[SOLVED] One PC has slow Down/Up speeds and others do not.

[eliteangler]

Hello everyone. New member here. Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction to an issue I am having. First, I will list specs, the network setup, and then I will describe the issue(s).

PC specs (on the problem PC):

Motherboard: Asus 970 Pro Gaming Aura
CPU: AMD FX(tm)-8350 Eight Core Processor 4.00 GHz
OS: Windows Home 64 bit
LAN Device: Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection
WiFi Device: TP-Link Archer T3U Plus AC-1300 USB (2.4, 5.0 Dual Band)
WiFi Device: Qualcomm Atheros AR9287 Wireless Network Adapter (This one is disabled now because it caps at 300 Mbps).

PCs that work fine on the same CAT 6 cable as problem PC:

laptops and another desktop which is a Asus Rog G20CB, (all running Windows 10 Home 64 bit, and all have high speed Wifi and ethernet adapters)

The network setup:

Our ISP is fiber and we pay for up to 600 down/300 up. The ISP fiber comes into a box called a "Gigapoint". From there, there is a CAT-6 cable connected to an EERO. This EERO acts as the router and has ONE ethernet port available to go to a switch. I assume that the EERO brand is built more on the premise of wireless. That is for a different discussion entirely. Anyways, from the available ethernet port on the EERO, I have a CAT-6 cable going to a 5 port Gigabit ethernet switch. From the switch, I have ran CAT-6 cables to a 4-port wall plate and from there, to different rooms in the house.

The issue:

Heather's computer is less than two feet from the EERO (remember this is the main wireless access point) and is also connected to the 5-port Gigabit ethernet switch via a CAT-6 cable. Heather's computer is only registering an average of 200 down/25 up. Tests are being performed on speedtest.net and fast.com. Speeds obviously fluctuate, but 200/25 is about average. All other computers and devices are registering very close to the 600/300 speeds.

Please Note: These speeds are the same using her Wifi and Ethernet card (disabled one to test the other and vice versa).

Things I have done to narrow down the cause:

Taking the CAT-6 cable and running it straight from the EERO to Heather's ethernet port (bypassing the switch) -no change
Using different CAT-6 cables from the EERO to Heather's ethernet port (bypassing the switch) -no change
Bios update to Heather's computer -no change
Updated on-board ethernet adapter -no change
Updated WiFi adapter -no change
I enabled and disabled "Windows Auto-tuning" through the CMD prompt -disabling it made the problem worse, so I reverted back to "normal"
Tried three different laptops, duplicating the network setup to her computer (same cables connected to same ports, etc) - all of these devices get expected speeds of 600/300.
Downloaded a Utility from Intel that is supposed to help with the adapter settings. Tried a few things, like forcing the speed and duplex to 1 Gigabit and some others -no change.
Temporarily disabled all firewalls and network securities on Heather's computer -no change.

Needless to say, I am at my wits end. Any advice or help is much appreciated. I really believe there is something in Heather's machine bottlenecking the speed. I don't know if it is a hardware issue or a setting within Windows or what it could be. I just have no ideas left at this point.

Sorry for such a long post and thanks in advance for any advice or help.

- Sam D.

 

[OrlyP]

It seems that you've already taken care of the low-hanging items, it's now down to whether it's a HW issue or there's still something awfully wrong with Heather's Windows 10. I don't suppose she's using a VPN?

Anyway, do you have a spare drive to install a fresh copy of Windows 10 on? You just need it to run the speedtest using the same hardware. That way, you can rule out Heather's instance of Windows 10.

 

[eliteangler]

It seems that you've already taken care of the low-hanging items, it's now down to whether it's a HW issue or there's still something awfully wrong with Heather's Windows 10. I don't suppose she's using a VPN?

Anyway, do you have a spare drive to install a fresh copy of Windows 10 on? You just need it to run the speedtest using the same hardware. That way, you can rule out Heather's instance of Windows 10.

• I don't believe Heather's machine is using a VPN. Where can I check that?
• I don't have a spare drive at this point. I can do that as a last resort (problems in Windows 10 registry has been a thought). I just don't want to have to re-install all of the programs on that PC. It may be necessary, but would like to wait that one out.

 

[Grobe]

There is one first thing I'd like you to try:
- Disable all the WiFi adapters, but do a restart of windows before you test.

Also before spending a lot of time re-installing windows - you should know that most Lan adapters (not WiFi) are natively supported by Linux. Therefore I'd suggest you make a bootable usb stick from a Linux Distro (Linux Mint should do) and use that to test if the network speed differs.
Search and read up a bit on Linux Live desktop before you go ahead, you won't install it.

 

[eliteangler]

There is one first thing I'd like you to try:
- Disable all the WiFi adapters, but do a restart of windows before you test.

Also before spending a lot of time re-installing windows - you should know that most Lan adapters (not WiFi) are natively supported by Linux. Therefore I'd suggest you make a bootable usb stick from a Linux Distro (Linux Mint should do) and use that to test if the network speed differs.
Search and read up a bit on Linux Live desktop before you go ahead, you won't install it.

Ok. I will try both and report back. Thanks.

 

[eliteangler]

There is one first thing I'd like you to try:
- Disable all the WiFi adapters, but do a restart of windows before you test.

Also before spending a lot of time re-installing windows - you should know that most Lan adapters (not WiFi) are natively supported by Linux. Therefore I'd suggest you make a bootable usb stick from a Linux Distro (Linux Mint should do) and use that to test if the network speed differs.
Search and read up a bit on Linux Live desktop before you go ahead, you won't install it.

• Disabled all WiFi adapters and restarted Windows -no change
• Booted Heather's machine through a USB with Linux Mint Operating System and I get the correct speeds. I am going to try and post screenshots of both test results from speedtest.net.
• Tried to attach screenshots, but I can't figure out how. I am guessing I have to post them to some website and then post the link here? Either way, at least now I know it isn't a hardware issue.

 

[Grobe]

Either way, at least now I know it isn't a hardware issue.

Nice, and then maybe a reinstall of windows will help.

 

[eliteangler]

Nice, and then maybe a reinstall of windows will help.

Well... after some more internet searching, I have found a few threads (some on this website as well) about ROG Game First III app throttling internet speed. I am now trying to figure out how to uninstall it. It is not uninstalling through the "Apps" list from Windows 10 Settings. I keep getting an error that says, "The specified module could not be found".

I want to try uninstalling that first, because I really don't want to go through a fresh install of Windows 10. I will as a last resort, but admittedly, I am kinda stubborn on that one.

Thanks for all of the help so far and I will report back when the issue is resolved. Please keep any ideas or suggestions coming until the post is marked as "Solved".

-Sam D.

 

[eliteangler]

The problem has been resolved!!! And the culprit was............................................. ROG Game First III. It's an application that apparently comes with the ASUS motherboard and it embeds itself within the Program Files in Windows 10. I actually had to install an Uninstall Utility just to remove the app. Heather's machine is now seeing the appropriate Down/Up speeds.

For anyone that may find this thread in the future, here is a link that points to the Uninstall Utility: https://www.advanceduninstaller.com...,First III is to use Advanced Uninstaller PRO.

Thanks guys for the suggestions and help!

-Sam D.