Hey Guys and Gals,
I'm having an issue with the wife's computer. It is an HP slimline s7700n model. 1.5 gig ram running vista.
The problem started about 3 or 4 mos ago and I've tried every fix I could find on forums, msn, etc. The problem is "Slow Download Speed" I am hooked up to the same 4 port router and am getting download speed on my XP system of 11.8 MPS. Her vista unit is .5 Mbs with an upload speed of 4Mbs.
Vista uses an Ipv6 protocol which seems to be the culprit for many people with the same problem, but after disabling that, rolling back the driver, registry cleaning, changed router cable, etc, still the same problem. I believe the nvidia 10/100 is integrated as this little slimline doesn't appear to have any slots for a new card to be installed.
We've downloaded updated drivers, rolled back drivers, disabled, enabled, went to static ips dns, you name it I may have tried it, with no change what so ever in the download speed. Connection is fine, email etc but a download of any size will time out, and / or a youtube video may take 10 min to download.
Any help you can offer that hasn't been tried, is greatly appreciated, here are some specs.
Athlon 64 X2 (W) 3800+ 2.0 GHz
2000 MT/s (mega transfers/second)
Socket AM2
Memory
Component Attributes
Memory Installed 1 GB
Maximum allowed 2 GB (2 x 1 GB)
Speed supported PC2-4200 MB/sec
Type 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM
Hard drive
250 GB SATA
7200 rpm
Wireless
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g
Video Graphics
Integrated graphics
Sound/Audio
Integrated High Definition audio
Realtek ALC 888 chipset
Supports up to 8 audio channels
Dolby Pro Logic II compatible
Network (LAN)
Integrated 10/100 Base-T networking interface
Expansion slots
Slot type Quantity
PCI One (None available)
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Media Center
Windows Anytime Upgrade
running IE 8,
Avast
Thanks in advance.........
I think you've covered most all the bases. Have you turned off fire wall or avast? Are you downloading to a usb device or how's the HD empty or full and a possibility someone is piggybacking on the wifi.
Wyndham
I have not heard of anything quite like this.
One thing you could try that would bypass the internal network card is an external one. Get a simple USB to Ethernet adapter and try that. I have one that I got when I couldn't stop my internal network card from causing massive interrupts in music programs. DPC Latency Checker went through the roof until I took that card out. You could also try running the DPC Latency Checker and see if there is some other driver causing conflict that has the effect of slowing your network speed.
DL Firefox and give it a try.
I have a question. Are you saying that "0.5mbs Down and 4mbs Up"?
Or is it 4Mbs Down speed? Sorry if I'm confused. I have DSL and get 6megs down and 900k up on speedtests.
I'm sure I'm missing somthing here.
Wayne,
Do you have ethernet cables plugged into the router from both of your computers, or are you using a wireless connection? If you plug your Vista computer directly into your modem, what happens?
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I think you've covered most all the bases. Have you turned off fire wall or avast? Are you downloading to a usb device or how's the HD empty or full and a possibility someone is piggybacking on the wifi.
Wyndham
I have tried that, didn't make any difference at all and wasn't a factor prior to a few months ago when this all started. She is downloading to her C drive if its a file or program, but also trying to watch youtube stuff which takes forever. The HD has 120 gb of free space, and there is no one using wifi.
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I have not heard of anything quite like this.
One thing you could try that would bypass the internal network card is an external one. Get a simple USB to Ethernet adapter and try that. I have one that I got when I couldn't stop my internal network card from causing massive interrupts in music programs. DPC Latency Checker went through the roof until I took that card out. You could also try running the DPC Latency Checker and see if there is some other driver causing conflict that has the effect of slowing your network speed.
I considered an external network card, but since I don't own one, I would be hesitant to buy one for this older computer. If it has motherboard issues, I may need to replace the computer anyway. I will try the DPC latency checker, I think I have to download that into her computer first, I doubt that it's there already.
Thanks
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DL Firefox and give it a try.
IE 8 has always worked fine since she's had it, so the browser should not be the issue, this started all of a sudden, I run off the same router with XP and IE 8 works really well here.
Thanks
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I have a question. Are you saying that "0.5mbs Down and 4mbs Up"?
Or is it 4Mbs Down speed? Sorry if I'm confused. I have DSL and get 6megs down and 900k up on speedtests.
