Lately my internet has been downloading everything under 10mbps when my current plan is 30mbps download and 10mbps upload. I have no issues with my upload speed. Every other computer and device in my house is running at the normal 30 but I'm constantly getting around 5-7 when I should be hitting 30.
EDIT: Forgot to mention this applies to BOTH Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections.
EDIT #2: No downloading issues in Ubuntu. Looks like a Windows 8.1 based issue. Potential virus?
Concerned Hardware (Windows 8 PC):
Ralink RT3290 802.11bgn Wi-Fi Adapter (Wi-Fi)
Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller (Ethernet)
What I tried to fix the issue:
Running the standard Windows Toubleshooter for the Network and the individual hardware components concerned
Rolling back Wi-Fi and Ethernet Network Drivers
Uninstall and Reinstall the Wi-Fi and Ethernet Network Drivers (With restarts in between)
Going to the Power Management Settings under each device's Properties and unchecking "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
Run virus scan (Avira found nothing wrong)
Running HP software built for troubleshooting issues specifically for this laptop model
I have no idea what to try next. I'm skeptical of doing the standard "Format your PC" because I have A LOT of software for development that I do not want to have to spend re-installing (along with the millions of Windows Updates to do). I also cannot afford to lose the time to do all of that because I am constantly getting work done on my laptop (Computer Science Student). Anything else I can try? Maybe some command line? Is the hardware possibly damaged from heat? (which my laptop has been dealing with lately, but I highly doubt this is the issue). Thanks in advance to those who try to help me!
Absolutely certain there's no software running that might be downloading in the background? Check the network stats in Task Manager for instance.
Resetting the TCP/IP stack could be worth a try, as well as uninstalling/reinstalling the network interface drivers. The former to make sure Windows is behaving by default, the latter that the network drivers are too.
Try booting from a linux live-cd and download something. That will let you know if it's an issue with your current software configuration or hardware issue.
Will get back to you on that. I had a bootable Ubuntu on a USB but can't seem to find it. I've got some CD's though so I'll have that tried by tomorrow. Downloading Ubuntu with this connection will be slow.
EDIT: BINGO. No downloading issues in Ubuntu. Looks like it's something with Windows 8.1. Could it be a potential virus? Any suggestions?
It's always been good to be (the cable). Wi-Fi strength isn't so great which is why I have the cable but it's decent. I tested the connection on another network and again it was significantly slower than the other computers on the same network.
it could be your adapter settings .. if you go to the device and properties look for something like - Protocol Version "blah"- you want everything set to auto usally ..
sometimes a virus/malware can change these values and if the virus is deleted the values wont change back - could also be a bad wire
Which is why I tried doing a fresh re-install of the drivers (since I would assume it would go back to default settings since it's fresh and brand new)
I am curious to what you have you Power Options set to. If it is set Power Saver it could be reducing performance. In Power Options>Change Plan Settings>Change Advanced Power Settings there is Wireless Adapter settings. It might be set to Maximum Power Saving instead of Maximum Performance. Although I am not too sure how this would affect the speeds through Ethernet. You said you already update you driver for the LAN? I am assuming you have an HP Pavillion g6-2288ca based on your specs provided, here is a page to your Drivers: LINK
Here is a link to download the Realtek LAN driver directly: LINK
Thanks but I already visited that page and tried re-installing the Realtek LAN driver. The re-install was smooth, but it did not fix anything. My power settings is set to Maxiumum Performance under the Wireless Adapter settings. Oh any yes, that is my laptop model.
kinda of a shot in the dark, but how about turning off "Remote Differential Compression". It's in control panel->programs and features -> turn windows features on/off
Seems like you may end up reinstalling Windows. (Windows 8 has a useful reset feature) But try first running under another user (create one temporarily if needed) or maybe even under Safe Mode With Networking to see if the behavior changes.
allot of the settings wont just change by switching the driver
- also there is a rare windows bug that will also cause this to all devices such as cd-drives and so on (if this is the case only a fresh install can really help you)
the network setting you want to really play with is this
.
What is Flow Control?
"Flow Control" is a parameter that allows the user to enable or disable the receipt or transmission of PAUSE frames. PAUSE frames enable the adapter and the switch to control the transmit rate. The side that is receiving the PAUSE frame temporarily stops transmitting.
How can I configure Flow Control?
In Microsoft Windows, right-click the Network Adapter in Network Connections and then click Properties.
Click the Configure button and then the Advanced tab.
Set the "Flow Control" parameter to Auto, Disable, Rx & Tx Enabled, Rx Enabled, or Tx Enabled.
Netware: Flow Control is configured by adding either the "TxFlow=ON" or "RxFlow=ON" (transmit and receive respectively) parameter to the driver load command line in the AUTOEXEC.NCF file. Both transmit and receive can be enabled concurrently. To disable, change the value to OFF or do not include the parameter, since the default is set to disable.
Linux: The can be done using the "ethtool -A" command. Please refer to the respective man page for command syntax.