Oddball fix for slow network and Internet response under Vista

I too am having problems integrating two new identical Vista machines into
my home network. All the XP machines run fine.

The two machines connect, but performance is ISDN speeds versus cable - one
hundreth of the anticipated speed of 6 Mbs.

I've searched and found over 30 remedies and have started on some of them
(turning off Statefull Packet Inspection and Autotune, install all upgrades,
etc etc etc - life should be simplier with this).

However, I've accidentally found a surefire fix: Plug an old hub between the
PC and the router. Speeds are instantly restored. Nothing else works.

This hub as Auto-Negotiation and I'm wondering if that somehow fixes Windows
Scaling or some of the other "improvements" that have made this a miserable
experience.

Any ideas? Somebody want to confirm the hub trick?

Regards,

Michael

There is a definite hardware correlation to the autotuning and rss
settings and the switches/routers you are connected to...

---
Jeffrey Randow

Windows Networking MVP 2001-2006
http://www.networkblog.net



On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:52:34 -0400, "Michael Clifford"
<mjclifford@hotmail_nospam.com> wrote:

>I too am having problems integrating two new identical Vista machines into
>my home network. All the XP machines run fine.
>
>The two machines connect, but performance is ISDN speeds versus cable - one
>hundreth of the anticipated speed of 6 Mbs.
>
>I've searched and found over 30 remedies and have started on some of them
>(turning off Statefull Packet Inspection and Autotune, install all upgrades,
>etc etc etc - life should be simplier with this).
>
>However, I've accidentally found a surefire fix: Plug an old hub between the
>PC and the router. Speeds are instantly restored. Nothing else works.
>
>This hub as Auto-Negotiation and I'm wondering if that somehow fixes Windows
>Scaling or some of the other "improvements" that have made this a miserable
>experience.
>
>Any ideas? Somebody want to confirm the hub trick?
>
>Regards,
>
>Michael
>

Here are two updates:

I put a Vista certified switch in line, replacing the hub. No go: Speed
decreased from 6 Mbs to 300 Kbs.

Just a moment ago, I heard about
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932134/en-us . There's an internet
connectivity tool you can download to test XP machines, Vista machines and,
more importantly, the router in the home network. I can't use it until later
today, since it may break my connection to work. Perhaps somebody else can
try it.

Michael Clifford

"Michael Clifford" <mjclifford@hotmail_nospam.com> wrote in message
news:...
>I too am having problems integrating two new identical Vista machines into
> my home network. All the XP machines run fine.
>
> The two machines connect, but performance is ISDN speeds versus cable -
> one
> hundreth of the anticipated speed of 6 Mbs.
>
> I've searched and found over 30 remedies and have started on some of them
> (turning off Statefull Packet Inspection and Autotune, install all
> upgrades,
> etc etc etc - life should be simplier with this).
>
> However, I've accidentally found a surefire fix: Plug an old hub between
> the
> PC and the router. Speeds are instantly restored. Nothing else works.
>
> This hub as Auto-Negotiation and I'm wondering if that somehow fixes
> Windows
> Scaling or some of the other "improvements" that have made this a
> miserable
> experience.
>
> Any ideas? Somebody want to confirm the hub trick?
>
> Regards,
>
> Michael
>
>

It's not only routers... I myself have distinct problems with W2K3 R2
boxen from any Vista laptop in any environment - my office or at home.
W2K3 or W2K8 beta boxes do not exhibit the same performance hit.

Disabling autotuning and rss made the speed difference negligible.

---
Jeffrey Randow

Windows Networking MVP 2001-2006
http://www.networkblog.net

On Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:04:03 -0400, "Michael Clifford"
<> wrote:

>Here are two updates:
>
>I put a Vista certified switch in line, replacing the hub. No go: Speed
>decreased from 6 Mbs to 300 Kbs.
>
>Just a moment ago, I heard about
>http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932134/en-us . There's an internet
>connectivity tool you can download to test XP machines, Vista machines and,
>more importantly, the router in the home network. I can't use it until later
>today, since it may break my connection to work. Perhaps somebody else can
>try it.
>
>Michael Clifford
>
>"Michael Clifford" <mjclifford@hotmail_nospam.com> wrote in message
>news:...
>>I too am having problems integrating two new identical Vista machines into
>> my home network. All the XP machines run fine.
>>
>> The two machines connect, but performance is ISDN speeds versus cable -
>> one
>> hundreth of the anticipated speed of 6 Mbs.
>>
>> I've searched and found over 30 remedies and have started on some of them
>> (turning off Statefull Packet Inspection and Autotune, install all
>> upgrades,
>> etc etc etc - life should be simplier with this).
>>
>> However, I've accidentally found a surefire fix: Plug an old hub between
>> the
>> PC and the router. Speeds are instantly restored. Nothing else works.
>>
>> This hub as Auto-Negotiation and I'm wondering if that somehow fixes
>> Windows
>> Scaling or some of the other "improvements" that have made this a
>> miserable
>> experience.
>>
>> Any ideas? Somebody want to confirm the hub trick?
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Michael
>>
>>
>

