Ok, so as some of you may have read before in different threads, I am confined to a god-awful 26.4k dial-up connection(yes, it svcks). Well, for the last 3 months, it has been particularly worse then normal. I mean, before 3 months ago, my Trillian would load fine, I coudl get any webpage to load as long as I had a bit of patience, and I didn't have to fiddle with any settings. All that has changed though. In the last 3 months, my Trillian rarely loads, and when it does, it's either ICQ, or AIM. Never both at the same time. I can't get a lot of webpages to load unless I go in and fiddle with the internet settings(min-max Send/Receive settings). Some pages are virtually unloadable no matter what.

I use a Plug-in External USB Modem because there isn't enough room inside my computer case for an internal modem. Now, the reason I'm wondering if it could be the USB port's fault, is because I've also started having trouble with any device that plugs INTO my USB ports. iPOD, Digital Camera, printer, Flash Drives. About 2/3rds of the time I try to plug one of those devices in, I get wierd errors that pop up, and the other 1/3rd of the time, the devices seem to be working at a snails pace. It's not just one USB port either, it's all of them. So, hence my idea that maybe it's a USB Port.

I've already eliminated the possibility that it's My phone line(Phone works fine, called phone company, they confirmed there are no issues that they can see), I've also eliminated the possibility it's the Modem itself(I reaaaallly thought it was the modem, mainly because I've had a lot of modems get fried, simply because I live on top of a mountain, and we get a LOT of power outages due to lightning strikes) by buying a new one, and it worked exactly the same as the old one(so I took the new one back, cuz those external modems are freaking 50 bucks!). I've also called my ISP provider, NFIS in Hagerstown, and I'm ASSUMING there is nothing wrong on their end, as even though I've called them half a dozen times, they've never called back, which is what they normally do when there is something wrong on their end.

So, could it be faulty USB ports? And if is, how do I fix them? Would I have to buy an all new Motherboard? Honestly, if I do, I'll probably do it, I've been looking around, and I think I wouldn't mind upgrading anyways, simply because my motherboard is showing it's age, and it can't even support DDR3 ram. But, I would rather not if at all possible for now.

Unless you feel like soldering stuff onto your motherboard, then you'll probably need to get a new one.

That is, if the USB is hardwired into the motherbord itself. If it's a PC, however, you could try to jury-rig it by buying a card with a USB hookup and putting it into one of the expansion ports (where you plug the Video and Sound card.) But if the motherboard is showing it's age, that would be a temporary fix at best. You'll need to replace it, eventually. If it's old enough, you'll need to end up buying a new CPU for it as well. 'Course, the good news is that if it's that old, the cheapest Motherboard/CPU combo will be far more advanced than your current Motherboard/CPU.

Hmm, I know if the USB ports are faulty, I'll have to replace the motherboard, but that doesn't answer my main question as to whether or not faulty USB ports could be the cause of my massive internet slowdown

Oh, and, I remembered another lousy thing that's happened in the last 3 months, and that's that while some of my downloads still do ok, I frequently get speeds as low as bits. Yes, bits, not just bytes, but bits. It's bad enough that normally I have to d/l stuff at 2k-3.1k, but when it slows down into the bit-byte range, it's literally impossible.

You don't have a single empty PCI slot for a modem? :blink:

It's not that I don't have an empty slot, it's that there isn't enough room. I ordered this computer a while back(before I found out how much cheaper it is to build one myself(that and I'm not sure I have the confidence to build my own really), and the company I ordered it from had to call me and tell me they couldn't fit an internal modem inside the computer with the case I had ordered, so they were including an external modem for me to use instead. And believe me, it is pretty cramped in there.

That's weird. Most modems are really small.

Too cramped for http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008185%20600013825%20600013764&IsNodeId=1&name=PCI%20Bus%20%28Plug%20%26%20Play%29

Yeah. believe me, I'm accustomed to what internal modems look like, having had multiple ones throughout the years. I have dual Graphics cards that are fairly large

Hmm, ya know, after looking inside the case(since I'm not sure I ever actually bothered to see if I did have an extra PCI slot, having just taken their word that an internal modem couldn't fit), i don't think i do have an extra one(Side of my case is clear plastic so I can see inside if you're wondering how I looked inside without having to shut off computer real quick), and ya know, i don't think i do have an extra PCI slot unfortunately. I'd have to take the side off to see if there is one all the way at the bottom(large fan attached to side of case is blocking the view), but it doesn't look like it actually

Guess you're overdue for an upgrade then anyways, heh.

