Internet connection problem - which adapter to get?

CelticRose

Graduate Poster
CelticRose
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
1,617
Location
Mesa, AZ
I just had a tech from my ISP visit today to fix my internet connection, and he determined that the problem lies within my laptop. He suggested I try getting a USB to ethernet adapter and I need advice on which kind to get. Or, if y'all have any other suggestions on how to fix the problem that would be great too.

He determined beyond all shadow of a doubt that there is nothing wrong with the ISP's signal, etc., my modem, the coaxial cable, or the ethernet cable. The proper speed, 50 mbps, is getting to the end of the ethernet cable, but my laptop is only producing 10 mbps. He hooked his laptop up to the ethernet cable and was getting the proper speed, so it's definitely my machine.

The wireless connection on my laptop works; I get the same speed on the 2.4 GHz wireless network on both my laptop and my tablet (the laptop doesn't have 5 GHz capabilities, so I can't just switch bands to get a faster speed). The problem seems to be with the wired connection. So, the tech suggested that I get a USB to ethernet adapter.

Now that I've had some time to research the products, I realize that there's 2 types of adapters addressing 2 different problems and I'm not sure which I need. The tech told me to make sure I got one with a minimum speed of 100m/10m, but he didn't specify whether it should have a NIC or not and I didn't know which questions to ask. Now I do, so here goes:

1) Is it an ethernet port issue? I only have one ethernet port on my laptop, so I have no way of telling if this one is bad or not. Should I buy an adapter like this?

2) Is it a network card issue? Should I buy an adapter with a NIC like this one?

This isn't urgent since I don't plan to go shopping for this thing until after the holidays. Despite the low speed number, my wired connection actually feels adequate for my needs. I've been watching HD videos, streaming music, visiting pages with far too many GIFs and static images, switching between pages rapidly, running multiple things at once, playing flash games, etc., all without any difficulty or appreciable lag. Honestly, if it weren't for the speed test numbers I wouldn't even know I had a problem.

Thanks for your help. :)
 
CelticRose said:
I just had a tech from my ISP visit today to fix my internet connection, and he determined that the problem lies within my laptop. He suggested I try getting a USB to ethernet adapter and I need advice on which kind to get. Or, if y'all have any other suggestions on how to fix the problem that would be great too.

He determined beyond all shadow of a doubt that there is nothing wrong with the ISP's signal, etc., my modem, the coaxial cable, or the ethernet cable. The proper speed, 50 mbps, is getting to the end of the ethernet cable, but my laptop is only producing 10 mbps. He hooked his laptop up to the ethernet cable and was getting the proper speed, so it's definitely my machine.

The wireless connection on my laptop works; I get the same speed on the 2.4 GHz wireless network on both my laptop and my tablet (the laptop doesn't have 5 GHz capabilities, so I can't just switch bands to get a faster speed). The problem seems to be with the wired connection. So, the tech suggested that I get a USB to ethernet adapter.

Now that I've had some time to research the products, I realize that there's 2 types of adapters addressing 2 different problems and I'm not sure which I need. The tech told me to make sure I got one with a minimum speed of 100m/10m, but he didn't specify whether it should have a NIC or not and I didn't know which questions to ask. Now I do, so here goes:

1) Is it an ethernet port issue? I only have one ethernet port on my laptop, so I have no way of telling if this one is bad or not. Should I buy an adapter like this?

2) Is it a network card issue? Should I buy an adapter with a NIC like this one?

This isn't urgent since I don't plan to go shopping for this thing until after the holidays. Despite the low speed number, my wired connection actually feels adequate for my needs. I've been watching HD videos, streaming music, visiting pages with far too many GIFs and static images, switching between pages rapidly, running multiple things at once, playing flash games, etc., all without any difficulty or appreciable lag. Honestly, if it weren't for the speed test numbers I wouldn't even know I had a problem.

