"Victek" wrote:

Assuming you're using IE, open the control panel and then open internet
options. On the General Tab in the middle where it says Browsing History
click on the settings button - there you will be able to set the maximum
space IE should use to cache its' data. You could also try defragging
your
hard drive to see if it improves video playback.


Thanks for the quick reply. I would like to pester you one more time. I
checked
on the IE setting for disk space for temporary internet files. It is set
at only 50 MB.
I also did a defrag.

I called up the Performance monitor that is in task manager. When only IE
is
running, the Physical memory is at 2045 total, 1521 cached, and 15 free.
Physical memory usage is at 716 MB. Total Kernel memory is 141. Handles
are
18525 and threads are 782. CPU, Disk, and Network usages are all very low.
When I try to download a video, these numbers don't change much, but you
see
more disk activity.

Does anything look wrong here? I still think that I have a problem with
the
amount of free memory being so low. Also, I couldn't find any help info
about
handles and threads, but they seem kind of high to me. I can see some
threads
listed in the CPU portion of the Resource Monitor, but the total number is
not near as high. Could the high cache memory be coming from somewhere
else
other than internet use?

Also, as a side note, when I looked at the cache memory size through IE,
it
also allows me to view the temporary files which it says are located on my
C:
drive. When I "view files" it brings me to the "Temporary Internet Files"
folder. I can see that there are a few files there and I can clean them
out
by deleting them through internet options. The weird thing is that when I
look at the folder properties it says it has a bunch of folders and is at
650
MB even after being cleaned without anything visible in it. Also, I can't
find "Temporary Internet Files" folder by using Windows Explorer, only by
viewing the files through IE. It gives me the location of the folder, but
I
can't find it. Maybe they are stored in a combination of disk and RAM
space
and this is OK or maybe something else is hosed here also.

Thanks for your help. I am trying to find out if I have a problem with
memory use or if I need to search elsewhere to fix my streaming video
problem.

In order to see the temporary internet files folder (TIFF) in the Vista
Explorer you need to unhide hidden files and protected operating system
files in folder options. I prefer to use Windows Commander (my favorite
file manager) to view hidden files and folders - it's easier and I don't
have to change Explorer settings. To fully delete the TIFF I recommend
CCleaner. It's free and it deletes the folders and Index.DAT file as well
as the data.

Regarding free memory, no matter how much RAM you put in the machine Windows
will dedicate what isn't being used by applications to it's RAM cache
(different than the IE disk cache). The extra RAM doesn't appear to be
free, but Windows makes it available to applications when they ask for it.
Two gigs of RAM is adequate for Vista in my experience - lack of ram should
not be the cause of the video playback issue as long as you don't have
multiple applications open that are hogging ram.

You could try a third party defragger like PerfectDisk (free fully
functional thirty day trial-ware from www.perfectdisk.com ) which will
defrag the page file and other system files that the Vista defrag program
will not touch. You could also try a different browser to see if it makes a
difference. I use Firefox and Maxthon - sometimes video playback is better
in one or the other though I couldn't say why. Hopefully some of this will
help. By the way, what security applications are you using?

Thanks for clarifying how the temp internet folder works and the difference between the two cache memories. It helps make things more understandable. I may try another browser like you suggest.

The one thing that I haven't tried yet is mess around with my security
stuff. What I have running is McAfee firewall and phishing protection.
Windows firewall is turned off. Also running is McAfee virus scan and Windows
Defender. Last weekend I put on Spybot S&D. I haven't really experienced any
problems with McAfee and Vista. The only problems I've had are a couple of
stuck messages in my email. I've heard a lot of horror stories on Microsoft
Communities about compatibility issues. It sounds like Avast is a good
program to use. Since I think I have been pretty problem free, I have been a
little nervous about changing my protection. I would appreciate any
recommendations that you would have.

I don't want to bore you too much, but I did try one other thing to see if
it would make a difference for streaming video. The high speed internet that
I have is broadcast from a radio tower to my modem. For reception, the modem
is located upstairs. The computer is downstairs. The connection between
upstairs and downstairs was through two units that were plugged into the
house electrical outlets. I recently found out that that highest speed I was
getting with that configuration was 500 kbps. Last weekend, I went wireless
and I am now getting anywhere from 1100 to 2000 kbps. Tonight, just to make
sure that I wasn't getting any interference on the wireless, I strung a cable
through the house to temporarily hardwire the modem to the computer. Wireless
and hardwired performed about the same. Streaming video performance has been
about the same regardless of the slow or faster configurations.

