[SOLVED] 1 PC slower than the other

[1madmouse]

OK I have 2 PCS on the same network connected , wired to the same Netgear X500 router with Cat8 cable on each. Drivers have been updated and 2 malware scans done, plus Nic cards have been checked and drivers up to date. Question is, why does one PC get 300mbs, and the other 20mbs? Cabled direct to router, each maybe 10 ft from router, same length cable, Realtec on the fast one, Intel 10/100/1000 gigabyte on the slow one. Any ideas? Also both PCs are running Win 7 ultimate and win update is current,plus both have AMD cpus.

 

[anotherdrew]

@1madmouse
I know you would love if we pointed to one thing and said this is the problem. Unfortunately, there are no giveaways in your description.
The problem could a hardware issue or a software issue.

On the software side ... issues include bad or wrong driver, malware, incorrect/incompatible NIC configuration, antivirus software that includes connection monitoring that is misbehaving (also some software firewalls), and finally software like TurboLAN and XFastLan that say they speed up your connection, but really slow it down.

On the hardware side ... bad cable (unlikely), bad port (on router or computer), or bad router.

Some tests:
Try moving a large file from one computer to the other ... what is the transfer speed ... does it seems wrong?
Try taking the cable to computer 1 and moving it to computer 2 and vice versa (don't change anything at the router ... I bet you tried this already).
Reinstall/Update drivers.
Malware scan.
Compare NIC configuration ... from device manager, right click your network adapter, select properties and go to advanced. Try switching things like green Ethernet, Jumbo Frames, the different offloads. Change speed&duplex from auto to 1 gig full duplex.
Update or disable antivirus/firewall software ... check add and remove programs for software you thought you had removed.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Grobe]

Have the "slow one" behaved this way all the time, or have it became slower over time or after some changes ?

 

[SamirD]

To help determine what the issue is on the slow computer, run a linux live cd/usb and check the speed there. If it is full speed, then it is just a software in windows.

There is something in windows 10 that people were resetting that helped with slow issues like this, but I forgot what it was....

 

[anotherdrew]

To help determine what the issue is on the slow computer, run a linux live cd/usb and check the speed there. If it is full speed, then it is just a software in windows.

There is something in windows 10 that people were resetting that helped with slow issues like this, but I forgot what it was....

Some people have had success in turning off Large Send Offload. It's hit and miss. It sometimes helps when you have your MTU set to 1500, but your internet provider (like Uverse) uses a lower MTU it give room for network overhead.

 

[1madmouse]

Ok lets see, both cables are new like a week ago hence the Cat8 I found, antivirus has been updated and we changed to another, ( had kaspersky , ran Malwarebytes,and Avast and all found no viruses or malware ).My PC , the faster one has been consistent for a few years, usually having the same speeds as it is my gaming PC, the slower one just started the slow stuff recently like a couple of weeks ago. We checked programs installed and removed, haven't seen anything out of the ordinary there. Slower PC #2, has a Nvidia network imbedded , we added an Intel 10/100/1000 gigabit card, but it only brought us to 20 instead of the 12mbs it was. I could see being limited to 100, but this way slower than 100. I don't think it is the ISP, Spectrum, because I get good speeds on PC #1 and the wifi seems good at about 50 on our ipads and iphones. I really didn't expect a 1 of fix , that would be too easy, I figure it will be going over everything with a fine-toothed comb. Also the router is no more than 6 months old being a Netgear X500 and the modem is a recent one too. So I thought being how there are many knowledgable people here of many backgrounds, I would throw the question out and see what I can narrow it down to. We have checked IPconfig, msconfig and ran netstat to see what the settings are, so far nothing I can see to slow only 1 PC.

 

[SamirD]

Use the linux boot and it will help to determine something. Right now you might be wasting a lot of effort if the root cause is in the network.

 

[anotherdrew]

Ok lets see, both cables are new like a week ago hence the Cat8 I found, antivirus has been updated and we changed to another, ( had kaspersky , ran Malwarebytes,and Avast and all found no viruses or malware ).My PC , the faster one has been consistent for a few years, usually having the same speeds as it is my gaming PC, the slower one just started the slow stuff recently like a couple of weeks ago. We checked programs installed and removed, haven't seen anything out of the ordinary there. Slower PC #2, has a Nvidia network imbedded , we added an Intel 10/100/1000 gigabit card, but it only brought us to 20 instead of the 12mbs it was. I could see being limited to 100, but this way slower than 100. I don't think it is the ISP, Spectrum, because I get good speeds on PC #1 and the wifi seems good at about 50 on our ipads and iphones. I really didn't expect a 1 of fix , that would be too easy, I figure it will be going over everything with a fine-toothed comb. Also the router is no more than 6 months old being a Netgear X500 and the modem is a recent one too. So I thought being how there are many knowledgable people here of many backgrounds, I would throw the question out and see what I can narrow it down to. We have checked IPconfig, msconfig and ran netstat to see what the settings are, so far nothing I can see to slow only 1 PC.

New cables and routers can still be faulty, so I still advise checking by swapping cables (assuming it's practical). It's an easy test. If the problem stays on computer #2, then it is a computer problem and not network. The goal (as Samir said) is to rule things out and hone in on the real issue.

If you find that it is a computer problem, then booting to an alternative OS (as Samir suggested) is also a great test ... it tells you if the problem is hardware or software.

 

[Ralston18]

In addition to the preceding suggestions:

XR500 Wireless router correct?

Does the slow #2 computer have a wireless network adapter installed? Is that wireless network adapter disabled?

In any case, ensure that only one network adapter (wired or wireless) is enabled.

Also if you have IPv6 check the IPv6 configuration settings: slow #2 computer vs fast #1 computer.