Internet speed faster on one computer slower on other

[David999]

Both computers connected to internet on same FIOS modem. Verizon can't help. Why is one computer connection much slower than the other one.
Both are running Windows 7 (build 6.1 version 7600)Home Premium 64 bit.

SLOW one is Velocity Micro (2010 new)Intel core i7 860 2.80 GHz 6.0GB Ram
speedtest speed 9.38 down 6.86 up

FAST one is ibuypower (2009 new) AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 4.0GB Ram
speedtest speed 23.06 down 11.13 up

Is there a way I can make internet settings on the slow internet computer the same as on the fast internet computer? I don't know what settings to even look at. Verizon has an optimizing tool for Win XP but doesn't have one for Win 7. I have switched ports on the modem, but get the same results. Solve this and you get the Genius Award for the month at least. I get the same numbers using Verizon's speed test as the www.speedtest.net .

[techsheaven]

Sounds fun... And I like prizes!

Why don't you use this TCP/IP analyzer:

Go to http://www.speedguide.net/index.php
Point at the top, there is a tiny link named Broadband
Point to Broadband Tools
Select SG TCP/IP Analyzer

Do this on each PC, scroll down to the results and post each here (You will be doing this for the benefit of others since the issue may be clear).

Now you can repeat the process EXCEPT select the SG TCP/IP Optimizer. It will be important to save the file rather than running it!!! UAC will cause it to fail if you just run it!

-Save the Optimizer noting the location (I recommend re-directing it to the desktop so you can find it).
-Right-click and Run As Administrator (It will show your current settings).
-Select the Optimal Settings bullet at the bottom.
-Click to apply changes.

Your throughput will not match exactly, but if you take the average of 3 or 4 on each machine, they should be pretty close.

Remember too, not all network adapters are created equal, neither are CAT5(e) patch cables.

I can't wait to see what your results are!

Good Luck

[David999]

Thanks. I will post the results ASAP.

[David999]

Here are my SLOW internet computer speedguide results:

« SpeedGuide.net TCP Analyzer Results »
Tested on: 06.01.2010 22:08
IP address: 96.228.xxx.xx
Client OS: Windows 7

TCP options string: 020405b40103030801010402
MSS: 1460
MTU: 1500
TCP Window: 17408 (NOT multiple of MSS)
RWIN Scaling: 8 bits (2^8=256)
Unscaled RWIN : 68
Recommended RWINs: 64240, 128480, 256960, 513920, 1027840
BDP limit (200ms): 696kbps (87KBytes/s)
BDP limit (500ms): 279kbps (35KBytes/s)
MTU Discovery: ON
TTL: 112
Timestamps: OFF
SACKs: ON
IP ToS: 00000000 (0)

[David999]

Here are my FAST internet computer speedguide results:

« SpeedGuide.net TCP Analyzer Results »
Tested on: 06.01.2010 22:17
IP address: 96.228.xxx.xx
Client OS: Windows 7

TCP options string: 020405b40103030801010402
MSS: 1460
MTU: 1500
TCP Window: 65536 (NOT multiple of MSS)
RWIN Scaling: 8 bits (2^8=256)
Unscaled RWIN : 256
Recommended RWINs: 64240, 128480, 256960, 513920, 1027840
BDP limit (200ms): 2621kbps (328KBytes/s)
BDP limit (500ms): 1049kbps (131KBytes/s)
MTU Discovery: ON
TTL: 112
Timestamps: OFF
SACKs: ON
IP ToS: 00000000 (0)

[David999]

Is the issue clear now? I haven't compared the two and not sure I will understand after I look at them.

[David999]

After seeing the two results, should I go ahead and do the Optimizer on the SLOW one?

[techsheaven]

Well, the most significant thing is your BDP (Bandwidth-delay Product). This just confirms what you already know - that data transfer on one machine is different than the other (and substantially). Though I am Net+ certified, I wouldn't say I know all the variables that come into play to calculate the BDP. We do know that there is a bottleneck or two in the data transfer though. We also know that is is at your location! Take a look at the patch cables. I assume they are CAT5, or CAT5E Are they the same type?

Now run the optimizer on the slow PC and do some more speed tests (I would not mess with the fast one yet - we need to use it for a guide to changes in the network speed.)

[David999]

I went ahead and ran the optimizer although it doesn't list Windows 7 64 bit as an OS. Ran the speedtest and got the same slow results. Probably the Analyzer results point to the problem. What do you all think?

[techsheaven]

It looks like your Network adapters simply have different capabilities, but I am willing to take some time to look into it.

Please do speed tests at the following address using the host closest to you and F16 image: http://performance.toast.net/

[techsheaven]

Read the following to get a better understanding of RWin (Receive Window):

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/6266

dslreports is a very good site to learn how to tweak every bit of speed out of your network.

