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Topic: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi (Read 21 times) previous topic - next topic
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broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Yahoo Message Number: 152945
Hello,
 Anyone still using win xp and having browser freezing while using rv park wifi? I seem to have problem with foxfire and explorer. Problem occurs even at  nite.
Only have 500 mb ram.
Trying to decide if park bandwidth or too little ram or win xp.

Michael
2013 31' IB
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152946
Since Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft your options are limited. Have you done some speed tests to determine your bandwidth? 500 meg of ram isn't going to allow you to do much with web browsers.
I would suspect the parks WIFI if your neighbors are having the same problems. Have you tested your PC using a hard connection to the Parks network? Maybe available in the Parks office.

bobmoore14
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152948
It is very rare that campground Wifi works at all. If it does, consider it a gift.  Most folks these days, bring their own network using one or more cellular networks.  I travel with both Verizon and AT&T wireless on board.

-Dave '06MB, Indianapolis
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152953
Yeah, park WiFi is pretty iffy. For blogging, I have found the best option is to compose the whole thing off-line, then upload text and pic when good WiFi is available. The problem is mostly extensive congestion from all the campers. Try when most are out of the park, if possible. The best WiFi by far was in Walmart parking lots in Canada when boondocking overnight when the store is closed - wide bandwidth and few users. Also had good success there next to or inside local tourist kiosks. In the states, using my Android phone as a hotspot worked well.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152954
p.s. I use a very slow netbook with XP, so I doubt if your computer/browser are issues.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152974
If you are using Internet Explorer with Windows XP it is not newer than IE8.  Later versions of IE will not install or run under XP.  There are some significant differences between IE8 and IE11 (the newest released version).  Many web sites have been updated to  use the features of IE11.  If you connect with IE8 you may get a message that your browser is not supported or the browser will freeze.  Firefox has some similar issues.  Suggest that you try Google's Chrome browser.  It is much more compatible with updated web sites.  It is also possible that the campground connection to the Internet has limited bandwidth and your browser "times out" before it can make a connection to the desired web site.  Limited bandwidth to the Internet is a very common issue with campgrounds.

Doug
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152983
Thanks Doug, I only use IE when foxfire will not work. I have the latest version of foxfire. Campground wifi speed varies from 6.5 to 72 mbps. I wonder if 500 mb ram is the problem?

Michael
2013 31' IB
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 152998
The way to diagnose a problem will be with a secure, hi-speed, low-user connection. E.g., ethernet through your home router. WiFi speed is usually not an issue with campgrounds, heavy use clogging the router connection to the internet or joining the access queue IS a big problem. Although the RAM seems small, if you are using the 32-bit XP, you should check the size of your cache file (pagefile.sys). If it is fixed, try making it larger. Swapping to hard-drive is a slow, but effective way to bypass adding more memory.
 (system properties -advanced - performance -advanced - virtual memory)

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153003
...May I add that 250 or 500 Gig SSD's are coming down to a low enough price to be a reasonable upgrade.
If you don't want to do the swap yourself you probably know someone who can do it for you.
SSD virtual memory may be faster than the memory sticks in your XP computer.
I have done some XP's that now restart in about 15 seconds, and all I have done restart in less than 30 seconds.
... but, once a generic penetration of XP is posted there will be no fix from Microsoft.
Wifi actual usage report
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153020
Hi

In  the last 8 days I have used three different RV parks' wifi. All have been at  least adequate. I am currently using a plain old laptop, sitting at my table,  inside the rig. I am not yet currently using any additional wifi antenna,  booster, router or repeater/access point.

In  the first park, large and crowded, it was just adequate (slow) to do email and  web surf. In the second park it was quite fast for whatever you wanted to do. In  the third park, the KOA in Butte, MT, it was fine. They tell you in this third  park that wifi is to be used for email and web surfing only. Do not  stream  videos or tv or movies, and you can only use one devise. If you want to use more  than one devise you pay for another connection with a second password. They say  they monitor usage and will cut off anyone with excessive bandwidth usage. This  seems like a fair practice, whereby responsible users get to use their computer,  and bandwidth hogs are punished. Don't you think this is fair?

For  folks who are only part time RVers and don't want to pay for a year round data  plan, and don't demand daily internet, I don't see why wifi would not be  considered an at least adequate alternative.

