Will moving files affect my download speed

Sometimes, they can be the cause of slow upload and download speeds. Factors at play include the distance from your access point, physical interruptions, signal interference from microwaves and cordless phones, or too many neighbors competing for the same swath of unlicensed spectrum very common in apartment buildings. One of the most frustrating aspects of using a WiFi networks is signal interference. Your connection can be humming along and then drop out for what appears to be an inexplicable reason.

If it drops out for long enough, an upload or download can fail. Devices that are connecting via the 2. Connections that use the 5. The higher the frequency, the harder it is for a signal to pass through materials, so these connections tend to get blocked more easily by physical obstructions.

One way to test whether your Wi-Fi network is potentially the cause of a connection problem is to connect your computer to a wired connection. I just switched to a 50 Mbps Internet connection in my home, but when I tested it using Speedtest. Net , the maximum speed that I got in most rooms was 20 Mbps.

Since I can transfer data at full speed when I connected directly to my router, I know that my wireless network is the bottleneck. Perhaps changing the wireless channel, moving my access point to a more central location, or installing a network extender will help improve my connection speed.

Failing that, it might be time to look for a better router. If you decide you need to go wired, you can do the obvious thing and run ethernet cable between your router and your computer, which is fine if your computer is near your router.

Alternatively you can look at some of the power-line networking solutions that are available - not as convenient as wireless, but better than running exposed cables through hallways and way cheaper than running cables through the wall..

Unfortunately, it may take a bit of trial and error to figure out what works best for you. Not surprisingly, your choice of connection technology, and your ISP's network will have a big impact on your connection speed.

The shorter the distance between your house and the point where the phone company aggregates traffic, the faster your potential connection will be. The benefit is that these short connections support more advanced variants of DSL that offer higher potential connection speeds and can also be used to offer television service.

In my case the difference is pretty substantial. I get a 50 Mbps connection in my house, and 1 Mbps at my friend's cottage. Likewise, some locations in cities may still have relatively slow speeds due to their distance from the central office or remote terminal. The architecture of cable networks is different.

Think of it like a bunch of streets feeding into a major artery. In this sense, cable is a shared network. This will free up some more drive space.

In passing, note the tab marked Updates. Ideally, all your software should be up to date, because old versions may have known vulnerabilities. SlimCleaner will tell you about new versions and download them for you. Finally, click the SlimCleaner button labelled Disk Tools. This will pop up a box that shows all your hard drives, tells you how big they are, and how much free space they have.

If you select your C drive and click Analyze it will tell you which files and folders are taking up the most space. These will usually be music files, movies and photographs. You may want to back some of these up to write-once CD-Rom or DVD discs and copy them to your D drive if any or to an external hard drive. Again, this will free up space on your C drive. On my very old Windows XP desktop, for example, I have These take up 10x the space of my 4.

I can't imagine a case where it would make more sense to move a useful program to an external drive rather than shift or delete MB of interviews about the launch of Windows 7.

Alternatively, I could buy and install a second internal hard drive in an empty drive bay, and use it to store all my digital data. This would be a cheaper option than buying a new PC. People do sometimes move applications from one internal disk to another because they want to devote a whole drive to a heavyweight program such as a movie editor.

This is tricky because the file paths — which tell Windows where to find things — are stored in the Windows registry. If you just move the program files without changing all the registry paths, the program will stop working. There are a few utilities that will move programs, such as SymMover. For example, video streaming services like Netflix use a heavy amount of bandwidth.

Temporarily disable the apps and see if that helps. To make it easier, try downloading one file at a time. Though this may seem counterintuitive, it can end up saving time. A router not only allows you to connect multiple devices, but it also acts as an antenna to extend the range of the Wi-Fi throughout your home.

The modem you have is typically provided by your service provider. Sometimes the fix can be as simple as restarting your modem. If your download speed has been significantly slow and you saw no change in speed after restarting, it may be time for a new modem. If your speed increases when you are directly next to the modem, this is a good sign, in which case your router may be the issue.

As mentioned, the router allows you to extend your connectivity range. If your device is too far away from the router, this could be impacting your download speed. The location of your router can have a major impact on your download speed as well. Be mindful of where you are placing your router as some areas in your home may not have a strong connectivity signal. If you have a large house, consider getting Wi-Fi extenders that can boost the range and increase your internet speed.

Avoid putting your router in basements, bathrooms, cabinets, on the floor, or near microwaves and other home appliances. Your router should be in a central location so the connection can reach throughout the entire home. Sometimes Wi-Fi can be tricky, in which case connecting to an Ethernet cable can quickly increase your download speed. To do this, connect the Ethernet from your modem to your device. If the cable is too long or if it is outdated, try upgrading to a higher-quality, shorter cable.

Sometimes this slight change can make all the difference. Viruses on your device can cause a multitude of issues. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. How to speed up file transfers in Windows The built-in file transfer system in Windows can be quite slow, as anyone who uses networked hard drives or moves large media files knows from painful experience. Rob Lightner.

To get started with TeraCopy, download and install it from here. While you can drag and drop files into TeraCopy, I prefer to right-click files and folders from within Windows Explorer and select TeraCopy Step 2: Right-click and select TeraCopy. Rob Lightner This opens TeraCopy in a new window.