Thanks for your suggested. I've defeated rss. Here are the results:

Straight line to router: 20 Kbs down
Gig switch in middle 300 Kbs
Cheap hub in middle: 2200 Kbs

I've pulled all optimization from the onboard Intell Pro Ethernet chip, set
static IP, turned off Network discovery, disabled autotuning, upgraded all
drivers and patches, and all the other things that 2 weeks of searching has
turned up. Performance under Vista is lousy.

Any more ideas?

Michael



"Jeffrey Randow" <> wrote in message
news:...
> It's not only routers... I myself have distinct problems with W2K3 R2
> boxen from any Vista laptop in any environment - my office or at home.
> W2K3 or W2K8 beta boxes do not exhibit the same performance hit.
>
> Disabling autotuning and rss made the speed difference negligible.
>
> ---
> Jeffrey Randow
>
> Windows Networking MVP 2001-2006
> http://www.networkblog.net
>
> On Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:04:03 -0400, "Michael Clifford"
> <> wrote:
>
>>Here are two updates:
>>
>>I put a Vista certified switch in line, replacing the hub. No go: Speed
>>decreased from 6 Mbs to 300 Kbs.
>>
>>Just a moment ago, I heard about
>>http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932134/en-us . There's an internet
>>connectivity tool you can download to test XP machines, Vista machines
>>and,
>>more importantly, the router in the home network. I can't use it until
>>later
>>today, since it may break my connection to work. Perhaps somebody else can
>>try it.
>>
>>Michael Clifford
>>
>>"Michael Clifford" <mjclifford@hotmail_nospam.com> wrote in message
>>news:...
>>>I too am having problems integrating two new identical Vista machines
>>>into
>>> my home network. All the XP machines run fine.
>>>
>>> The two machines connect, but performance is ISDN speeds versus cable -
>>> one
>>> hundreth of the anticipated speed of 6 Mbs.
>>>
>>> I've searched and found over 30 remedies and have started on some of
>>> them
>>> (turning off Statefull Packet Inspection and Autotune, install all
>>> upgrades,
>>> etc etc etc - life should be simplier with this).
>>>
>>> However, I've accidentally found a surefire fix: Plug an old hub between
>>> the
>>> PC and the router. Speeds are instantly restored. Nothing else works.
>>>
>>> This hub as Auto-Negotiation and I'm wondering if that somehow fixes
>>> Windows
>>> Scaling or some of the other "improvements" that have made this a
>>> miserable
>>> experience.
>>>
>>> Any ideas? Somebody want to confirm the hub trick?
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Michael
>>>
>>>
>>

There's more to report.

In all cases, the problem is related to DOWNLOAD speeds. Upload speeds are
relatively unaffected after each change and match the baseline on other
equipment connected by the network to the cable modem (300 Kbs up).

So if a straight through cable is connected, the upload speed is ten times
the download - a truly bizarre circumstance in a cable modem environment.

