Extremely slow news downloads

[Dudley Henriques]

Please bear with me on this, as I'm really trying to clear it up.

I realize I asked concerning this issue yesterday and Diane was kind enough
to post something, but if I may, can I ask for some expansion please?
What I'm trying to nail down is how Entourage handles downloading of headers
when a newsgroup is clicked on each time. Reason I'm asking is that I'm
getting extremely slow download behavior each time I click a group.
For example, I'm set up to receive 300 headers which is standard for
newsgroup defaults...no issue there really. Now I subscribe to a group and
the initial download of headers takes seconds on my system....again normal.
Now I have several groups on the sidebar showing.
At this point, something seems to be changing in the download behavior. When
clicking on a group, I think I should just be getting headers for that group
each time I click on it. This shouldn't take very long.
What's happening each time I click on a group on the sidebar (even if just a
few seconds have passed between leaving a group then returning to it) is
that the barber pole showing connecting to my high speed connection just
turns and turns for several minutes, then changes to headers by the numbers
and finishes with just a few added headers increasing on the sidebar next to
that group.
Can someone tell me what is causing this long download behavior and exactly
how to fix it if possible please.
Many thanks, and please excuse the long post )
Dudley Henriques
(second day with a Mac
[MVP] Microsoft Flight Simulator

 

[Diane Ross]

Please bear with me on this, as I'm really trying to clear it up.

I realize I asked concerning this issue yesterday and Diane was kind enough
to post something, but if I may, can I ask for some expansion please?
What I'm trying to nail down is how Entourage handles downloading of headers
when a newsgroup is clicked on each time. Reason I'm asking is that I'm
getting extremely slow download behavior each time I click a group.
For example, I'm set up to receive 300 headers which is standard for
newsgroup defaults...no issue there really. Now I subscribe to a group and
the initial download of headers takes seconds on my system....again normal.
Now I have several groups on the sidebar showing.
At this point, something seems to be changing in the download behavior. When
clicking on a group, I think I should just be getting headers for that group
each time I click on it. This shouldn't take very long.
What's happening each time I click on a group on the sidebar (even if just a
few seconds have passed between leaving a group then returning to it) is
that the barber pole showing connecting to my high speed connection just
turns and turns for several minutes, then changes to headers by the numbers
and finishes with just a few added headers increasing on the sidebar next to
that group.
Can someone tell me what is causing this long download behavior and exactly
how to fix it if possible please.
Many thanks, and please excuse the long post )
Dudley Henriques
(second day with a Mac
[MVP] Microsoft Flight Simulator

I was hoping someone would come along that had an answer. It's possible I
don't understand the behavior, but this is not a registered problem.
Searching the newsgroup for a similar problem is not turning up anything.

What we need to determine is what is happening on your system. What
newsgroups are causing the problem other than the MS ones?

Have you click on the More button to get all the messages loaded from the
server?

Have you compared these newsgroups in a different client to see if the speed
is increased?

For me, download time for new messages is usually quick. Sometimes the
Microsoft server is slow but normally I get messages almost instantly.

--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
One of the top five MS Entourage resources listed on the Entourage Blog.
<http://blogs.msdn.com/entourage/>

 

[Dudley Henriques]

Hi Diane;
I have two servers set up for news; Microsoft and RCN. It's the RCN server
that seems to be the issue. The MS server seems normal. I haven't tried a
different news client yet but I'm considering doing that if someone
recommends a good one. That of course should isolate the issue if it's RCN.
Their server seems to be downloading the entire group each time it's
clicked. The MS server seems to just be downloading either the updated
headers or doing the same thing faster
I could try downloading Thunderbird for Mac and try that if you think it
might reveal the answer. I'll also check my settings for RCN again just to
be sure they are right.
The behavior is a click on a group followed immediately by a "connecting
barber pole" that lasts several minutes before changing to "downloading
headers". The header portion is quite fast and normal. Then the group
appears normally with the new number showing on the sidebar.
I'm using the same RCN news server on the Mac I used with OE on the PC, and
the PC was always normal.
Dudley

 

[William Smith]

