Internet stops working when I try to download larger files

Yohannas

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Jun 7, 2013
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Hello,

I've been having a problem for a couple of months where my internet stops working on my desktop PC whenever I try to download large files (500MB+). After the attempted download triggers the problem, the wireless logo says that my network is connected and with full connectivity, but I'm unable browse the internet or download anything on my desktop PC. Strangely, in the time my PC's internet is not working, the internet works perfectly on every other device in my house. No other device in my house (laptop, desktop or otherwise) is experiencing this problem.

Two days ago, I did a clean install of Windows - I even deleted all partitions on my C drive and reformatted it. I installed Windows 8 (for which I have a product key), then upgraded to 8.1 in order to upgrade to 10. This problem has happened both when I had 8.1 as my main OS and also when I upgraded to 10. Doing a clean install did nothing to fix the problem.

I thought it might be an issue with the motherboard wireless driver, so I reinstalled the new Windows 10 version, but it didn't fix the problem.

My hardware is as below:
MB: Asus Z87-Pro
CPU: Intel i7-4770k
GPU: 2 X GTX 780
SSD (C drive): Samsung 840 Pro
HDD 1: WD Caviar Black
HDD 2: WD Caviar Green

Any help with this would be hugely appreciated, as I've given up trying to find a solution using Google - I haven't found a single report of the same issue. Has anyone had or heard of this issue, and/or knows how to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

UPDATE: I just tried downloaded a 750MB file again, and my computer froze completely. I waited 15 minutes and nothing happened, so I hit the reset button, and it simply didn't work. My computer was completely unresponsive, so I had to hold the power button down until it powered off.

UPDATE 2: I just started Windows 10 in Safe mode with networking, and was able to download a 750MB file with no issues at all, leading me to believe that a program on my computer is causing this problem.

The only programs which run at startup are:
- Razer Synapse
- HD Audio Background Process for
- Nvidia Capture Server Proxy (I don't actually know what this one is, but must be part of the basic graphics driver install for my 780s, as I haven't installed anything extra related to Nvidia)
- Bitdefender Agent (from Bitdefender Total Security 2015)
- Nvidia Backend (again, not sure what this one is for exactly)

Four more programs are listed to run at startup, but I disabled them two days ago:
- Quicktime Task (from Apple)
- iTunesHelper
- Steam Client Bootstrapper (not sure what this one's actually for)
- Bitdefender Wallet

Interestingly, yesterday I installed Corsair Link software for my components, and it is set to run at startup but does NOT appear in the list in Task Manager. I doubt that this program is to blame for the problem however, as I had this problem before installing Corsair Link.
 
Hi vlxedits, thanks for replying. I activated the verifier, but in Windows 10 the second screen looks a bit different and there is no 'Standard Settings' option.

I enable Force Pending I/O Requests and IRP Logging, restarted my PC and then tried to download a large file. As usual, the download failed after around 300-400MB, but I didn't get a BSOD. I'm unsure whether this means that it isn't a driver error or not, so any advice would be appreciated.

It might also be worth noting that opining a new page in Chrome while the internet isn't working brings up a 'DNS_PROBE_STARTED' message followed soon after by 'DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG'. Again I'm not sure if that is just generic or actually helpful, but please let me know what I can try next.

Thanks!
 
Well since everything works fine in safe mode then its most definitely having to do with software. Last resort you could try clean installing your os, upgrading to Windows 10 didnt rule this out because you still kept all your files
 
Hi vlxedits, as I said in my original post I did do a clean install 3 days ago now and the problem is still present. Is there any way I can troubleshoot to find which piece of software might be causing this? Alternatively, could this be a hardware (perhaps MB) issue? Thanks!

UPDATE: I think I've fixed this issue now. It turns out, as far as my testing shows, that the process 'Nvidia Network Service (32 bit)' is causing the problem. I ended the process using Task Manager, and the 755MB file downloaded without a problem.

To make sure, I restarted my PC, and without doing anything beforehand I tried downloading the file, and the download failed. So I restarted again, ended the Nvidia Network Service task, and it works perfectly now.

I've got no idea what that process is actually for, but I'll look into this and update!

Just for reference, the file I've been testing this on is the Conversion pack V2.0 for Star Wars Battlefront 2: http://www.moddb.com/mods/star-wars-battlefront-conversion-pack

Thanks for your help!