Tom
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153022
Hi Michael, " Campground wifi speed varies from 6.5 to 72 mbps".
What kind of speeds did you expect to achieve?  If you can get those kind of speeds from a campground WiFi I think that you are doing great.  That is about all you are going to get from any WiFi installation, except maybe for a professionally configured 802.11N or 802.11AC network configured such that  you have the capability of using all the bandwidth.   Typically what I have seen in many campgrounds is a top speed of about  5 Mbps.   Even this drops if many people are connected.  In any campground there are going to be people that want to stream video.  It doesn't take many of these people to really load down the system.   It is pretty safe to assume that the CG connection to the Internet provides not more than 50 Mbps downstream;  maybe a 100 Mbps for a "first class" CG.  The Internet connection in most campgrounds is significantly slower;  bandwidth costs money!
 WiFi specifications are deceiving.  The "speeds" that they talk about are the "signaling or modulation rates"  (11Mbps, 57 Mbps, etc.) not the data transfer rates.   The data transfer rates are significantly less.  As an example 802.11B has a signaling rate of 11 Mbps.  The maximum data transfer rate is about half of that.  An 802.11G network has a signaling rate of 57 Mbps.  Maximum data transfer rate is about 70% of that.  The biggest deception is with 802.11N networks where they talk about rates of 75 Mbps, 300 Mbps & 600 Mbps.  What is not obvious is that to get these signaling rates  you must have specific equipments and network configurations.  For the most part the 300 Mbps & 600 Mbps rates are never achieved.  (I have not worked with 802.11AC to have a feel for it.  To achieve higher rates, it too requires specific equipments and network configurations.)  The equipment requirements are beyond what you find in laptops and smart phones.  When you use the "Internet rate test" sites, most of these determine the rate by upload & download of files.  Generally they give you the true "data transfer rate" not the signaling rate.

"I wonder if 500 mb ram is the problem?" 500 Mbytes of RAM is adequate for most users of Windows XP.  If you are only using one application at a time (word processor, browser, etc.) you can even run well with only 256 Mbytes of RAM,   My assumption is that the computer is less than 10 years old, has at least a 2.0 Ghz Pentium processor, and a reasonably good hard drive.  Increasing the size of RAM will not increase network speed.  I maintain the computer systems for my church.  For many years we had 20  desktop machines running Windows XP, Office, a Church Management Package, Photoshop, a "graphics drawing" package, email agent, etc.  Many users kept the Church Management Package and the email agent running all day long and then used the machines for photo editing, audio editing, Internet access, etc.  These machines were well over 5 years old; generally Dell Dimension 3000, 2.4 Ghz Pentium processor, 512 Mbyte RAM, 80 Gbyte IDE hard drive, 10/100 Mbps LAN connection, etc. The performance was more than adequate. Could not expand RAM or increase processor speeds in these machines.   End of support for XP forced me to replace many of these machines with new machines; faster processors, more RAM, faster hard drives, running Windows 7.  New machines do not provide any better performance.  Still running a few of the XP machines in "non-critical" jobs and where they do not frequent the Internet.

Doug Baker
Re: Wifi actual usage report
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153023
"For folks who are only part time RVers and don't want to pay for a year round data plan, and don't demand daily internet, I don't see why wifi would not be considered an at least adequate alternative."

That's fine if you always stay in commercial parks. But Wi-Fi is not very useful when boondocking... unless you're willing to drive to a Starbucks or MacDonald's and use theirs whenever you want to get online. If you only check email a couple of times a week, that might be acceptable. But nowadays most of us want more frequent connectivity.

Andy Baird
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153024
Thanks for the replies.
 I do have room for 2 gigs of ram, but installing it requires disconnecting a lot of things including removing the keyboard and unsoldering some connections. To date i have not taken on that job.
 My current paging file size for all drives is 911mb ( 718 recommended). For my c drive, I have 720 mb initial and 1440 max. I have increased c drive initial and max in the past with no noticeable affect on browser freezing.
 I appreciate hearing about "clogging the router internet connection"
 What do you mean my "once a generic penetration of xp is posted, there will will be no fix from microsoft". I realize microsoft has stopped support for XP.
 What I was trying to sort here was whether I needed a new computer  to lessen the tendency for the browsers to freeze up. One would hate to buy a new unit and still have the same problem.

