I used www.speedtest.net to test my download through firefox first on vista and then on Ubuntu (9.04) - it is a dual boot machine

Whilst I get between 18 and 19 mbs on Vista I only get 4.5 on Ubuntu - how do I fix this - is it an issue with my ethernet drivers or my setup?

I am on a 20mbs cable modem - I connect via an ethernet cable to a router - which obviously connects to the cable modem.

Any help would be appreciated - thanks

Have you tried downloading a file from the command line (ftp) on both and comparing times?

If they are about the same then I would look at Firefox configuration as the cause, if not it's more likely to be a network config.

Well I have now tried downloading via ftp - I used FileZilla in Ubuntu and Cute FTP in windows.

I got 4.1 mbs in Ubuntu and 18.9 in Windows.


I have only had this ubunto (9.04) for a couple of days - and I have been using Windows since the 3.1 days (I remember being impressed with windows 95 at one time)! and I only have a small amount of programming / database skills (php and mysql) for website development.

I really like what I have been able to to on ubuntu and how good it looks and it's integrity - but this download speed problem could be a real show stopper!

I would really appreciate some advice as to what to do.

I have no idea what to do to sort out my network configuration.

I am on 20mbs cable - it is a dynamic IP address but changes rarely I believe. (Virgin media in the UK)

Well that is confusing!

I just reinstalled ubuntu and now my connection is fine 19.2mb

You are NOT going to get 20mbs all the time. That's the theoretical maximum. All ISPs lump a group of customers together, and they all all have to share a data "hose pipe".
If your neighbours (sharers of the pipe) are busy downloading stuff, you'll be throttled down.
So one-time tests are unreliable.
It may be 4.5mbs one moment, then the full 20. It depends on your ISP's setup, and how many other people you are sharing that bandwidth with, and what they are doing.