How do I speed up my music downloads?

beemer78 · 22 Apr 2012

I am paying for 12 mbps DSL and I've done three separate download speed tests and they all say I am getting right at 11.50 mbps on downloads and 1.5 mbps on uploads. I use MP3 Rocket Pro for my music downloads. When I first used MP3 Rocket on my old computer a couple years back I was paying a premium for 6 mbps DSL and the music downloads were blazingly fast at almost the 6mbps I expected. Now, with this new pc build and 12 mbps DSL (doubled) I am, for some reason, limited to around 1 mbps music downloads. What is limiting this? It (music downloads) used to be six times faster. A MP3 tech said it was probably due to my I.E. settings. Could this be true or is it because of limitations they themselves have installed in (new) their site? Anyway, I don't know how to change any settings in Internet Explorer to make a difference and if it is a problem with I.E. why was it so fast previously compared to now? I never mess with internet settings so that would mean they thought people would prefer a slower internet and changed it themselves. That's crazy and not true! The only other thing I can think of is maybe this new DSL router has something to do with it. I used a different one with the old computer. I'm stumped. Any help out there?

djshonrock · 22 Apr 2012

use any download manager. ex: IDM u can download files way faster,, :)
Hope This Helps.
Thank You
Shon John Xander

logicearth · 22 Apr 2012

djshonrock said:

use any download manager. ex: IDM u can download files way faster,, :)
Hope This Helps.
Thank You
Shon John Xander

No you won't. The OP is already downloading close to his limit which is 12mbps. No software will ever allow him/her to go any faster then what he/she is paying for. Second, the speed at which something downloads depends on several factors. Where the file is downloading from. The amount of traffic being shared on the connection, on both ends. Obstacles like security software or your ISP. A download manager is just cruft that is pure snake oil.

* I do networking for a living, its my job. BTW., it has nothing to do with Internet Explorer's settings.

kado897 · 22 Apr 2012

Really. He says he has a 12mbs line and his music is only downloading at 1mbs. So unless the server is the limiting factor it must be within Windows.

unifex · 22 Apr 2012

Downloads can be affected by a number of factors. I have a 50 mbps connection, but the real-life download speeds vary from 5 MBps down to 1 kbps, depending on what are you downloading, how big are the files, where is the server, how busy the server is, and so on. Your router (or DSL modem) may be a factor. Your anti-virus settings may be a factor.

If you're downloading music, then I assume that the files are typically small (typical tracks can be at most 10-20 MB). Then the speed is usually smaller.

A download manager might or might not help. There are some that promise a substantial increase in speed because they create multiple connections (similarly how the torrent protocol connects you to many peers and while each connection by itself is rather slow, overall you're getting your stuff fast). Sometimes (for example, Adobe does that) the host server would offer their own download manager.

If you are worried that something is wrong with your system, you may perform some basic troubleshooting. Try several different bandwidth testing sites and also try those test for different server locations (they usually offer you to choose where from you download the test stuff; the idea is that if you choose a server which is close to you, then the speed will be higher). Then go to some big company site (Microsoft, Adobe, etc.) and try downloading some huge file - all of them offer some trial versions of their software, where the download size is in GB. See what your speed is.

You mention IE. Try downloading Firefox and use it for your downloads. There should not be a huge difference, but if there is something wrong with your system, then you might notice something.

I know these are just some general recommendations that might not really help you, but at this point your question is too general. All you're saying is that you see slow download speeds from some site. That by itself does not mean there is a problem. Are all your downloads slow? That can't be, since you're saying that the bandwidth tests come out right. So, please do some basic troubleshooting yourself and tell us what's going on in more detail.

M1GU31 · 22 Apr 2012

use a download manger that greatly helps my speed get maxed on my connection.I use download them all with firefox http://www.downthemall.net/

pparks1 · 22 Apr 2012

kado897 said:

Really. He says he has a 12mbs line and his music is only downloading at 1mbs. So unless the server is the limiting factor it must be within Windows.

The question is whether he has a 12 megabits per second connection and his music is coming down at 1 megabit per second, or 1 megabyte per second. One would be maxed out and 1 would not.

kado897 · 22 Apr 2012

I think he is saying the former but he should confirm before we go any further.

beemer78 · 23 Apr 2012

Sorry, I forgot to mention I have already ran three DSL speed tests from three different sites and they all say my download speed is right at 11.58 mbps and my upload speed is right at 1.5 mbps. FireFox didn't help either. Also, the song downloads are averaging irght at 64 kbps. it will start out at around 600 mbps but within three seconds it drops to the 64 kbps. I have ran numerous tests on my system and all the reports say everything is ok and that my pc is healthy, except for one thing, the hard drive controller is bad. I have recently been having trouble with my computer freezing up during normal operations and hard crashes to where my whole computer powers off sometimes or just freezes when I play BF3 online. The error report from Windows says my hard drive controller is not compatible with Win 7 and is causing bottle necking and information can't be processed like it normally would, that it can't meet demands for anything intensive. Otherwise it usually does ok under low information demands. I researched the m.b. I have and found that the 'firmware' on the controller chip can not be updated, no download available for firmware. I didn't stop to think that maybe that chip is the reason for the slow music downloads. Sound like that could be the whole problem? Anyway, it looks like I'll have to buy a new m.b. that is compatible with Win 7 regardless. Sorry if I wasted anyones time, but it just dawned on me, that could be and probably is the problem.
M.B. : Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3.

Kari · 23 Apr 2012

Just to clarify this: Maximum download speed using a 12 Mbps line is about 1.4 MBps. Notice the difference in units normally used to describe linespeed (Megabits per second Mbps) and dowload speed (Megabytes per second MBps).

So:
- Linespeed is told in Mbps (small b = bit)
- Download speed in MBps (capital B = byte)

A 10 Mbps line can download around 1.25 MBps > 50 Mbps line about 6.25 MBps, so your maximum download speed is about 1.5 MBps using a 12 Mbps line as this simple formula tells you:

X / 8 = Y

(X is linespeed in Megabits per second, Y is the theoretical maximum download speed in Megabytes).

Kari