If your USB ports are really broken, then you'd either need a USB expansion card or alternatively a new modem... but both of those would require a PCI slot.

Starwulf, I use a USB modem as well, on my system I have one port dedicated just for the modem & the other one one use for my other usb gear. Are you using a hub on the modem port?

ADDED:
I have noticed that if my system has been online for a while my DL speeds tends to slow down a bit like from 5KB/S to 3 or 4KB/S

Hmm, not sure what you mean by "using a hub on the modem port". I just plug my USB Modem into one of the USB ports. I've tried switching it to the other USB Ports I have(Including to the one that must obviously work, as I plug the sensor for my wireless mouse/keyboard into it), and I still have the same problems. Which would seem to invalidate the idea that it could be the USB ports that are faulty, but if I plug my iPOD or Digital camera into that port, they don't work either. Only the sensor seems to work just fine in that port. As I said before, I know it's NOT the USB Modem itself, as I went out and bought a new one, tried plugging it into different USB ports, all with same result as old modem.

All I know, is I'm going insane with the even worse slow-down then normal. I'm about one step away from just cancelling my internet, saving myself 20 bucks a month, because hey, I'm only able to really use it to browse this site and another, and on occasion, E-Bay.

Hmm, glad I wasn't able to post this, just saw your edit: I thought that might have been it as well, but since the slow-down, I disconnect and reconnect multiple times in a day(because when I adjust the send/receive settings, I have to reset internet connection for them to take effect).

Edit: Oh, Here is another interesting tidbit of information: If my computer gets turned off, or we unplug the modem from the phone line(so we can hook up our regular phone for whatever reason), when we turn it back on/hook modem back into phone line, it seems as though there needs to be a certain amount of time before my internet connection wants to work at all. As in, no matter what setting I put my send/receive at, no webpage will load, period, no matter what. Generally have to wait till I've been dialed in for about an hour before webpages will start to work. Also, this not a virus, as I have completely reformatted my computer in paranoia. Completely clean.

Send edit: realized I missed putting "NOT" before "The USB Modem itself"

On my system I've only seen it be "internet unresponsive if there is a second "connection window" up maybe hidden by the browser. (I'm not counting the times on media intensive pages while dling a file tho)
Something funky is definitely is happening on your rig.

Well, it doesn't give any specific error upon restarting the computer and connecting, it just refuses to load any webpage, whatsoever, period. No other Internet connection windows open or anything either.

In short, yeah, I think something is wrong as well, I just wish I could figure it out before I went off half-cocked and bought a new motherboard. Not only because money is tight, but also because I had no plans on upgrading my computer again until either the very end of this year, or sometime early next year, when the upgrades I have targeted have come down in price a bit more(I want to eventually grab a motherboard that has DDR3 capability, i3/i5/i7 compatibility, an i5 Processor that's quad core, at least a GTX 460(So I have DX11 support), 8 gigs of DDR3 Ram, and windows 7). Right now, all those upgrades, from what I saw on Newegg, would cost me around 700 bucks. By the end of the year, start of next year, It'll probably be down to about 500(with really the largest chunk coming from w7), which is a good savings, and I don't honestly need the extra power until Skyrim comes out, and I can live with not being able to play it with all the bells and whistles for a few months after it's release).

You have two graphic cards right? PCI-e?

If it's not absolutely necessary to have both of them installed, what about replacing one with a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124096?

that may be the best option for now IMHO

Hmm, interesting idea. I'm not sure how some of my newer games(Dragon Age, NWN2, or sacred 2) would work without the 2nd graphics card, but I'm not playing any of them at the moment. Unfortunately, I can't get Newegg to load on any setting at the moment. Could you tell me how much that PCI-e USB card costs? thanks!

$19.99 + $5.99 Shipping (restrictions apply

We had an office laptop with spotty USB issues for months. Sent it in under warranty....whole MB needed replacement.