Fine-Tune Windows
Your Internet connection seems simple. Your modem
dials up the ISP's modem, they connect, and then the two throw data back
and forth over the Net. But it's not really that easy; Windows just makes
it look that way. In fact, the OS's Dial-Up Networking settings are pretty
complex and force you to fiddle with the size of data packets, the
duration of data transactions, and mysterious acronyms such as MTU, RWin
(see below), and TTL.
But here's the catch: Windows 95/98's settings aren't
optimized for dial-up Internet connections. Instead, they're set for PCs
connecting to the Internet using Ethernet. This means that your dial-up
connection is probably slower than it could be.
Fortunately, you can dramatically improve your
throughput with small adjustments to a few settings. You can do this by
editing Registry settings, but dealing with the Registry is risky. It's
much easier and safer to use one of three outstanding downloadable
programs: SpeedTec, Internet Tweak, and TweakDUN. They'll make the
necessary adjustments for you and save you the trouble of tampering with
the Registry. Remember, it's important to match the program to your
operating system because the Windows 98 Registry handles some of these
settings differently than Windows 95 does. However, all three programs
listed here support both platforms.
To use these programs to optimize your Registry, you
must adjust at least one of the four settings below.
MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit)
This IP network setting--known in the Windows Registry as MaxMTU--sets the
size of data packets exchanged across the wire. This is important because
small packets get through more quickly on a noisy line. With a good
connection, however, larger packets are more efficient. By default, a 56k
modem connection will be set to 576 bytes. For dial-up lines, most ISPs
subscribe to this smaller setting because it reduces the chance of a data
packet becoming corrupted on a noisy phone line. If the host and the
client computers use two different MTU sizes, the connection runs more
slowly because the computers have to negotiate new transmission rates.
It's easy to change the MTU on your PC, and you can do
it without using the programs recommended here or going through the
Registry editor.
1.
Right-click the Network Neighborhood icon on your Windows
98 desktop and select Properties.
2.
Select the Configuration tab and highlight Dial-Up Adapter
in the Network Components pane. Click the Properties button below the
pane.
3.
Select the Advanced tab and highlight IP Packet Size. In
the Value pane, select Large for 1,500 bytes or Small for 576 bytes. Click
OK and restart your computer.
4.
Test your connection at MSN Computing Central.
MSS (Maximum Segment Size)
The maximum segment size is a value that two Internet hosts use to
negotiate the size of the MTU they will use to exchange data. It should be
set at a value of 40 less than the MTU size (or 536 on a standard dial-up
line). A correctly set MSS ensures that packets are transmitted properly.
RWin (Default Receive Window)
This IP network setting (DefaultRcvWindows) is the amount of data that
your computer can receive before it has to send an acknowledgment to the
host--the Web site you're visiting--to assure that data is being received
correctly. If you change the MTU setting in Windows 95/98, you should also
reset the RWin to a multiple of the MSS. Opinions differ widely on the
proper multiple to use for this setting. The default setting in Windows 98
is 8,192 bytes; SpeedTec recommends a setting of 16 times MSS (23,360
bytes if you're at an MSS of 1,460 bytes); TweakDUN and InternetTweak both
recommend a multiple of 4, although they all tell you to experiment.
TTL (Time to Live)
This network setting establishes the number of hops across servers that a
data packet can take before it expires. The Windows 98 default is 128,
which is also recommended by SpeedTec. TweakDUN and InternetTweak suggest
64.
Windows 95 users: Don't muck with this setting if you
have installed Dial-Up Networking. Otherwise, go in and increase the
figure to 64.
All three programs we recommend adjust the four Registry
settings well. You just change the settings, save the changes to your
Registry, and restart Windows. Then check to see how your Net connection
runs. In most cases, things should go a lot faster.
Hand-Edit Your Registry
Settings
However, if for some reason, you must do things the hard way, you can go
into your Windows 95 Registry and edit it yourself. But this is not for
beginners. First review "The Seven Commandments of Registry
Editing," paying special attention to commandment number 7,
"Don't come crying to us if anything gets broken." Once you've
memorized all the commandments, you're ready to do the dirty work.
1.
Back up your Registry. Refer to the second commandment of
Registry editing.
2.
In Windows 98, click the Start button and select Run. Type regedit,
and click OK.
3.
Find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum\Root\Net. Below it is
a series of numbered subkeys (0000, 0001, 0002, and so on). Highlight each
numbered subkey in turn until you find the value DeviceDesc equal to
Dial-Up Adapter.
4.
Now drop another subkey level to Bindings. Highlight that
subkey and look for a string that begins with MSTCP. It will be followed
by a four-digit number (for example, MSTCP\0000). Write down the number.
5.
Find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum\Network\MSTCP and
highlight the subkey with the four-digit number in Step 4. Look for the
Driver value, which will be equal to NetTrans\0000 (or 0001, and so on).
Note that four-digit number for the next step.
6.
Drop down to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\NetTrans,
and highlight the subkey that shares the four-digit number from step 5.
Right-click and choose New/String Value. Name the string value MaxMTU.
Right-click the value, choose Modify, and set the value to 1500. Next, add
a string value named MaxMSS. Set it to 1460.
7.
Exit the Registry. Restart your computer.
You're not finished yet, but you shouldn't make many
changes to the Registry without testing the system. Restart your system
now. If it restarts smoothly, proceed to the next step. If not, restore
the old settings from your backup and try again, if you dare.
1.
Back up your Registry under yet another name, different
from the one before.
2.
Click the Start button and select Run. Type regedit
and click OK.
3.
Click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP.
4.
Right-click a blank space in the right-hand pane and select
New/String Value. Name the string DefaultRcvWindow. Right-click the
DefaultRcvWindow string and select Modify. Enter the Value data as 5840 or
8760 (four or six times the MaxMSS value).
5.
Right-click a blank space in the right-hand pane and select
New/String Value. Name the string DefaultTTL. Right-click the DefaultTTL
string and enter the Value data as 128.
6.
Click the Registry menu and select Exit.
7.
Restart Windows.
If anything goes wrong, restore your original backup of
the Registry using Regedit's commands. Refer to the third and fourth
commandments of "The Seven Commandments of Registry Editing" for
instructions. And if you have any trouble, remember, we told you to
use SpeedTec, TweakDUN, or InternetTweak!