Michael




"Michael Clifford" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Thanks for your suggested. I've defeated rss. Here are the results:
>
> Straight line to router: 20 Kbs down
> Gig switch in middle 300 Kbs
> Cheap hub in middle: 2200 Kbs
>
> I've pulled all optimization from the onboard Intell Pro Ethernet chip,
> set static IP, turned off Network discovery, disabled autotuning, upgraded
> all drivers and patches, and all the other things that 2 weeks of
> searching has turned up. Performance under Vista is lousy.
>
> Any more ideas?
>
> Michael
>
>
>
> "Jeffrey Randow" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> It's not only routers... I myself have distinct problems with W2K3 R2
>> boxen from any Vista laptop in any environment - my office or at home.
>> W2K3 or W2K8 beta boxes do not exhibit the same performance hit.
>>
>> Disabling autotuning and rss made the speed difference negligible.
>>
>> ---
>> Jeffrey Randow
>>
>> Windows Networking MVP 2001-2006
>> http://www.networkblog.net
>>
>> On Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:04:03 -0400, "Michael Clifford"
>> <> wrote:
>>
>>>Here are two updates:
>>>
>>>I put a Vista certified switch in line, replacing the hub. No go: Speed
>>>decreased from 6 Mbs to 300 Kbs.
>>>
>>>Just a moment ago, I heard about
>>>http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932134/en-us . There's an internet
>>>connectivity tool you can download to test XP machines, Vista machines
>>>and,
>>>more importantly, the router in the home network. I can't use it until
>>>later
>>>today, since it may break my connection to work. Perhaps somebody else
>>>can
>>>try it.
>>>
>>>Michael Clifford
>>>
>>>"Michael Clifford" <mjclifford@hotmail_nospam.com> wrote in message
>>>news:...
>>>>I too am having problems integrating two new identical Vista machines
>>>>into
>>>> my home network. All the XP machines run fine.
>>>>
>>>> The two machines connect, but performance is ISDN speeds versus cable -
>>>> one
>>>> hundreth of the anticipated speed of 6 Mbs.
>>>>
>>>> I've searched and found over 30 remedies and have started on some of
>>>> them
>>>> (turning off Statefull Packet Inspection and Autotune, install all
>>>> upgrades,
>>>> etc etc etc - life should be simplier with this).
>>>>
>>>> However, I've accidentally found a surefire fix: Plug an old hub
>>>> between
>>>> the
>>>> PC and the router. Speeds are instantly restored. Nothing else works.
>>>>
>>>> This hub as Auto-Negotiation and I'm wondering if that somehow fixes
>>>> Windows
>>>> Scaling or some of the other "improvements" that have made this a
>>>> miserable
>>>> experience.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas? Somebody want to confirm the hub trick?
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>> Michael
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>
>

That doesn't look very good.. My wireless is faster than that...

The ultimate solution I had to the network speed issues isn't
appropriate to the newsgroups yet - SP1. Everything else was a
band-aid...

---
Jeffrey Randow

Windows Networking MVP 2001-2006
http://www.networkblog.net


On Sun, 4 Nov 2007 09:36:26 -0500, "Michael Clifford"
<> wrote:

>Thanks for your suggested. I've defeated rss. Here are the results:
>
>Straight line to router: 20 Kbs down
>Gig switch in middle 300 Kbs
>Cheap hub in middle: 2200 Kbs
>
>I've pulled all optimization from the onboard Intell Pro Ethernet chip, set
>static IP, turned off Network discovery, disabled autotuning, upgraded all
>drivers and patches, and all the other things that 2 weeks of searching has
>turned up. Performance under Vista is lousy.
>
>Any more ideas?
>
>Michael
>
>
>
>"Jeffrey Randow" <> wrote in message
>news:.. .
>> It's not only routers... I myself have distinct problems with W2K3 R2
>> boxen from any Vista laptop in any environment - my office or at home.
>> W2K3 or W2K8 beta boxes do not exhibit the same performance hit.
>>
>> Disabling autotuning and rss made the speed difference negligible.
>>
>> ---
>> Jeffrey Randow
>>
>> Windows Networking MVP 2001-2006
>> http://www.networkblog.net
>>
>> On Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:04:03 -0400, "Michael Clifford"
>> <> wrote:
>>
>>>Here are two updates:
>>>
>>>I put a Vista certified switch in line, replacing the hub. No go: Speed
>>>decreased from 6 Mbs to 300 Kbs.
>>>
>>>Just a moment ago, I heard about
>>>http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932134/en-us . There's an internet
>>>connectivity tool you can download to test XP machines, Vista machines
>>>and,
>>>more importantly, the router in the home network. I can't use it until
>>>later
>>>today, since it may break my connection to work. Perhaps somebody else can
>>>try it.
>>>
>>>Michael Clifford
>>>
>>>"Michael Clifford" <mjclifford@hotmail_nospam.com> wrote in message
>>>news:...
>>>>I too am having problems integrating two new identical Vista machines
>>>>into
>>>> my home network. All the XP machines run fine.
>>>>
>>>> The two machines connect, but performance is ISDN speeds versus cable -
>>>> one
>>>> hundreth of the anticipated speed of 6 Mbs.
>>>>
>>>> I've searched and found over 30 remedies and have started on some of
>>>> them
>>>> (turning off Statefull Packet Inspection and Autotune, install all
>>>> upgrades,
>>>> etc etc etc - life should be simplier with this).
>>>>
>>>> However, I've accidentally found a surefire fix: Plug an old hub between
>>>> the
>>>> PC and the router. Speeds are instantly restored. Nothing else works.
>>>>
>>>> This hub as Auto-Negotiation and I'm wondering if that somehow fixes
>>>> Windows
>>>> Scaling or some of the other "improvements" that have made this a
>>>> miserable
>>>> experience.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas? Somebody want to confirm the hub trick?
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>> Michael
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>

