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Intranet File Copying SLOW, Web Surfing FAST

clayj

clayj

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jan 14, 2005
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OK, without going into a lot of possibly-unnecessary detail, here's my situation: I just got a new Mac mini (Core duo, 1 GB RAM, 100 GB HD). It's connected to the rest of my network via AirPort Extreme. Web surfing goes as fast I would expect it to, but when I try to copy files from another Mac mini (which is connected to the network router via Ethernet cable), it's horribly slow.

Has anyone seen this before, or do you have any ideas as to what I should look at on the new machine?
 
What is your normal internet speed, mini's internet speed, and how does it compare to your intranet speed?

Look at Activity Monitor/Network while doing this. For instance, mine shows 90-120KB/s downloading from the internet using wired connection. This is pretty normal, but is slow for intranet.

When I use airport with WPA encryption I get 20-23KB/s, which is slow for both intranet and internet, but is much more noticeable on my local network where I expect faster speeds.

You may be having the Intel Mac slow wireless problem.

Try a wired connection to see if that improves anything.
 
Thanks... this SUCKS. It damn well better not be a hardware issue, because homey don't play repair with one-day-old equipment. We'll be talking "exchange" or "refund". :mad:
 
For example, it said it was going to take over 300 HOURS to copy 35 GB of music files from my old Mac mini to the new one. Same result trying to copy the same files from one of my Windows boxes to the new Mac mini... of course, the common thread is that I'm using wireless both times (the new Mac mini is in my bedroom, away from the other machines). Right now, the wireless is slower than dial-up (insert puking emoticon here).

I suppose I could haul the thing into my office and transfer the files that way, with an Ethernet cable, but then I could not maintain my righteous anger about this issue. ;) Apple needs to get this fixed, and quickly. I'll be calling the Apple Store here tomorrow to warn them of an impending exchange (for a new-in-box mini) or refund if this ain't fixed by software by the end of the week.
 
don't you have an external hard drive? i know that doesn't solve your problem but it's a quicker way to transfer files :)

is it fast enough to stream in real-time over itunes sharing?
 
homerjward said:
don't you have an external hard drive? i know that doesn't solve your problem but it's a quicker way to transfer files :)

is it fast enough to stream in real-time over itunes sharing?
Click to expand...
I do, but again I want to maintain my anger. I shouldn't have to deal with workarounds that cause me to have to tear up my desk area. Apple needs to fix this, and as long as we keep letting the steam vent out, the necessary pressure will take longer to build before they fix this issue.

And I'm actually trying to copy all of my music to this NEW machine so that I can stream it to the others... it's got a bigger HD than my old mini PLUS it has Front Row.
 
mad jew said:
Wait, I thought the internet was still running at full speed (faster than dial up). Is this the case?
Click to expand...
Yeah, but I'm thinking now that that must be a matter of perception, since the pages I'm surfing are not that big.

In six hours since I last posted, I've been able to copy 867 MB of music files. That comes out to roughly 144 MB per hour, or 2.4 MB per minute. Like I said, roughly dial-up speed, if even that. And there is NOTHING else running on the new mini, just Safari and no screen saver.
 
clayj said:
Yeah, but I'm thinking now that that must be a matter of perception, since the pages I'm surfing are not that big.

In six hours since I last posted, I've been able to copy 867 MB of music files. That comes out to roughly 144 MB per hour, or 2.4 MB per minute. Like I said, roughly dial-up speed, if even that. And there is NOTHING else running on the new mini, just Safari and no screen saver.
Click to expand...
I wonder if there's something else wrong here. Although I have the slow wireless problem, it's still 4x faster than dialup (whereas it should be 15-20x faster). It would be tolerable if I had no other choice.

What's your exact configuation, ie. are you using encryption? What does Activity Monitor show for Network while downloading on both your internal network and externally. What's the firmware version of your airport card (About this Mac/More Info.../Network/Airport card)?
 
Maybe try downloading something fairly large from a site you get a good connection to (ideally your ISP's site). If you get a good speed then it's probably a settings problem rather than a physical AirPort problem. This'd be a good thing. :)
 
clayj said:
I suppose I could haul the thing into my office and transfer the files that way, with an Ethernet cable
Click to expand...

Mind you don't put your back out... I hear those Minis weigh a whole 1.31kg :eek: :p
 
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