Firefox slow/"transferring data.." constantly; Chrome "waiting for cache.." every webpage

[aafusc2988]

About 2-3 weeks ago now I noticed an issue with my Firefox taking forever to initially load my homepage (google.com) - we're talking 20-25 seconds. On a connection that speedtest.net confirmed to be 37 Mbps down / 6 Mbps up (exactly what I am paying Spectrum for). My speedtest results never change or look bad.

I even tried to get Spectrum technicians to my apartment to test my line/modem/router after a bad storm we had but they said any issues I was having had to be on my computer's end and never sent a technician over - I even canceled an appointment this past Saturday morning (April 15) when I decided to just reinstall Windows 7 completely. Prior to that I had run a check disk on the HDD and nothing came back as an error when I ran that.

So here we are 6 days later and my Firefox was still acting strange, as in showing a lot of activity in the bottom left corner trying to load webpages, messages such as "transferring data from.." etc., etc. I then found a topic on mozillaZine forums that seemed to indicated FF is indeed having some issues (see: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=3029007) and one user fixed them by rolling back to an older build of FF. I didn't want to do this... but last night finally got fed up and completely uninstalled FF. Installed Chrome.

It's loading webpages seemingly fast but it's still doing odd things as well such as saying "waiting for cache" at the bottom left on any page I try to visit. It may load the page pretty quickly but when I'm scrolling through lots of content (say ESPN or CNN or news sites with lots of stories/videos/windows), I can still see some stuff still load in later than other parts of the site and any site I visit shows this "waiting for cache" message.

I tried just about everything imaginable before reinstalling Windows 7 by the way. That included running CCleaner/Malwarebytes about 5 times total and my full virus scan with Avast. I flushed the dns cache, got rid of a ton of programs in msconfig from starting up. Obviously did a complete power cycle of my setup. Tried web browsing after turning off antivirus and Windows Firewall still didn't make a difference. I never did try Google DNS or OpenDNS... but I really don't see why I'd have to use these when my ISP's have always been fine.

WiFi works fine on my phone in my apartment on the same network, online gaming works fine (mostly Overwatch, Team Fortress 2, Rocket League), streaming Netflix over the WiFi via my Roku device in my bedroom is fine. So what gives? I do not know what to do except maybe wait to see if this passes....


Every time I chat with a Spectrum representative I tell them the same old crap every time... they do some checks on their end and refresh/reset services. Nothing ever seems to indicate it's the ISP. But I have had strange tracert results when tracing to www.google.com. Such as some weird looking hops.... but pinging google.com via ping 8.8.8.8 -t seems relatively fine. Average ping of around 28-32 ms and a maximum of 130... this being over the course of pinging for 15 mins or so.The last Spectrum rep did say I had some strange modem logs. I will paste whatever I see in the log when I get back home from work today. He also said "this seems very bad" from when he saw my tracert to google results. I will also post that when I get back home today.

But does anyone have any ideas? Maybe I'll get a tech to come over after all...


**I will say at this point with Chrome it does seem better than Firefox did... I was using AdBlock Plus on Firefox btw, and immediately installed AdBlock Plus on Chrome. I am complaining about mere seconds as far as these hangups are concerned but I know it wasn't like this even as little as 3 or 4 weeks ago. So I have no idea what changed... so it's annoying.




Can anyone confirm which color my Ethernet port light should be on a MSI 760GMA-P34 (FX)? I found the manual online but can't find anything about the color of the lights in it...

I found this from another Tom's Hardware topic:

"There are two LEDs just above the Ethernet port, one upper right (indicates speed of connection) the other upper left (indicates activity level).

For the speed LED, no color = 10mbps, orange = 100mpbs, green = gigabit
For the activity LED no color at all = no link, solid color = linked, blinking = data activity"

Mine is solid orange/amber.

 

[Ralston18]

You mentioned using msconfig to reduce the startup programs - excellent.

Boot your system but do not open or launch Firefox, etc..

Open Task Manager to see what all is running. Check the various tabs and get a sense of "pre-Firefox".

Leave the Window open and then launch Firefox. Watch what changes: apps, processes, services, resources used, etc..

You can also apply Resource Monitor and Performance Monitor observations in the same manner.

The objective is to identify some specific bottleneck that you can disable or enable at will to end or restart the "waiting for cache" message.