In order to see the temporary internet files folder (TIFF) in the Vista
Explorer you need to unhide hidden files and protected operating system
files in folder options. I prefer to use Windows Commander (my favorite
file manager) to view hidden files and folders - it's easier and I don't
have to change Explorer settings. To fully delete the TIFF I recommend
CCleaner. It's free and it deletes the folders and Index.DAT file as
well
as the data.

Regarding free memory, no matter how much RAM you put in the machine
Windows
will dedicate what isn't being used by applications to it's RAM cache
(different than the IE disk cache). The extra RAM doesn't appear to be
free, but Windows makes it available to applications when they ask for
it.
Two gigs of RAM is adequate for Vista in my experience - lack of ram
should
not be the cause of the video playback issue as long as you don't have
multiple applications open that are hogging ram.

You could try a third party defragger like PerfectDisk (free fully
functional thirty day trial-ware from www.perfectdisk.com ) which will
defrag the page file and other system files that the Vista defrag program
will not touch. You could also try a different browser to see if it
makes a
difference. I use Firefox and Maxthon - sometimes video playback is
better
in one or the other though I couldn't say why. Hopefully some of this
will
help. By the way, what security applications are you using?

Thanks for clarifying how the temp internet folder works and the
difference between
the two cache memories. It helps make things more understandable. I may
try another
browser like you suggest.

The one thing that I haven't tried yet is mess around with my security
stuff. What I have running is McAfee firewall and phishing protection.
Windows firewall is turned off. Also running is McAfee virus scan and
Windows
Defender. Last weekend I put on Spybot S&D. I haven't really experienced
any
problems with McAfee and Vista. The only problems I've had are a couple of
stuck messages in my email. I've heard a lot of horror stories on
Microsoft
Communities about compatibility issues. It sounds like Avast is a good
program to use. Since I think I have been pretty problem free, I have been
a
little nervous about changing my protection. I would appreciate any
recommendations that you would have.

I don't want to bore you too much, but I did try one other thing to see if
it would make a difference for streaming video. The high speed internet
that
I have is broadcast from a radio tower to my modem. For reception, the
modem
is located upstairs. The computer is downstairs. The connection between
upstairs and downstairs was through two units that were plugged into the
house electrical outlets. I recently found out that that highest speed I
was
getting with that configuration was 500 kbps. Last weekend, I went
wireless
and I am now getting anywhere from 1100 to 2000 kbps. Tonight, just to
make
sure that I wasn't getting any interference on the wireless, I strung a
cable
through the house to temporarily hardwire the modem to the computer.
Wireless
and hardwired performed about the same. Streaming video performance has
been
about the same regardless of the slow or faster configurations.

I asked about security applications because some people load up on them and
that can cause system slowdowns, but that's not a problem in your case.
Although I prefer different apps I wouldn't recommend them as a possible fix
for the streaming video issue. If you play video clips directly from the
hard drive do they play smoothly?

"Victek" wrote:

In order to see the temporary internet files folder (TIFF) in the Vista
Explorer you need to unhide hidden files and protected operating system
files in folder options. I prefer to use Windows Commander (my favorite
file manager) to view hidden files and folders - it's easier and I don't
have to change Explorer settings. To fully delete the TIFF I recommend
CCleaner. It's free and it deletes the folders and Index.DAT file as
well
as the data.

Regarding free memory, no matter how much RAM you put in the machine
Windows
will dedicate what isn't being used by applications to it's RAM cache
(different than the IE disk cache). The extra RAM doesn't appear to be
free, but Windows makes it available to applications when they ask for
it.
Two gigs of RAM is adequate for Vista in my experience - lack of ram
should
not be the cause of the video playback issue as long as you don't have
multiple applications open that are hogging ram.

You could try a third party defragger like PerfectDisk (free fully
functional thirty day trial-ware from www.perfectdisk.com ) which will
defrag the page file and other system files that the Vista defrag program
will not touch. You could also try a different browser to see if it
makes a
difference. I use Firefox and Maxthon - sometimes video playback is
better
in one or the other though I couldn't say why. Hopefully some of this
will
help. By the way, what security applications are you using?

Thanks for clarifying how the temp internet folder works and the
difference between
the two cache memories. It helps make things more understandable. I may
try another
browser like you suggest.

The one thing that I haven't tried yet is mess around with my security
stuff. What I have running is McAfee firewall and phishing protection.
Windows firewall is turned off. Also running is McAfee virus scan and
Windows
Defender. Last weekend I put on Spybot S&D. I haven't really experienced
any
problems with McAfee and Vista. The only problems I've had are a couple of
stuck messages in my email. I've heard a lot of horror stories on
Microsoft
Communities about compatibility issues. It sounds like Avast is a good
program to use. Since I think I have been pretty problem free, I have been
a
little nervous about changing my protection. I would appreciate any
recommendations that you would have.

