Guide Tips to improve BSNL broadband (and other DSL)

Hi everyone. I have been using BSNL broadband from 7 months now. My walk with bsnl broadband has been rough though, because of their poor customer support, poor service and also performance in remote places like that of mine mine. So it would be better if net connection is tweaked to maximum performance, to ensure max speed be available. So I had used these tweaks below for my connection, and they worked very well for me.
I found some of these tips on the internet and from friends in the initial stages of my bb use, now I have added them as well as my own tips to the list here. Some of them are application specific, and others are general. Also this guide is mainly targeted at the newbies, because when i was a novice i had really silly doubts like "Which browser should i use?:P ".
Any comments, flames and appreciations are welcome.

1) One of the major problems with BSNL Dataone Broadband connection is the DNS servers they provide by default. Most of the time they are very slow and sometimes they fail to respond. I noticed that I am starting to spend a significant amount of time in DNS resolution with Dataone connection, often it is larger than the time it takes to actually get the reponse. Here is a simple solution to significantly speed up your DNS resolution.
Open up the network connection profile and edit TCP/IP settings. In the DNS server address fields, specify the following DNS server addresses: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
Disconnect the connection and then connect again. You are done.
This specifies third party DNS servers which are significantly faster than BSNL Dataone’s DNS servers.
Note: The service is provided by OpenDNS.
Link: OpenDNS: A Valid Web 2.0 Business Model; Is It Good For you?

2) Firefox users can use FlashBlock extension mozdev.org - flashblock: index to prevent downloading of Flash content by default, thereby significantly speeding up browsing experience. You can click on the placeholder icon to display the original Flash content any time. Like you want to watch Youtube movies etc just disable it with a click. This is more of a passive tip in that reduces data usage to improve your overall experience.

3) You can try to increase your broadband bandwidth tweaking the TCP/IP parameters. The process is simplified by using TCPOptimizer http://www.speedguide.net/files/TCPOptimizer.exe, a free tool. It helped me, your mileage may vary.

4) Only for systems with WIN XP:
This tip is designed for increased BROADBAND speed only in Windows XP, while using standard Network Interface cards (NIC) that are connected to ADSL modems, or when using any directly-connected USB ADSL modem.

To speed up the Internet connection speed we need to configure a special buffer in the computer's memory in order to enable it to better deal with interrupts made from the NIC or the USB modem.

This tip is only recommended if you have 256MB RAM or higher.

Step #1 - Identify the IRQ used by the NIC/USB modem

1. Open the System Information tool by running MSINFO32.EXE from the Run command.
2. Expand System Summary > Hardware Resources > IRQs.
3. Look for the listing made for your NIC (in my case - a Intel® PRO/100+ Management Adapter). Note the IRQ next to the specified line (in my case - IRQ21).

In case of USB modems you will first need to find the right USB device used by your modem. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Device Manager tool by running DEVMGMT.MSC from the Run command (or by right-clicking My Computer > Hardware tab > Device Manager button).
2. Scroll down to Universal Serial Bus controllers and expand it.
3. Right-click the USB Root Hub and select Properties. Note that you might need to do so for all listed USB Root hubs (if there are more than one) in order to find the right one.
4. In the Power tab, look for your USB ADSL modem.
5. In the Resources tab look for the assigned IRQ (in this case - IRQ21).
6. This is the IRQ we're looking for.

Note: IRQs and modem names might vary...

Step #2 - Modify the system.ini file

1. Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the Run command.
2. Expand the system.ini file window.
3. Scroll down almost to the end of the file till you find a line called [386enh].
4. Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type IrqX=4096 where X is the designated IRQ number we found in step #1, in my case it's IRQ21.

Note: This line IS CASE SENSITIVE!!!

5. Click on the File menu, then choose Save.
6. Close SYSEDIT and reboot your computer.

Done. Speed improvement will be noticed after the computer reboots.

5) This is rather a straight forward tip, and effect is immediate.
Make sure you Log on as Administrator, not as a user with Administrator privileges.
Start-> Run-> type gpedit.msc
You will see [Local Computer Policy]
Open [Computer Configuration]
Expand the [Administrative Templates] branch
Expand the [Network] branch
Highlight [QoS Packet Scheduler]
Double-click [Limit Reservable Bandwidth]
Check [Enabled]
Change [Bandwidth limit %] to 0 %
Click [Apply] [OK]
Restart (Reboot)

6. Update drivers

Updating the drivers on your NIC (Network Interface Card) can give you the noticeable speed boost also. Some good places to check for drivers would be:
Computer Driver Detective for Drivers, XP Drivers, Vista Drivers, | Driver Update Technology,
Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com
AltaVista.
DriverGuide.com (printer drivers, cdrom drivers, modem drivers, sound drivers, mouse drivers, monitor drivers, etc.) - DriverGuide.com

General tips for newbies:
Best browser now: Mozilla firefox 2:clap:
Good antivirus: Kaspersky, Anti vir (my opinion)
Good Spyware remover: Spybot, AD-adware

General tips:
1. Have a good antivirus installed always and keep it updated as much as possible.
2. Do a scan for spywares atleast once in 15 or 20 days, spywares drastically bringdown net as well as system performance.
3. Keep automatic update features of XP off ( i recommend). Instead of them go for auto patcher updates. Link: AutoPatcher.com » AutoPatcher XP

This is my first guide on any topic here in TE , so sorry if i have crossed any rules. But This list will be updated by me regularly.:) Tips from other TE members are also welcome. Lets make braodband a better product to use:D
 
when i type gpedit.msc i get the error windows cannot find it make sure u typed the name correctly.. Lol on a genuine xp i get this error how do i work around it ?
 
I use a wireless connection to my router, and then to another router and then BSNL. I've used OpenDNS for quite some time and it's been reliable.

The web browser I feel is best, is Safari for Windows. It's very fast, very clean, and it has an organized feel, unlike Firefox. I used to use Firefox, but when I moved to Vista, I just used IE7, and now I use Safari. I feel that though Firefox has features, it has a very unorganized feel, just like linux. Safari is quite fast, even faster than Firefox in some cases, and it beats IE in security.

The best security software, performance wise, and protection wise, is Norton 2009, and it's a far cry from Norton's earlier products. I was always a hater of Norton, due to the hopeless performance of its earlier products, but this new version beats the fastest products out there. I've moved from AVG to Norton, and I'd recommend this to anybody.
 
Good guide..I also have BSNL broadband connection and it requires some tweaking to be done..
Can't wait to implement the settings that you have shared here.
thanks...
 
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