As for the lights: the orange (upper right) likely indicates 100mpbs, amber(upper left) likely indicates linked but no data transfers/activity.

Not at all uncommon for manuals and devices to disagree with regards to the LED colors. Manufacturers are likely to change to a less expensive LED (regardless of color) and not bother to update the manuals.

If you are paying for Gigabit service and are using up to spec Cat 5e cables the orange light (upper right) should be green.

What level service do you have and what make and model modem and router? Or combo modem/router if applicable?

 

[aafusc2988]

I'm still having these issues and it's driving me absolutely insane. Web pages load fast enough to where most people wouldn't even complain about this, but I know it was never like this even a month ago and I have to fix this. If I load a page like ESPN, I can see it doing all sorts of things in the bottom left hand corner activity ribbon.. and the web site even though appears mostly loaded will still spin before it shows the still logo for that website, indicating it's taking several seconds to fully load everything....


I use: ARRIS SURFboard SBG6580 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem/ Wi-Fi N300 2.4Ghz + N300 5GHz Dual Band Router (Combo)

I have: TWC/Spectrum Extreme Internet Package (37 Mbps down / 6 Mbps up) - consistent across every Speedtest.net test I do


Is this a HDD issue? Even though I've already ran a full check disk and had no errors... AND after the check disk I reinstalled Windows 7 the next day anyway. The HDD is 3 years old... not sure the brand since it came in a prebuild.

I already completed removed Firefox from my PC, uninstalled, booted into safe mode to remove from %APPDATA% and also removed the registry keys for it in Current User and Local System. About to do the same for Chrome... I can't really test IE because IE doesn't show me any type of activity ribbon when loading web pages.

 

[Ralston18]

HDD isssue? Possible but you need some empircal evidence.

What else do you see via Task Manager, Performance Monitor, and Resource Monitor?

Firefox is apparently off the table now. So look at what ever else may be going on.

 

[aafusc2988]

I did a check disk again last night, this time NOT selecting the option to fix/clean bad sectors (I can't recall the exact wording of this option but this is what I chose in addition to the other option when first running a check disk BEFORE I reinstalled Windows 7 a couple weeks ago), and this time it did the check disk then seemed to do a check disk on E: my external HDD without me prompting it. It was wording along these lines:

Checking file system on C: (but I'm pretty sure it said this for E:, my external HDD, and NOT C: my HDD) The type of the file system is NTFS. One of your disk needs to be checked for consistency. You can cancel the disk check, but it is strongly recommended that you continue. To skip disk checking, press any key within(10)seconds.


After I got back onto my desktop Chrome seemed faster and pages loaded better. I did not see waiting for cache in the bottom left hand activity feed but I did see stuff like "waiting for extension AdBlock plus" a couple times. But it never seemed to hinder a webpage from loading properly and quickly. This HDD is 3 years old, and I honestly don't even know the brand as it came in with a prebuilt PC. I've since updated the GPU (well way back in 2014 - see my specs) and the PSU just last November. Now I think it's time for a new HDD, but I rather wait because I don't want to reinstall Windows 7 again already after it being just 2 weeks or so.... how much longer can I get out of this HDD?

 

[aafusc2988]

In the coming months I'll probably get a Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200 RPM SATA III HDD, and maybe even a SSD for the OS (Windows 7 x64). What's a good SSD to get just for the OS? And since my OS will be on the SSD, am I going to always have to specify where programs get downloaded? I still want Steam and everything to be Program Files/C: etc for the HDD.

Also, do I need to even worry about a 2.5" to 3.5" converter 'tray' for the SSD? Or can I just screw it into an empty bay in my case?

 

[Ralston18]

First with regards to "good SSD" start with this link from within this forum:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-ssds,3891.html

Look for other professional reviews and verified end-user reviews. Any given product (regardless of make and model) is likely to have its ups and downs. Any number of problems could occur. And any device (including your existing HDD) can fail at any time. Statistically the odds of a failure increase with time. Most products are designed with some EOL (End of life) in mind.

When it comes to disk drives your best protection is to have regular and verified backups.

It is well worth the time and effort to visit the website(s) for any product you are considering. Read the applicable User Guide/Manual and the manufacturers' FAQs and user forums. Look for what is being said as well as not being said.

You will need to look inside your desktop case and check the bays. There may or may not be a 2.5" bay directly available or a 3.5" bay that can be easily adapted. Some SSD's come with adapters/brackets/mounting rails. If not then an applicable adapter will need to be purchased. Easily found online.