MTUs on your adapters are set to the same. Sometimes a lower setting on this will yield a faster transfer rate! you can think of it as a box. If the box is too big it may get dropped. Smaller boxes will be less likely to be dropped, but you want to bring as much in each box as you can. Just keep that in mind as you read and it will make more sense to you.

[kristain]

Download and run this Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector, paste a screen shot of the Network screen here. Note that this application requires NET Framework to run. If you get an error about a missing function, download and install NET Framework.

[techsheaven]

kristain:

Thanks for your input. I was assuming that both of David999s computers were connected via wired Ethernet router (maybe built in to the FIOS modem) since he mentioned switching the cables.

[David999]

Here are the results:
Velocity Micro (slow one) 4862kb

ibp (fast one) 6508kb

[techsheaven]

David999:

When you switched the cables to your computer, did you do it at the computer, or the modem/router?

Also, please do the following:

Hold the windows key and press r
type regedit and press ENTER
navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
in the left window, you should see a value for tcp1323Opts
please post the value (should be 1)

[techsheaven]

Please note that we are gathering information at this point. Don't make changes to the registry right now!!

navigate to
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Afd\Parameters
please post the values for the following entries:

DefaultReceiveWindow
DefaultSendWindow
FastSendDatagramThreshold
FastCopyReceiveThreshold

[David999]