Thanks for your help. :)
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In my humble opinion I wouldn't think you need the version with the NIC adapter since your NIC appears to be working just fine. If it weren't you wouldn't receive your wireless connection as that's what a NIC manages. Unless your laptop has two different NIC's in it, one for the wireless and one for the ethernet, but I haven't heard of that. All the USB adapter is going to do is bypass your Ethernet port, which appears to be the problem. The wired port isn't working anymore. You can always go to the command prompt and "ping 127.0.0.1", and if it replies that means your NIC is functioning perfectly fine, but that's rather clear anyway.

Basically, long winded version of saying both will work, but the USB adapter will work just as fine.
 
If the speed so far has been adequate, how likely would it be for you to consider maybe downgrading your service, if at all possible? If it's now 50/down, maybe look into 35/down or something like that and then wait until you upgrade your laptop.

But if you want to go ahead a spend a little money, either adapter seems fine to me. Just understand that wireless will never get the throughput that wired will due to the different data transmission protocols each uses.
 
Either unit should work well but since the less expensive Startech unit is gigabit and the Belkin is only 100 megabit I'd buy the cheaper Startech unit. Do be aware that you can not get actual gigabit transfer speed because USB 2.0 is limited to 480mbs and due to conversion overhead the actual throughput will be lower.

FYI - NIC is the acronym for a Network Interface Controller (or Card). Both units are USB NICs although the best buy page doesn't bother to use the acronym.
 
The Norseman said:
If the speed so far has been adequate, how likely would it be for you to consider maybe downgrading your service, if at all possible? If it's now 50/down, maybe look into 35/down or something like that and then wait until you upgrade your laptop.

But if you want to go ahead a spend a little money, either adapter seems fine to me. Just understand that wireless will never get the throughput that wired will due to the different data transmission protocols each uses.
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Actually, I'm getting 50 mbps on my 5 GHz wireless connection. My modem has dual band wireless, but I can only use 1 band or the other, not both at once. The 2.4 GHz gets a slower speed because I'm in an apartment complex with far too many of my neighbors using the 2.4 GHz band. I'm using the 5 GHz connection for my tablet and loving the speed on that, so I don't want to downgrade the service. The laptop can only access the 2.4 GHz band, so using the wireless for it is not an option really, plus I'd rather have the extra security of a wired connection for the laptop.

paulhutch said:
Either unit should work well but since the less expensive Startech unit is gigabit and the Belkin is only 100 megabit I'd buy the cheaper Startech unit. Do be aware that you can not get actual gigabit transfer speed because USB 2.0 is limited to 480mbs and due to conversion overhead the actual throughput will be lower.

FYI - NIC is the acronym for a Network Interface Controller (or Card). Both units are USB NICs although the best buy page doesn't bother to use the acronym.
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Really? They're both NICs? I thought the one from Best Buy was just a straight adapter -- no NIC. BTW, those are not final product choices, I just linked to them to illustrate what I thought were 2 different types of adapters. Thanks for setting me straight. And, yes, I'll buy whatever's cheapest that has the minimum speed. My connection's only 50 mbps and I don't see myself wanting to upgrade anytime soon, if at all, so the minimum speed of 100m/10m that the tech suggested should be fine.

So, how do I tell a NIC adapter from one without NIC? And which type should I get?

Thanks for your replies. :)
 
Have you checked the status of the network connection, i.e. if your NIC connects at the correct speed/duplex setting (e.g. 100MBit/full duplex or whatever you want it to be?). Sometimes, the automatic configuration fails and an adapter only connects at half duplex or even only at 10Mbit, if things go horribly wrong. Then, you will still be able to browse the Internet etc., but it will all be super slow. You could fix that by manually configuring the speed/duplex settings.
 
CelticRose said:
So, how do I tell a NIC adapter from one without NIC? And which type should I get?
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All USB connector to Ethernet RJ45 connector devices are NICs whether the description says so or not. There is absolutely no way to make the transition electrically from Ethernet to USB without a NIC.

