > Network > Airport > Advanced >TCP/IP and turn off iPV6.

Delete the GoogleDNS entries so ti reverts to your ISP's DNS and reboot.

https://support.apple.com/kb/TS3802

bowsplash wrote:

 

Thank you for the suggestions.  I agree that my ISP rep looked a little confused by my problem.  He was comfortable using Terminal (at least for basic network queries--more than I know how to do).

 

Although I physically have the ISP's router in my apartment, the ISP has changed the password, and I'm unable to change channels (though that shouldn't explain the peristent problem on ethernet).  I've tried restarting it many times, including unplugging it.

 

I just emptied my trash (and restarted the computer).  500gb HD, 24gb free. No change in performance.

You're running out of HD space.  That's the problem.

Empty the trash in the Dock as well as iPhoto’s trash!

Open up your application folder & go through all your apps.  Trash all the apps you no longer want and/or use.

An easier way to do this is to open the Application folder in list view & press the Command+j keys.

In the the dialog that appears, click the "This Window Only" button & the "Calculate All Sizes" check box.

Wait a bit until your file & folder sizes have all been calculated, then click the "Size" column to sort your apps from the fattest to the most anorexic.

Get rid of all your photo files you don't want and/or need.  Same goes for those pics off the websites you downloaded (gifs, jpegs, etc.).  Or transfer/move them all to a photo/movie storage site like ImageShack and Photobucket, 2 of the most popular  FREE  storage sites.

Get rid of all your video & music files you no longer view and/or listen too.  Especially, if you already have the actual CD/DVDs or you can later redownload from a website.  Or transfer them all to a FREE video/movies and/or music storage site.

Use Spotlight to make sure you got rid of everything.  You can even trash directly from Spotlight!  Better yet, download this FREE software called Find File.  This app puts Spotlight to shame (works w/Mountain Lion).

Drag what you don't want and/or need to the trash.  Better yet, download this neat little shareware app *demo* called AppZapper.  It basically does all the work for you by not only trashing the apps but the apps preference files, caches & all its associated files.

Another software that does the above is AppDelete.  Best of all this software is free!

Burn what you want and/or need onto CDs or DVDs. Not everyone has the  luxury of purchasing an external HD and/or the system requirements for iCloud to store their "stuff.”

Dropbox is a free storage utility to check out.

You can check with your ISP to see if they offer *free* storage space.  Most if not all do now-a-days.   There are thousands if not millions of *free* storage facilities on the web also.  Use your favorite search engine to search them out as they come in different storage sizes to fit your needs & wants.

Check for duplicate fonts.

Applications>Font Book

Select “All Fonts”

If you see any “black dots” next to any fonts this mean you have duplicates and/or multiple versions of these fonts.

To clean this up, select a “black dotted” font or the Apple + *click* to select multiple dotted fonts;

Edit>Resolve>Duplicates.

What the above does is turns off the duplicates & multiple version fonts.  Not delete them.

More than likely the “extras” were installed by other programs and/or other users.

Clear out font caches

Use FontNuke.  It does all the work for you.  And, best of all it’s *FREE*.

Printer Drivers

Get rid of all the printer drivers you don’t need & use except the ones for your *current* printer(s)/scanner(s).

HD>Library>Printers Folder

If you accidently threw something out that you needed for your printer/scanner it can be easily obtained from the manufacturer’s website and/or from the CD that came w/the printer/scanner.

Garage Band

Has about 1GB of loops stored.  Get rid of some some them.  You surely don’t use, like and/or need them all.

HD>Library>Audio/Apple Loops>Apple>Apple Loops For GarageBand

Or just get rid of the Garage Band app altogether if you don’t use it.

Get rid of extra languages

Strip your computer down to your “native” tongue.

You can do this with a *FREE* utility called Monolingual.  Another app that apparently does all the work for you.  I’ve never used it.  However, a lot of users here swear by & recommend it highly.

However, there is a warning for *native English speakers*. Make sure you keep BOTH English and English (United States).

Other Resources:

HD Space Checkers:

Disk Inventory X (FREE)

WhatSize (SHAREWARE)

OmniDiskSweeper (FREE)

GrandPerspective (FREE - donation)

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Mac Performance Guide

Slimming your hard drive

Rule of thumb: You should never let your hard drive get to where you have only 10-15% of space left.

Quick fix

How To Quickly Free Up Hard Drive Space on Mac OS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO-mlLApEuk

Boot into Recovery mode. From the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. While in Recovery, you'll have no access to your saved bookmarks or passwords, so make a note of those before you begin, if they're needed for the test.

Test. After testing, reboot as usual and post the results.

If all the information you've provided is accurate, the problem is not caused by anything in your computer. It's either in your router or at your ISP.