Windows 7: YouTube buffering

Much of the time I can watch YouTube with no problem; however, sometimes the video pauses. Can Windows 7 be tweaked to correct this? Is it a hardware problem? I have a low-end HP desktop machine running Windows 7 Home Premium.

as far as i know, it's more to do with your internet connection and general traffic conditions, so there's not a great deal you can do i'm afraid, apart from making sure you're not downloading anything else in the background in another tab for example.

Start, then stop the video at the beginning for a few minutes to give it a chance to buffer. Then it usually runs smoothly.

What type of internet connection do you have?

I have an AT&T wireless router. My desktop is near the router. I therefore get a strong 5 bars.

As a "work-around" rather than trying to watch the video as it's streaming, (particularly when it freezes too much as it streams) I often just download it, and then watch it uninterrupted whenever I wish.

If the video can't be downloaded, for whatever reason, I think your next best bet is to use whs's suggestion of pausing it for a period of time (to let the buffering process catch up) --- and then watching it.

DLK, you can test your speed: Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test

Additionally, Firefox has a few tweeks to attempt to increase speed, many of which aren't recommended for simple compatability issues with websites, etc. I personally use IE9 which seems pretty fast.

As well, you can pay more to increase speed with your ISP. There are certain times of the day where internet traffic is less and video watching is more smooth. Sometimes, upgrading hardware allows you to get better video streaming.

A wired connection usually has the strongest connection in speed. But you can try different versions of the same driver for your wireless adapter. Some will give differing speeds at times, believe it or not. But the most stable and secure driver is usually the latest driver.

you can change your DNS sever to one that's faster by testing your speed with namebench
namebench - Open-source DNS Benchmark Utility - Google Project Hosting
Basically when the test is over it will show you what's best for your connection
EX/picture is at bottom ....

Shows how to change it

Another thing you can do is lower down the quality of the video.

1080p being the highest, 240p being the lowest. If you set it at 240p, it should be able to run efficiently.

The higher the quality, the more internet you need. The lower the quality, the less you'll need.

1080p delivers higher quality
240p delivers low quality.

I would test each one out: 240p, 480p, 720p, 1080p and see which one is fastest personally. I am too impatient waiting for buffers. 480p is good enough for me anyway really.