I'm sure I'm missing somthing here.
Wayne,
The speedtest on two different sites shows download speed of about .5 Mbps and Upload speeds of
4 Mps. My XP machine runs 11.8 download and 4 Mbps as it should be with our connection the vista machine has a definate issue. I'm starting to think Realtek drivers.
thanks.
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Do you have ethernet cables plugged into the router from both of your computers, or are you using a wireless connection? If you plug your Vista computer directly into your modem, what happens?
Both systems run off the same 4 port router. Plugging the vista machine directly into the modem does not change anything. The XP has great download speed from the router or the modem, switched ports, cables etc.
thanks
Toucher, don't know if this will help but try loading in ***www.soluto.com ****. I loaded it into a computer that was running dead slow especially on startup, and it showed a bunch of stuff loading I wasn't aware of. Someone else offered this information on an earlier forum and I found it very helpful. DennisD
Are you updating Vista? SP2 is the latest (to my knowledge)
Run the Windows Task Manager - right click on the Taskbar and choose Task Manager. From there, click on the Processes tab and see if anything is eating up CPU time. Try this when doing a download.
Check your startup using MSCONFIG from the Run menu. See if there is anything starting up you don't recognize. You can try disabling items and see if it helps.
Which security software are you running?
Check for viruses and spyware.
Rachael
Hi Toucher,
Here are two long shots you may want to try. One is to dance the Security Tango,
http://securitytango.com/ . This is a free but very comprehensive set of programs and instructions that will check you system for every type of bug know to computers.
The second is to check the computer logs. I’m not familiar with Vista but on XP they are located by right clicking on my computer, clicking on manage and the + button on Event Viewer. I was having a major problem with Kontakt 4. I kept getting an error message and Kontakt would not install. I checked for bugs of all kinds, drivers, programs etc. When viewing line for line in the event viewer (clicking on the up and down arrows) I discovered a problem with a Nero program. Note there was no error-warning icon in the event viewer so everything looked ok, which is why I viewed the lists line by line, i.e. Microsoft lies. I renamed the exe file to a bck file (short for backup) and I was able to load Kontakt. This only took 3.5 long agonizing weeks!
Good luck and I hope this helps.
G'day Toucher,
given this happened "overnight" (if I'm reading things right) it may have been after a m$ "update tuesday". Where I'm going is there may have been an 'update" from m$ that has conflicted with something else in the machine. Check system restore to see if there is still a restore point from before the time the problem started. If so, retorn to that restore point and see what happens. This should be a safe procedure as if all else fails, you can undo the restore.
The other place to look is how Avast is scanning incoming files. Of course, there's always the usual clean up processes like deleting .tmp files etc.
Hi Matt,
Tried the DCP Latency Checker, and it found no issues, but that's not surprising because I've already tried all the standard fixes to no avail. Guess I'll have to do the msconfig for startup, and do a one by one test on each item..........thanks for the heads up on the Checker.
Rob
Thanks for the suggestions everyone, the later input from Dennis, Rachael, Mario, Lawrie, and anyone that I might have forgotten to mention. I have tried it all, I may just convert it over to XP and be done with it. Any potential issues there that I need to be aware of?
Thanks again.
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone, the later input from Dennis, Rachael, Mario, Lawrie, and anyone that I might have forgotten to mention. I have tried it all, I may just convert it over to XP and be done with it. Any potential issues there that I need to be aware of?
Thanks again.
Yea registration of the OS. If the disc you have has been used it can only be used on one computer.
Hi Toucher,
have you tried replacing avast with a different virus chaser? I have avast and it upgraded itself a while back, and since then things have slowed down regarding the internet. I haven't done it myself yet, because av-free had a problem with spikes, but I am keeping an eye on it.
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Do you have ethernet cables plugged into the router from both of your computers, or are you using a wireless connection? If you plug your Vista computer directly into your modem, what happens?
Both systems run off the same 4 port router. Plugging the vista machine directly into the modem does not change anything. The XP has great download speed from the router or the modem, switched ports, cables etc.
thanks
With the Vista machine plugged directly into the modem, go to the control panel network settings and view the properties for your connection. Select Internet Protocol and click Properties. Make sure it is set to obtain an IP address automatically (assuming you aren't using a static ip).