Hi Diane;
I have two servers set up for news; Microsoft and RCN. It's the RCN server
that seems to be the issue. The MS server seems normal. I haven't tried a
different news client yet but I'm considering doing that if someone
recommends a good one. That of course should isolate the issue if it's RCN.
Their server seems to be downloading the entire group each time it's
clicked. The MS server seems to just be downloading either the updated
headers or doing the same thing faster
I could try downloading Thunderbird for Mac and try that if you think it
might reveal the answer. I'll also check my settings for RCN again just to
be sure they are right.
The behavior is a click on a group followed immediately by a "connecting
barber pole" that lasts several minutes before changing to "downloading
headers". The header portion is quite fast and normal. Then the group
appears normally with the new number showing on the sidebar.
I'm using the same RCN news server on the Mac I used with OE on the PC, and
the PC was always normal.
Dudley

Hi Dudley!

What you described earlier is certainly not normal behavior and you've
already narrowed the problem to your RCN server.

Since you're a Mac newbie (affectionately called so) you must still have
access to your Windows system. Does a newsreader on it have the same
problem with RCN? Possibly RCN has some special instructions on their
website for this problem.

Definitely try a different Mac newsreader. I use MT-NewsWatcher myself
and another is called MacSoup.

If that doesn't work you can also look at using some of the free news
servers on the 'Net to get to the groups you're after through Entourage.

Hope this helps! bill

 

[Dudley Henriques]

Hi Bill, and thanks for the feedback. I think the issue might be related to
a conflict between the Apple mail program settings and my Entourage mail
server settings. Something is hanging up the connection.
I'm going to fool with it tomorrow and see if I can sort it all out )
Dudley

 

[Diane Ross]

Hi Bill, and thanks for the feedback. I think the issue might be related to
a conflict between the Apple mail program settings and my Entourage mail
server settings. Something is hanging up the connection.
I'm going to fool with it tomorrow and see if I can sort it all out )

Check out tcpflow. This monitors network traffic.. See directions here:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/troubleshoot/tcpflow.html>

I notice you always top post. This is a much debated topic. I generally try
to follow what the initial user has started, but when you have mixed top
with bottom posting it can get a bit confusing. Because of this I recommend
on lists where you can have multiple contributors to use bottom posting.

Save the top posting for business correspondence. My 2 cents.

Here's a good example:

Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.

Why is top posting frowned upon?

--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
One of the top five MS Entourage resources listed on the Entourage Blog.
<http://blogs.msdn.com/entourage/>

 

[Dudley Henriques]

Check out tcpflow. This monitors network traffic.. See directions here:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/troubleshoot/tcpflow.html>

I notice you always top post. This is a much debated topic. I generally try
to follow what the initial user has started, but when you have mixed top
with bottom posting it can get a bit confusing. Because of this I recommend
on lists where you can have multiple contributors to use bottom posting.

Save the top posting for business correspondence. My 2 cents.

Here's a good example:

Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.

I agree on this generally. As an MVP for Microsoft myself, I post
extensively on Usenet as well as the forums dedicated to my specialty.
Generally I will deal with a thread either by bottom posting it if it's a
short post in reply, or I'll use insertions if it's a long detailed answer.
I don't know why I chose to top post on this issue....probably because I'm
so tired of dealing with this darn transition I can't see straight tonight.
)
I'll bottom post from now on )
Dudley

 

[Diane Ross]

I agree on this generally. As an MVP for Microsoft myself, I post
extensively on Usenet as well as the forums dedicated to my specialty.
Generally I will deal with a thread either by bottom posting it if it's a
short post in reply, or I'll use insertions if it's a long detailed answer.
I don't know why I chose to top post on this issue....probably because I'm
so tired of dealing with this darn transition I can't see straight tonight.
)
I'll bottom post from now on )

Good boy!

This topic is as controversial as plain text vs HTML messages.

Let us know what you find with an alternate news browser.

--
Diane Ross, Microsoft Mac MVP
Entourage Help Page
<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/>
One of the top five MS Entourage resources listed on the Entourage Blog.
<http://blogs.msdn.com/entourage/>

 

[Dudley Henriques]

Good boy!

This topic is as controversial as plain text vs HTML messages.

Let us know what you find with an alternate news browser.

I'm trying Thunderbird now. No issues as with Entourage for the RCN server.
Can't figure this out, but it's definitely a learning curve and something
unique to me since no one else has experienced it.
Dudley