So base your purchase on USB & Ethernet speeds, price, warranty, operating system support and brand reputation.
 
jbm said:
Have you checked the status of the network connection, i.e. if your NIC connects at the correct speed/duplex setting (e.g. 100MBit/full duplex or whatever you want it to be?). Sometimes, the automatic configuration fails and an adapter only connects at half duplex or even only at 10Mbit, if things go horribly wrong. Then, you will still be able to browse the Internet etc., but it will all be super slow. You could fix that by manually configuring the speed/duplex settings.
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I don't know how to do that. Sounds like a good suggestion, but I wouldn't even know where to begin. :confused:

paulhutch said:
All USB connector to Ethernet RJ45 connector devices are NICs whether the description says so or not. There is absolutely no way to make the transition electrically from Ethernet to USB without a NIC.

So base your purchase on USB & Ethernet speeds, price, warranty, operating system support and brand reputation.
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Thanks, that's exactly the information I need. :) I'll buy one around the 2nd week of January* then if no one comes up with a better suggestion in the meantime.

*Barring emergencies, I am not going shopping for anything but groceries during the holiday season. I've had a pretty stressful November and I think braving the stores during December would just about finish me off. :faint:
 
CelticRose said:
I don't know how to do that. Sounds like a good suggestion, but I wouldn't even know where to begin. :confused:

...
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It is a good suggestion and should have been the very first thing to investigate.

The next step will depend on what operating system you're running on your system (I'm making no assumptions ...). Please tell us this information.
 
Blue Bubble said:
It is a good suggestion and should have been the very first thing to investigate.
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Apparently a professional was already there and did the requisite testing, so I'm not sure why you'd need to have this information ferreted out at this point.
 
I running Windows 7 on an HP Pavilion g6-1d18dx Notebook PC with a Motorola/Arris SURFboard SBG6580 DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem with switched dual band wireless.
 
Oh, and just to clarify, the tech who came out was an internet tech sent by my ISP. His job was to troubleshoot my internet service. Anything to do with my computer is outside of his job, so even if he did know how to fix my computer he wouldn't be allowed to. He did check some settings on my laptop, but I don't what they were. He seemed very competent to me, and was willing to explain everything he did and found.
 
Blue Bubble said:
Your trust in such "professionals" is perhaps misplaced in my opinion.
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I've been putting together my own machines, fixing, replacing, yadda yadda PCs for twenty five years so while I agree with you in general, my comment was more towards getting those people who are hands-on and there check stuff out who theoretically have some basic knowledge rather than posting esoteric CLI commands to a person who may not have the basic knowledge to successfully manage it.
 
The Norseman said:
I've been putting together my own machines, fixing, replacing, yadda yadda PCs for twenty five years so while I agree with you in general, my comment was more towards getting those people who are hands-on and there check stuff out who theoretically have some basic knowledge rather than posting esoteric CLI commands to a person who may not have the basic knowledge to successfully manage it.
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I really don't want to get into a "mine's-bigger-than-yours" conversation, but I've been in this industry for considerably longer than your 25 years (first started in 1969).

I'd not be at all confident that a field-service guy/gal sent out to investigate such a problem would even think to check the actual speed and duplex settings on CelticRose's laptop.
 
Ethernet ports can fail, so a USB to Ethernet adapter is perhaps a good fallback to have.

FWIW, basic Ethernet is 10 Mbps. Fast Ethernet is 100 Mbps and has pretty much been standard for years now; unless your laptop is ten years or older I'd doubt it would be any less than FE. Gigabit Ethernet, 1000 Mbps, is found in lots of machines now also.
 
Blue Bubble said:
I really don't want to get into a "mine's-bigger-than-yours" conversation, but I've been in this industry for considerably longer than your 25 years (first started in 1969).
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Yeah, I hesitated to even mention that because that was not the main point of what I'm trying to say and it looks like it wasn't understood anyway.


I'd not be at all confident that a field-service guy/gal sent out to investigate such a problem would even think to check the actual speed and duplex settings on CelticRose's laptop.
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Probably not. So? It's still better than telling someone on the internet who isn't as computer savvy as you personally to type in commands to try and glean useful results.
 
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