Most software that involves downloading provide a default target folder/file. However that target file/folder may be changeable. Caveat being that any updates or upgrades to the software may reset to the original target. Or the software may flounder if it expects to find or otherwise require the default target folder/file to be present. Access rights may become an issue.

Overall, you should be free to re-establish the target download destinations as you are accustomed to doing.

C: of course being the OS boot drive is independent of the physical type of drive (HDD or SSD).

 

[aafusc2988]

I might just skip the SSD.. I've never felt need for one. A good step at this time would just be to replace my HDD as it is now and go for more space. The Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200 SATA III looked like a great deal. $89.99 on Amazon.. that's $30/TB. I rather not deal with the nuances of having some things on 1 drive versus another.

From my thread though, this one, does it make sense that my HDD was the issue all along? How long is a check disk good for? What caused it to start doing this in the first place? How much longer will my HDD last, or can I expect it to last? I still don't want to drop $90 right this instant and like I said I just reinstalled Windows so I rather not take half a Saturday doing that again for at least a few months.

What are signs I should look for that it's getting worse? Will games stutter/hang?

 

[Ralston18]

If you run regular disk diagnostics etc. and start seeing and increasing number of errors, bad sectors, and so forth that would certainly indicate a decline in drive health.

Use Seagate's tool.

Getting worse - more errors, maybe more crashes, failures to boot.

Or the "worse" could be a sudden castrophic drive failure when one day you turn the PC on and nothing.... No boot, maybe some motherboard beeps indicating no hard drive to be found.

There are statistical measurements: Mean Time Between Failure (MBTF) to provide guidance with respect to device lifetimes.

However that statistical approach is being replace with Annualized Failure Rate.

What it really boils down to are manufacturers trying to come up with ways to indicate or demonstrate that their products are more reliable, last longer, better than the other guy.

Yes you can keep using the existing HDD if willing to accept the risks. Make regular backups, test them, and keep doing so. Be ready for a worst case scenerio at any time.

 

[aafusc2988]

I did a full check disk after yesterday's regular check disk fix only lasted that night. But the full check disk is coming back with no errors.

Is it possible my HDD is at the earliest stage of failing and check disk thinks it's okay? I don't know what else could be causing the waiting for cache on loading pages when I've exhausted all other avenues.

I'm online now using Chrome as usual and now I'm getting 0 waiting for cache messages... so it's fine after I run check disks, but it was fine when I did this yesterday then when I got home from work today everything was 'hanging up' again. When I say hang up I mean taking web pages literally 2-3 seconds or maybe a bit longer to fully load than how it is now.. the waiting for cache is obviously related to the HDD... but why does the check disk come back w/ 0 errors and fix the issue only temporarily? I'm sure tomorrow I will see the waiting for cache again....

 

[aafusc2988]

By the way I have 33% FREE space on this 1TB HDD... so it's not an issue with the drive being too full on capacity. Just found out that I might not have the HDD in the right port on this motherboard (in signature) - it's a SATA III and my mobo's website has drivers for Asmedia Sata which uses the 6Gb/s HDD speeds. If it's currently plugged into port #7 or 8 then I'm only getting Sata 2 speeds because I never got those drivers after reinstalling Windows.... but this HDD was in an older version of my same mobo before and I didn't have those drivers then either...

 

[Ralston18]

Open Resource Monitor and select the Disk tab.

Keep the window open and check what all is going on with respect to both "Processes with Disk Activity" and "Disk Activity".

Then do things as you normally do while continuing to watch.

You do not immediately need to (nor should you) react to any given Image/PID that seems to be hogging the disk via Reads or writes.

Even when you are doing "nothing" per se the Resource Monitor will be displaying changes in processes and/or their respective activity level.

Observe over time and once you are reasonably confident that some activity is the reason for slowness or "waiting for cache" then you investigate that specific activity. It may well be driver or configuration related.

 

[aafusc2988]

I have the new HDD coming anyways... this one is 3 years old and only 1TB. A new 3TB HDD can't hurt... and another reinstallation of Windows. 2nd time in less than a month. I don't understand how anything could've changed aside from just the HDD going bad/starting to show early symptoms. I've been running the same programs/etc since I got this computer 3 years ago. I mainly just have Steam open and Blizzard app at any given time.