Just came across this:
http://www.ads-links.com/index.php/h...-transfer.html

Try to see if any of those things can help.. I second the McAfee
recommendation!!!
---
Jeffrey Randow

Windows Networking MVP 2001-2006
http://www.networkblog.net



On Sun, 4 Nov 2007 10:22:27 -0500, "Michael Clifford"
<> wrote:

>There's more to report.
>
>In all cases, the problem is related to DOWNLOAD speeds. Upload speeds are
>relatively unaffected after each change and match the baseline on other
>equipment connected by the network to the cable modem (300 Kbs up).
>
>So if a straight through cable is connected, the upload speed is ten times
>the download - a truly bizarre circumstance in a cable modem environment.
>
>Michael
>
>
>
>
>"Michael Clifford" <> wrote in message
>news:%...
>> Thanks for your suggested. I've defeated rss. Here are the results:
>>
>> Straight line to router: 20 Kbs down
>> Gig switch in middle 300 Kbs
>> Cheap hub in middle: 2200 Kbs
>>
>> I've pulled all optimization from the onboard Intell Pro Ethernet chip,
>> set static IP, turned off Network discovery, disabled autotuning, upgraded
>> all drivers and patches, and all the other things that 2 weeks of
>> searching has turned up. Performance under Vista is lousy.
>>
>> Any more ideas?
>>
>> Michael
>>
>>
>>
>> "Jeffrey Randow" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>> It's not only routers... I myself have distinct problems with W2K3 R2
>>> boxen from any Vista laptop in any environment - my office or at home.
>>> W2K3 or W2K8 beta boxes do not exhibit the same performance hit.
>>>
>>> Disabling autotuning and rss made the speed difference negligible.
>>>
>>> ---
>>> Jeffrey Randow
>>>
>>> Windows Networking MVP 2001-2006
>>> http://www.networkblog.net
>>>
>>> On Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:04:03 -0400, "Michael Clifford"
>>> <> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Here are two updates:
>>>>
>>>>I put a Vista certified switch in line, replacing the hub. No go: Speed
>>>>decreased from 6 Mbs to 300 Kbs.
>>>>
>>>>Just a moment ago, I heard about
>>>>http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932134/en-us . There's an internet
>>>>connectivity tool you can download to test XP machines, Vista machines
>>>>and,
>>>>more importantly, the router in the home network. I can't use it until
>>>>later
>>>>today, since it may break my connection to work. Perhaps somebody else
>>>>can
>>>>try it.
>>>>
>>>>Michael Clifford
>>>>
>>>>"Michael Clifford" <mjclifford@hotmail_nospam.com> wrote in message
>>>>news:.. .
>>>>>I too am having problems integrating two new identical Vista machines
>>>>>into
>>>>> my home network. All the XP machines run fine.
>>>>>
>>>>> The two machines connect, but performance is ISDN speeds versus cable -
>>>>> one
>>>>> hundreth of the anticipated speed of 6 Mbs.
>>>>>
>>>>> I've searched and found over 30 remedies and have started on some of
>>>>> them
>>>>> (turning off Statefull Packet Inspection and Autotune, install all
>>>>> upgrades,
>>>>> etc etc etc - life should be simplier with this).
>>>>>
>>>>> However, I've accidentally found a surefire fix: Plug an old hub
>>>>> between
>>>>> the
>>>>> PC and the router. Speeds are instantly restored. Nothing else works.
>>>>>
>>>>> This hub as Auto-Negotiation and I'm wondering if that somehow fixes
>>>>> Windows
>>>>> Scaling or some of the other "improvements" that have made this a
>>>>> miserable
>>>>> experience.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any ideas? Somebody want to confirm the hub trick?
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Michael
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>