Online Gaming Issue.

ManBearPig

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I have no idea what is causing this my pc or my isp...



The "In:" will go from a low number (usually ranging from 100-400) to a very high number (ranging from 1000-6000) and it causes me lag...its gotten so bad recently that I haven't been able to play any of my online games...Ive had this problem for atleast a year now and every time I ask someone whats wrong they never give me a positive answer.





If you don't know don't respond...I'm all for opinions but if yours don't relate to my pc problem take it elsewhere :)
 
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As long as your FPS stays decent (above 15-25), the problem would be your ISP. Who's your ISP and how much bandwidth are you paying for?
 
also are you running wireless, wired, what kinda of router and are you running any torrents or anything else that would be pulling bandwidth while you play.
 
yeah as long as your FPS is up, it is something to do with what you are downloading, or if your bandwidth is being pulled by your ISP
 
I use comcast....ive talked to them on the phone too many times to count...the router is a Motorola Surfboard cable modem. How would i know if my bandwidth is being pulled and im not quite sure what bandwidth is could you explain? :)
 
bandwidth is the capacity for a given system to transfer data over a connection
(definition off of wikipedia)

Basically if they start "pulling" your bandwidth they are letting less information travel to your computer, causing lag spikes because the information is like going to high-speed to being on a 56k modem.

They start capping it after a while because they are trying to give all their customers the same connection, and because cable modem is a shared connection, if you are pulling past their bandwidth cap, they will essentially slow you down (this is done by software they have in their main servers)

Hope this explains better?
 
I just got off the phone with comcast...they told me my internet was working fine...I hopped in game and told them to monitor my internet connection and when i got a spike they still had good status on their end...so im clueless. How do I know my crap pc isn't causing this?
 
Bandwidth... what kind of internet are you paying for? 1.5MB/s, 128k, etc. It should say on your bill at least.

You might want to give this program a look. It should be able to tell you where the internet traffic on your PC is going.
 
Well, the first thing is there needs to be a clear understanding of what the "in/out" specifically means. It doesn't refer to anything about bandwidth, per se, or packets. It refers to the size of the last packet sent to and from the server.

So, if you see "in" progressing to higher and higher numbers, then I could see where that's going to be a problem. Your PC will have to be process bigger and bigger packets. Packets which really shouldn't be that big and will likely cause CPU issues because the process of processing the packet and updating the game becomes more and more difficult.

When I play, my in/out numbers only sometimes get larger than 200 and very rarely get larger than 350 or so. Depends on what I'm doing. When first joining a server, they're larger than just playing.

If you're getting progressively larger and larger in numbers, I'm going to guess (WAG here) that there's something up with your IP stack. Per chance, have you loaded any offbeat software that messes with your network settings at all? Install a new ActiveX control, something for IRC?

It *could* be your ISP, but I'd highly doubt it. ISP's shy away from content padding of packets and frames because if they started to do that, then they would be responsible for content. Right now, there's a concept called Safe Harbor which shields them from liability.

It could also be some type of trojan or virus trying to piggyback on Steam related traffic. Check your PC and make sure everything that's running is what you expect and want.
 
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If you're getting progressively larger and larger in numbers, I'm going to guess (WAG here) that there's something up with your IP stack. Per chance, have you loaded any offbeat software that messes with your network settings at all? Install a new ActiveX control, something for IRC?

The only thing ive downloaded recently is the Net balancer suggested in this thread. This problem has been around for the good part of a year and only now (within the last month) has gotten worse. Whats IP stack?

It could also be some type of trojan or virus trying to piggyback on Steam related traffic. Check your PC and make sure everything that's running is what you expect and want.

Thats about the only thing pc related i can do right is maintain what programs i want and what ones i dont. How would i know if its trying to piggyback on steam?
 
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Comcast has been known to cap people's connection.


Do you have XP or Xista?

Are you using a wireless connection?
 
Ah, I had to reset the IP stack in XP once. I don't remember why, but (fortunately), it can be done. So if ScrappyDoo is right, this should fix your problem. Note: This is for XP. Vista instructions below.

Use a manual method to reset TCP/IP
Note This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, ask someone for help or contact Support. For information about how to contact Support, see the Microsoft Help and Support contact information Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/contactus (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus)
In Windows XP, a reset command is available in the IP context of the NetShell utility. Follow these steps to use the reset command to reset TCP/IP manually:

1. To open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box and then press ENTER:
cmd
2. At the command prompt, copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:
netsh int ip reset c:resetlog.txt
Note If you do not want to specify a directory path for the log file, use the following command:
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt

When you run the reset command, it rewrites two registry keys that are used by TCP/IP. This has the same result as removing and reinstalling the protocol. The reset command rewrites the following two registry keys:

SYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParameters
SYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesDHCPParameters


To run the manual command successfully, you must specify a file name for the log, in which the actions that netsh takes will be recorded. When you run the manual command, TCP/IP is reset and the actions that were taken are recorded in the log file, known as resetlog.txt in this article.

The first example, c:resetlog.txt, creates a path where the log will reside. The second example, resetlog.txt, creates the log file in the current directory. In either case, if the specified log file already exists, the new log will be appended to the end of the existing file.

Link to article.

And in Vista...

Resetting your whole IP stack in Vista
Scott Hanselman had a useful blog post, listing steps to reset the whole network IP stack in Windows Vista. It solved my problem the first time, so I thought I would pass It along here.

* Go to the Start Menu, type cmd and right click or (Ctrl + Shift and hit Enter), and select "Run As Administrator"
* Type the following commands, each followed by pressing enter.

o ipconfig /flushdns
o nbtstat -R
o nbtstat -RR
o netsh int reset all
o netsh int ip reset
o netsh winsock reset

Or another helpful command:

* netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

Hope this might solve any problems you might have with Vista's new networking stack.

Link to article.

Good luck!
 
Comcast has been known to cap people's connection.


Do you have XP or Xista?

Are you using a wireless connection?


The people i talked to yesterday swore up and down they didnt tamper with peoples connections...I have XP and no im not using a wireless connection


Mrcool i did what the quotes said...still lagging so that was not the issue :(

i appreciate all the help yall.
 
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Have you done any spyware/adware/registry cleaners/ or virus scans lately. Also i would try a defrag of your system. because those should get rid of any trojans or things that might be piggybacking on your steam. Ah if you need any suggestions of some good cleaners just pm me and i will send you a list of stuff i get for free.
 
If you are using a wireless router, be sure to check that your network is secure. If it isn't you can be giving away free internet to your neighbor billy bob. If comcast says your internet is fine on their end, that's what it sounds like. If not, have you tried new firmware for the modem/router, and their are spyware infections that will slow your internet down.
 
The people i talked to yesterday swore up and down they didnt tamper with peoples connections...I have XP and no im not using a wireless connection


Mrcool i did what the quotes said...still lagging so that was not the issue :(

i appreciate all the help yall.

Just a note, Comcast does tamper with connections. But I don't think you have to worry about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast#Network_Neutrality


Try going to http://www.dslreports.com/tools

and trying the tests "Tweak Test" and "Line Quality Testing". You might have to register...
 
it seems the net_maxfragments and net_maxroutable are supposed to be set to 1260, which is then supposed to be the largest packet size. maybe you could check those settings, manbearpig?
 
it seems the net_maxfragments and net_maxroutable are supposed to be set to 1260, which is then supposed to be the largest packet size. maybe you could check those settings, manbearpig?

This sounds very promising...ill post with results :D

Edit: Still Laggy :(

I'm no computer expert but it dont seem to be my internet. What are the chances it my pc...i mean this thing is almost 5 years old.
 
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