I have an amd sempron 3000+ cpu 1.6 ghz and 80gb hhd.
2013 31' IB
Re: Wifi actual usage report
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153029
'That's fine if you always stay in  commercial parks. But Wi-Fi is not very useful when boondocking... unless you're  willing to drive to a Starbucks or MacDonald's and use theirs whenever you want  to get online. If you only check email a couple of times a week, that might be  acceptable. But nowadays most of us want more frequent  connectivity".Andy  Baird
 That is true, but I was not really referring  to the minority of folks who boondock for extended periods. IMO, the majority of  RVers are not fulltimers or even longtimers, and much of their RV use is more  like week long or month long vacations, several times a year. I don't stay in RV  parks much, but think I can find some kind of wifi signal periodically. I can't  speak for others, but I think checking email a couple time a week should be just  fine. Matter of fact, I kinda  like being cutoff from the rest of the world  sometimes. I get world new on satellite radio just fine.
Tom
Re: Wifi actual usage report
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153033
"That is true, but I was not really referring to the minority of folks who boondock for extended periods. IMO, the majority of RVers are not fulltimers or even longtimers, and much of their RV use is more like week long or month long vacations, several times a year."

We all have different connectivity needs. Most I know, full or part timers, want access as often as possible. Having installed many cell antennas and amplifiers and seeing many more installations, in LDs, confirms this suspicion.
Sure, we all can go for days or weeks without it, if necessary but many depend on being connected to stay in contact with family, friends or to run a business or a even a forum. Ten or fifteen years ago, getting email every few days would have been adequate, now most travelers use the net for so much more.
 Granted, many want little to do with the net and are happy to only occasionally receive email. IMO, they are a minority of LD owners.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Wifi actual usage report
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153037
IMO There is another good reason for maintaining connectivity beyond those already mentioned. If you have kids or relatives with health problems that occasionally need your help this insures they can reach you on facetime or some other method. There are times when I'm camping in a remote area, but my cellphone doesn't work. With the telescopic directional antenna and amp installed by Larry I rarely lose connectivity on data. Also you can order things online you might need to go to closest USPS that takes general delivery mail and packages. That way when you do get to a town it is already waiting for you. No need to run all over town shopping for something (like a water heater ignitor board). It just makes so many things easier.

bobmoore14
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153041
For what it's worth, I've been (still am part time) a business traveler for over twenty years, and the problem of wireless connectivity is one I've experienced in hotels from one end of the country to the other, regardless of the hotel brand where I've stayed. Slow or no connections that only got worse as more and more people were going online. Most hotels have upgraded their hardware several times by now, so connectivity is much better, but still, how many routers, their location and traffic have a significant effect.I've been unable to connect at 9:00 PM for example, but at 2:00 AM no problem.I'm sure campgrounds have experienced the same thing.
 I have an XP computer that I've used for years, and I have never had, and still don't have any problem related to its ability to connect to a wireless network.I have Internet Explorer, Opera, and Chrome browsers on my computer, each of which I use for different things. All work equally well.I don't know if I understand the browser "freezing up", but suspect that is not the computer. One thing that is often overlooked is that as web pages have become more dense, in advertising as well as just how complex they are has had a considerable effect on how fast they load. Sometimes I think a page isn't going to load, and then all of a sudden, it appears. We all know that the Google search page is about as simple as can be. If it can't load, but it loaded fine at McDonalds or Starbucks for example, or the last campground you stayed at, the problem is not the computer or the browser. This could be very telling as you decide what to do.
 IMHO, you do not need a new computer. Yes, XP is unsupported, but if you use your computer for occasional web surfing and email, stay away from dubious sites, have some sort of antivirus protection, and are very careful about opening emails and attachments from questionable sources, you may be able to use it for quite some time without any problem. My suspicion is that if you spend the money for a new computer and go to the same campground where you had trouble connecting, you will still have trouble. On the other hand, if the computer you have now is slow or not working even at a place with a known good wireless network, then maybe there's reason to look into a new computer.

Bill 2003--23' FL
Bill
2003 -- 23' FL
Re: broswer not responding with windows xp with rv park wifi
Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 153042
Before I was retired used to work in IT and did many Hotel/Motel installs of WIFI, routers, access points, data ckt.s., etc. Many of them had 1 DSL line that served the entire building. No wonder bandwidth was a problem.

bobmoore14