BleepingComputer.com: Very Slow File Downloads

Hello,
I am running Windows Vista Ultimate that is past the support window of 90 days. I have a small network and experience the download issue only on the Vista machine. I have ruled out Comcast and the Router as the source. The Vista machine runs Windows Live OneCare for antivirus and general maintenance. Webpage activation seems reasonable for most. There are no toolbars or other malware programs running though I did download AdAware SE to see if it would help. I noticed a similar thread in 2005 where the writer solved it by removing some application I've never run. My download speed has been clocked at about 25 mbps which is slower than dialup and totally unacceptable. My NIC is current and upload speeds appear to be better than normal. I have not tried HijackThis yet.
Sincerely,
John Clemens

Are you using a torrent downloader? Or are we talking about any downloads in general?

I'm sorry. I don't know what a torrent downloader is. I doubt I'm using it. It seems to be anything downloaded from the web. Also using the latest Internet Explorer. Have not tested Mozilla. I have not tested a file transfer from my other computer to the slow one. I've been measuring download speed using primarily the Speakeasy.net speed test.

Try the downloads on the other system - if they're normal, then it's a system problem. If not, then we'll have to start with the router and work out from there.

On the other computer file downloads from the web are normal. Today I also did a file copy from the Laptop wireless connection to this bad Vista system and it was extremely fast.

So, there appears to be something wrong with the "bad" system - or with it's settings in the router. Now, to rule out IE as the culprit, please download a free browser ( I like Firefox from here: http://www.mozilla.com ) and see if the downloads speed up.

If they do speed up with Firefox, then it's likely that IE is your problem.
If they don't, then it's likely that it's either your network connection (or, again) problems with a setting in the router.

To rule out the router, you'll need to reset the router to it's default state. You can either press the reset button in the back, reset it through it's web interface, or turn it off for 30 minutes. Then test the speeds again (both with Firefox and IE).

You can create another connection in your Network and Sharing Center to see if that helps also.

As I mentioned, I ruled out the router as the source by re-routing my ethernet cable directly from the cable modem into the NIC card, thus bypassing the router altogether.

I also rebooted into safe mode with networking to see if some service could be a problem but still no success.

I downloaded and ran Firefox. I like the browser but download speeds did not improve.

Thanks,
John

I'd suggest deleting your network connection and network adapter, then reinstall them. If that doesn't work, we can try rebuilding the TCP stack using these instructions: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=299357

Strangely enough, i noticed this problem also when got my pc with vista preinstalled - The data transfer is much slower compared to xp on almost exactly same laptop (brand differs, but configuration almost not), anyway, i do not have a superb internet connection now and I never download directly to this laptop... I am thinking is it possible that VISTA security layer slows down the connection significantly, or perhaps the windows defender is checking the incoming stream...

I've been using Vista since it's early beta days, and there has been a lot of attention paid to the networking features of the OS by Microsoft. I don't have any issues with download, either at home, at the wife's office, or at my work. When we have network issues at work, I do notice that XP downloads will fail or be corrupted, while the Vista downloads will take longer (I presume that Vista is trying harder to ensure that the download is not corrupted).

It's also possible that your connection isn't Vista compatible. There is an ISP in my area that's telling people that Vista isn't compatible with their network and that they have to wait until SP1 to get compatibility. ISP's using older systems may not be able to handle IPv6 or the fact that the DHCP broadcast flag is turned on by default.

I expect SP1 to address some issues with networking, most likely in the TTF (time to failure) and also in the file copying area (time to transfer) - but that's purely guesswork on my part.

Finally, try this free tool to analyze your connection: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/using/too...gd/default.mspx
It may give you some idea of where the problems lie. FYI - It's a new tool and may have some issues (for example, it says my router isn't Vista Logo certified (but it is), and it says UPnP isn't enabled (which it is))

With this HP computer the network interface was tied to the motherboard. I could not find any updated drivers for it but one of the network performance tests I ran indicated a high level of packet loss, so I continued to suspect bad network hardware. I put in a brand new d-link card yesterday and that completely resolved the issue.

"Nothing succeeds like success!" Glad you figured it out and have fixed it.