I don't want to bore you too much, but I did try one other thing to see if
it would make a difference for streaming video. The high speed internet
that
I have is broadcast from a radio tower to my modem. For reception, the
modem
is located upstairs. The computer is downstairs. The connection between
upstairs and downstairs was through two units that were plugged into the
house electrical outlets. I recently found out that that highest speed I
was
getting with that configuration was 500 kbps. Last weekend, I went
wireless
and I am now getting anywhere from 1100 to 2000 kbps. Tonight, just to
make
sure that I wasn't getting any interference on the wireless, I strung a
cable
through the house to temporarily hardwire the modem to the computer.
Wireless
and hardwired performed about the same. Streaming video performance has
been
about the same regardless of the slow or faster configurations.

I asked about security applications because some people load up on them and
that can cause system slowdowns, but that's not a problem in your case.
Although I prefer different apps I wouldn't recommend them as a possible fix
for the streaming video issue. If you play video clips directly from the
hard drive do they play smoothly?

Video clips do seem to play OK directly from the harddrive. I did install Firefox to try a different browser. So far that didn't seem to make much difference. Also, other than streaming video, I haven't downloaded large files in a while. When downloading Firefox which is only 5 Meg, it was only coming in around 20 kbps and took forever. I've downloaded big files in the past and they came in quick. From other discussions, I checked on Internet advanced options to check that TLS 1.0 was not on and it wasn't. SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0 were both checked. I tried desecting the earlier version. (I have no idea what they are for.) Also, I disabled the phishing option since I have it in McAffee.

I also saw somewhere in an earlier discussion about a couple of people
loaded an earlier version for their LAN driver and it helped their download
speed. I'm not using the same LAN card as they were and I'm not using my LAN
card now. Since I have wireless, I am using a USB adapter. Could USB be
slower? There are times that I can see a video buffering, the LED on my USB
wireless adapter is not flashing like it is not active, and I am not seeing
any network activity on the performance monitor.

I have seen other discussions about XP working faster than Vista. I would
hate to buy the older software and install everything. My problems haven't
been too bad, I would have to be more desperate to go to that extreme. I
still think that I should be able to get better performance with what I have.
Hopefully, without wasting a lot of time.

Thanks for you continued suggestions.

I asked about security applications because some people load up on them
and
that can cause system slowdowns, but that's not a problem in your case.
Although I prefer different apps I wouldn't recommend them as a possible
fix
for the streaming video issue. If you play video clips directly from the
hard drive do they play smoothly?

Video clips do seem to play OK directly from the harddrive. I did install
Firefox to
try a different browser. So far that didn't seem to make much difference.
Also, other
than streaming video, I haven't downloaded large files in a while. When
downloading
Firefox which is only 5 Meg, it was only coming in around 20 kbps and took
forever.
I've downloaded big files in the past and they came in quick. From other
discussions,
I checked on Internet advanced options to check that TLS 1.0 was not on
and it wasn't.
SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0 were both checked. I tried desecting the earlier
version. (I have no
idea what they are for.) Also, I disabled the phishing option since I have
it in McAffee.

I also saw somewhere in an earlier discussion about a couple of people
loaded an earlier version for their LAN driver and it helped their
download
speed. I'm not using the same LAN card as they were and I'm not using my
LAN
card now. Since I have wireless, I am using a USB adapter. Could USB be
slower? There are times that I can see a video buffering, the LED on my
USB
wireless adapter is not flashing like it is not active, and I am not
seeing
any network activity on the performance monitor.

I have seen other discussions about XP working faster than Vista. I would
hate to buy the older software and install everything. My problems
haven't
been too bad, I would have to be more desperate to go to that extreme. I
still think that I should be able to get better performance with what I
have.
Hopefully, without wasting a lot of time.

SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0 have to do with security for https sites (online
banking, online purchasing, etc.) I don't see how disabling them would help
video - I would keep them enabled for security. Since video plays well from
the hard disk it does sound like a network issue. You could around for a
newer (or older) driver for your LAN card to see if that makes a difference.
Regarding USB LAN adapters I can't say from experience if there's a
significant performance difference compared with a PC Card adapter, but if
you can get one that's something you could try.

For what it's worth I do see better performance in XP when I watch streaming
TV shows on ABC.com. I dual boot XP and Vista. If it's important enough
you could create the same setup - you just need a license key for XP and XP
compatible drivers for your hardware. I think dual booting is a better
solution then having just one or the other OS at the moment.