Gil Dawson
Level 1 (89 points)
Desktops

Q: Wi-Fi slow, Ethernet no workee

We have a Mac Mini 1,1 2007 on 10.6.8 that's been working fine for years via Wi-Fi and connected via HDMI to our TV set.  Lately, movies through the Mini have been ragged, so we've been using our Roku and our Blu-Ray player, also via Wi-Fi, to show excellent movies.  Recently, the Mini has slowed to the point that even webservers have become too slow, so we decided to run a Cat5 cable to check it out.  I brought my MacBook Pro running El Capitan in to set beside it.  Here are the results of our tests:

 

Wi-Fi with the Mini tested 3.6 download; while the MacBook Pro in the same place got 12.6 download.

 

Ethernet with the MacBook Pro got 11.6 download (yes, a little bit slower), but the Ethernet to the Mini wouldn't work well enough to even run a test.  The green light in System Preferences -> Network would come on only after four or five minutes, and then websites would time out with both Safari and Firefox.

 

Activity Monitor on the Mini during the Wi-Fi speed test got nominal results:

 

CPU ±75% idle

Memory 1.21GB out of 2GB free

Disk Activity ±1 KB peak (seems low)

Disk Usage 3.15 GB free out of 60GB (it's full)

Network 900 Kbits per second peak (very slow)

 

What might cause the Mini to be so slow with its internet connections?  My partner says we need a new computer, and I agree, but I'd still like some idea what could be failing that might cause this dramatic slowdown.

 

Do you have any ideas what might be going on, or what else we might test for?

 

--Gil

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6.8), null

Posted on Sep 21, 2016 11:17 AM

by BDAqua,Solvedanswer
BDAqua BDAqua
Level 10 (123,905 points)
A:

Ig freeing up space doesn't help...

 

Make a New Location, Using network locations in Mac OS X ...

 

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712

 

10.5, 10.6, 10.7 & 10.8…

 

System Preferences>Network, top of window>Locations>Edit Locations, little plus icon, give it a name.

 

 

10.5.x/10.6.x/10.7.x/10.8.x instructions...

 

System Preferences>Network, click on the little gear at the bottom next to the + & - icons, (unlock lock first if locked), choose Set Service Order.

 

The interface that connects to the Internet should be dragged to the top of the list.

 

10.4 instructions...

 

Is that Interface dragged to the top of Network>Show:>Network Port Configurations.

If using Wifi/Airport...

 

Instead of joining your Network from the list, click the WiFi icon at the top, and click join other network. Fill in everything as needed.

 

For 10.5/10.6/10.7/10.8, System Preferences>Network, unlock the lock if need be, highlight the Interface you use to connect to Internet, click on the advanced button, click on the DNS tab, click on the little plus icon, then add these numbers...

 

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

 

(There may be better or faster DNS numbers in your area, but these should be a good test).

Click OK.

 

If that doesn't work try changing channels on your Router.

 

http://x704.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6291&p=76975#p76975

 

Also, turn off IPv6:

System Preferences » Network » AirPort » TCP/IP tab » Configure IPv6

 

Or whatever Interface you use.

 

 

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712

Posted on Sep 23, 2016 5:10 PM

Close
Gil Dawson

Q: Wi-Fi slow, Ethernet no workee

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Sep 21, 2016 11:22 AM in response to Gil Dawson
    Level 10 (123,905 points)
    Sep 21, 2016 11:22 AM in response to Gil Dawson

    I'd free up about 30 GB on the Mini & see what happens.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Sep 21, 2016 11:23 AM in response to Gil Dawson
    Level 10 (123,905 points)
    Sep 21, 2016 11:23 AM in response to Gil Dawson

    Also...

     

    Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this happens.

  • by Gil Dawson,

    Gil Dawson Gil Dawson Sep 21, 2016 6:48 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (89 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 21, 2016 6:48 PM in response to BDAqua

    Great suggestions, BD! 

     

    Clearing up free space will take a while...  calculating folder sizes now.

     

    However, I did open the console and run the test again.  Although there have been messages all day before the period of the test, during the speed test I closed all apps except Firefox, and nothing got logged.  I scanned the entire list of log files (opening some of the disclosure triangles, but not every), and only one message appeared during the test:

     

    • Under FILES -> parallels.log, one message appeared during that period, but that message appears every five minutes regardless.  It's "18:06:50.566 F /pvsHostInfo:300:B040F000/   [GetCDList] Can not get dictionary value "od-media-type"

         [such grammar!]

     

    Keep in mind that the Mini works OK by itself.  Transferring files between its internal and external disks, playing a movie off an external disk and generally working with applications all work at a familiar speed.  It's just the internet operations -- via Wi-Fi and especially Ethernet -- that have become unusually slow.

     

    Thanks for the suggestions, BD.

     

    --Gil

  • by BDAqua,Solvedanswer

    BDAqua BDAqua Sep 23, 2016 5:10 PM in response to Gil Dawson
    Level 10 (123,905 points)
    Sep 23, 2016 5:10 PM in response to Gil Dawson

    Ig freeing up space doesn't help...

     

    Make a New Location, Using network locations in Mac OS X ...

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712

     

    10.5, 10.6, 10.7 & 10.8…

     

    System Preferences>Network, top of window>Locations>Edit Locations, little plus icon, give it a name.

     

     

    10.5.x/10.6.x/10.7.x/10.8.x instructions...

     

    System Preferences>Network, click on the little gear at the bottom next to the + & - icons, (unlock lock first if locked), choose Set Service Order.

     

    The interface that connects to the Internet should be dragged to the top of the list.

     

    10.4 instructions...

     

    Is that Interface dragged to the top of Network>Show:>Network Port Configurations.

    If using Wifi/Airport...

     

    Instead of joining your Network from the list, click the WiFi icon at the top, and click join other network. Fill in everything as needed.

     

    For 10.5/10.6/10.7/10.8, System Preferences>Network, unlock the lock if need be, highlight the Interface you use to connect to Internet, click on the advanced button, click on the DNS tab, click on the little plus icon, then add these numbers...

     

    208.67.222.222

    208.67.220.220

     

    (There may be better or faster DNS numbers in your area, but these should be a good test).

    Click OK.

     

    If that doesn't work try changing channels on your Router.

     

    http://x704.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6291&p=76975#p76975

     

    Also, turn off IPv6:

    System Preferences » Network » AirPort » TCP/IP tab » Configure IPv6

     

    Or whatever Interface you use.

     

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712

  • by Gil Dawson,

    Gil Dawson Gil Dawson Sep 23, 2016 5:08 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (89 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 23, 2016 5:08 PM in response to BDAqua

    You did it, BD!  You saved a perfectly good computer from eWaste!  We're now getting 12.1 on Ehternet and 9-something on Wi-Fi!

     

    I'm not sure which of your suggestions did the trick, but I suspect more than one.

     

    I couldn't free up all 30 GB (the poor internal drive has only 60, and the System plus Library are over thirty), but I got it a bit over ten, and the whole machine became more responsive.

     

    Also, making a new Location caused me to review all my settings, and the DNS for one Ethernet Location was left over from an earlier ISP.  That could've been a big part of it.

     

    Thanks, BD, for your very helpful suggestions.  They worked!

     

    (And eWaste will just have to wait a little longer for this bad boy.)

     

    --Gil

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Sep 24, 2016 5:55 AM in response to Gil Dawson
    Level 10 (123,905 points)
    Sep 24, 2016 5:55 AM in response to Gil Dawson

    Great news Gil, thanks & good luck!