[B]When I switched cables I just plugged same cables into different ports on the router. Same cables to computers. If I can I will plug long network cable that is to the "slow" computer into the "fast" computer and see if that slows down the network speed. A more difficult thing would be to move the "slow" one over to the modem and plug in the short cable now going to the "fast" computer and see if that speeds up the connection speeds to the Velocity Micro computer which is now "slow". Whew! I appreciate your time and help and will keep you posted. My regedit program is different (Win 7 home premium 64bit) so I don't find values you asked for but will copy and paste what I got-- Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"ICSDomain"="mshome.net"
"SyncDomainWithMembership"=dword:00000001
"NV Hostname"="HAL2010-VM"
"DataBasePath"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,\
00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,\
64,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,5c,00,65,00,74,00,63,00,00,00
"NameServer"=""
"ForwardBroadcasts"=dword:00000000
"IPEnableRouter"=dword:00000000
"Domain"=""
"Hostname"="HAL2010-VM"
"SearchList"=""
"UseDomainNameDevolution"=dword:00000001
"EnableICMPRedirect"=dword:00000001
"DeadGWDetectDefault"=dword:00000001
"DontAddDefaultGatewayDefault"=dword:00000000
"EnableWsd"=dword:00000001
"QualifyingDestinationThreshold"=dword:00000003
"TcpWindowSize"=dword:0003ebc0
"GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize"=dword:0003ebc0
"EnablePMTUDiscovery"=dword:00000001
"EnablePMTUBHDetect"=dword:00000000
"SackOpts"=dword:00000001
"DefaultTTL"=dword:00000040
"TcpMaxDupAcks"=dword:00000002
"Tcp1323Opts"=dword:00000001
"DhcpNameServer"="192.168.1.1"
"DhcpDomain"="home"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Adapters]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Adapters\{AAEB307D-302F-4B70-8587-416F052559B9}]
"LLInterface"=""
"IpConfig"=hex(7):54,00,63,00,70,00,69,00,70,00,5c,00,50,00,61,00,72,00,61,00,\
6d,00,65,00,74,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,5c,00,49,00,6e,00,74,00,65,00,72,00,66,\
00,61,00,63,00,65,00,73,00,5c,00,7b,00,41,00,41,00,45,00,42,00,33,00,30,00,\
37,00,44,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,32,00,46,00,2d,00,34,00,42,00,37,00,30,00,2d,\
00,38,00,35,00,38,00,37,00,2d,00,34,00,31,00,36,00,46,00,30,00,35,00,32,00,\
35,00,35,00,39,00,42,00,39,00,7d,00,00,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Adapters\{C2143491-4391-4B9F-8A72-5139E2F7E9E9}]
"LLInterface"=""
"IpConfig"=hex(7):54,00,63,00,70,00,69,00,70,00,5c,00,50,00,61,00,72,00,61,00,\
6d,00,65,00,74,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,5c,00,49,00,6e,00,74,00,65,00,72,00,66,\
00,61,00,63,00,65,00,73,00,5c,00,7b,00,43,00,32,00,31,00,34,00,33,00,34,00,\
39,00,31,00,2d,00,34,00,33,00,39,00,31,00,2d,00,34,00,42,00,39,00,46,00,2d,\
00,38,00,41,00,37,00,32,00,2d,00,35,00,31,00,33,00,39,00,45,00,32,00,46,00,\
37,00,45,00,39,00,45,00,39,00,7d,00,00,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\DNSRegisteredAdapters]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\{846ee342-7039-11de-9d20-806e6f6e6963}]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\{AAEB307D-302F-4B70-8587-416F052559B9}]
"UseZeroBroadcast"=dword:00000000
"EnableDeadGWDetect"=dword:00000001
"EnableDHCP"=dword:00000001
"NameServer"=""
"Domain"=""
"RegistrationEnabled"=dword:00000001
"RegisterAdapterName"=dword:00000000
"DhcpIPAddress"="192.168.1.3"
"DhcpSubnetMask"="255.255.255.0"
"DhcpServer"="192.168.1.1"
"Lease"=dword:00015180
"LeaseObtainedTime"=dword:4c05ca8a
"T1"=dword:4c06734a
"T2"=dword:4c06f1da
"LeaseTerminatesTime"=dword:4c071c0a
"AddressType"=dword:00000000
"IsServerNapAware"=dword:00000000
"DhcpConnForceBroadcastFlag"=dword:00000000
"DhcpInterfaceOptions"=hex:fc,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,93,\
2b,06,4c,06,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0a,1c,07,4c,c0,a8,\
01,01,03,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0a,1c,07,4c,c0,a8,01,\
01,0f,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0a,1c,07,4c,68,6f,6d,65,\
01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0a,1c,07,4c,ff,ff,ff,00,33,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0a,1c,07,4c,00,01,51,80,36,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0a,1c,07,4c,c0,a8,01,01,35,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,0a,1c,07,4c,05,00,00,00
"DhcpGatewayHardware"=hex:c0,a8,01,01,06,00,00,00,00,18,01,7e,05,8f
"DhcpGatewayHardwareCount"=dword:00000001
"MTU"=dword:000005dc
"DhcpNameServer"="192.168.1.1"
"DhcpDefaultGateway"=hex(7):31,00,39,00,32,00,2e,00,31,00,36,00,38,00,2e,00,31,\
00,2e,00,31,00,00,00,00,00
"DhcpDomain"="home"
"DhcpSubnetMaskOpt"=hex(7):32,00,35,00,35,00,2e,00,32,00,35,00,35,00,2e,00,32,\
00,35,00,35,00,2e,00,30,00,00,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\{C2143491-4391-4B9F-8A72-5139E2F7E9E9}]
"UseZeroBroadcast"=dword:00000000
"EnableDeadGWDetect"=dword:00000001
"EnableDHCP"=dword:00000001
"NameServer"=""
"Domain"=""
"RegistrationEnabled"=dword:00000001
"RegisterAdapterName"=dword:00000000
"DhcpIPAddress"="0.0.0.0"
"DhcpSubnetMask"="255.0.0.0"
"DhcpServer"="255.255.255.255"
"Lease"=dword:00000000
"LeaseObtainedTime"=dword:00000000
"T1"=dword:00000000
"T2"=dword:00000000
"LeaseTerminatesTime"=dword:00000000
"AddressType"=dword:00000000
"IsServerNapAware"=dword:00000000
"DhcpConnForceBroadcastFlag"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\PersistentRoutes]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\Tcpip\Parameters\Winsock]
"HelperDllName"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,\
6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,\
00,77,00,73,00,68,00,74,00,63,00,70,00,69,00,70,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,\
00,00
"MaxSockAddrLength"=dword:00000010
"MinSockAddrLength"=dword:00000010
"Mapping"=hex:08,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,06,00,00,00,02,\
00,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,06,00,00,00,02,00,\
00,00,02,00,00,00,11,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,\
00,00,00,00,00,11,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,ff,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,\
03,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
"UseDelayedAcceptance"=dword:00000000

[techsheaven]

There should be printing on the cables. CAT5E is the most common. I can't remember all the specifications, but CAT5E has better insulation and is faster because it resists interference. If your cable runs through a plenum (air ducts), or along electric wires, it will degrade. Even metal staples placed at exactly the same distance and cause problems. For these situations, we like to use CAT5E type plenum. It has a foil shield around the twisted pairs to help block interference.

I say all that to say this: if you move the long cable you may also be moving it away from the source of the problem (if it turns out to be a cabling issue).

[David999]

Changing the cable from the slower one to the faster one did not lower the speed of the computer with the faster internet connection. I wonder if hooking up a USB adapter after disabling the built-in card might get some speed back. I'll see what Velocity Micro has to say about a possible defective adapter. They have had the problem a few days now.

[techsheaven]

That's a great way to troubleshoot, but it may not be a matter of "defective," but capabilities. We have determined that the problem is with the network adapter (built-in) and/or settings. Getting an updated driver from the manufacturers website, or reinstalling the driver may cause the settings to be reconfigured.