If that doesn't work, I suggest that you call your ISP for additional suggestions. They might be able to do some tests. Maybe there is a problem with the network card in that computer.
To help determine whether you have a software or hardware issue, you might try booting from Puppy Linux or one of other Linux Live Cds mentioned in other topics on the forum. If the problem disappears, its a software problem. If the problem remains, it is a hardware problem.
I had a guy call me about a driver issue the other day. After going over his machine it happened after an update. He has no install disks for Vista. Had 'some' guy make the system for him including a dual output soundcard to run a dj system with beat matching. The drivers quit working and the system says it's not a 'valid' O/S. We bought and installed a valid XP system because I knew I could get drivers for the soundcard but was really unsure about windows 7.
Microsoft has found various ways to test systems and disable something, for this is the 2nd time in about 6 months I've seen this.
My son even bought a souped up gaming computer from 'just some guy' he knew. Ran for a year and crashed. Buddy was unavailable for comment and my son ended up buying a new computer, one year later. Live and learn eh? Microsoft has caused me some grief with this in the past, I've got my system set to NOT update overnight, thanks anyways Bill.
I'm in a predicament but everything is still operable. My daughter gave me her Dell XP - originally XP1 it is now upgraded to XP3. In case it tanks I don't have the original OEM XP Home but have all of the Dell #s keys etc. If I made a recovery disk, would that serve my the purpose. That and of course a drive image.
Big problem is Windows Genuine Advantage - there's a lot of info how that gets in the way of happy computing and how to make computing happier without it. I'll bet that's your problem.
Also get yourself a keyfinder and see what's hanging around on your computer.
FYI - just learned that Firefox no longer stops cookies - you have to get a free add-on - now that's a bugga . . . . don't get me started. Where's the beer?
Cheers - Ian
Tools-Start Private Browsing will make Firefox not remember cookies, history, or anything,
Yes it does. Under privacy use the drop down and set to custom.
Thanks guys - I'll check it out.
Ian
In all these years I have NEVER used a darn "Recovery Disk" anyway.
The reason is that these "Recovery Disks" do not actually "recover" your data, your programs, your setup nor anything else that is of any real value to a user, they just wipe the hard drive and reinstall whatever version of Windows that shipped with the computer when new. Without any of the updates.
Now that we have the USB drive option so readily available and so inexpensive, comparatively speaking, the use of a good imaging program and periodically making a new image of the whole shebang is very good insurance.
And should anything bad happen to your C: drive, your OS, etc. - getting it all back to square one is rather painless, costing only a bit of time for the transfer.
For those who don't want to go through that kind of thing, there are also now other methods readily available, such as "Carbonite" online backup systems, costing aprox $50US per year. I use Carbonite on the day job computers, but have not installed it on my music making DAWS simply because I want nothing possibly interrupting the music to call home on the internet and such. That said, I do part time work at a nearby recording studio and they use Carbonite on their Macs and report no problems.
The one thing I've noticed about keeping my own backup drive images:
The only time you will actually *NEED* the image drive to restore your precious "stuff" -- will be on the one machine where you haven't taken the time to make that drive image.
Of course.
--Mac
Wow,
The problem is solved. turns out it was a defective driver for the integrated 10/100 connection. This was updated, rolled back, etc etc as one of the first troubleshooting efforts. Every diagnosis showed the driver working properly. I finally gave up and took it in to a tech I used when all else fails. He looked at it for two minutes, uninstalled the driver and reinstalled the same driver, wham bam, presto, better than new.
I'm on what is supposed to be a 12 Mbps connection, my XP unit downloads at 11.8, this little vista on the same modem and router, is downloading at 16.3, don't know how that's possible, but I ain't gonna try to fix it. Thanks for the feedback from all who tried to help, just wanted to let you know what the problem was in case you ever face the same thing.
Rob
"Drivers, Drivers, Drivers..."
Sounds like you were rolling back and forth, reinstalling a corrupted driver.
The tech knew to go find it on the web, download the whole thing again and install that instead.
Don't forget the lesson learned here, next time you are faced with the same kind of situation you won't have to pay the tech you can do it yourself.
All in all, a good troubleshoot and fix for you, though.
--Mac
Total agreement Mac, the tech did it for free, just being nice I guess, so I bought him lunch, and will send him a bunch of referrals, of course.
Thanks to all who tried to help.
Rob