Baffled, help please

ChroniC

ChroniC

ChroniC

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
10,265
Not one to usual make threads but I have come up against a brick wall and am out of ideas.

Recently (within a week) I have been getting terrible internet speeds. Checked on speedtest.net and it's 0.5mb/s which is incredibly bad even in my area of 5mbps max. None the less, have checked on other devices and router and internet are fine.
So narrowed down to this computer (which is running fine and fast). Checked in safemode, runs at max 5mbps. Strange.

Do the usual, check for malware (SB S&D, Malwarebytes) nothing shows,
Virus checked with AVG, nothing shows.
Disabled everything from startup including all non essential services, nothing helps.
Reinstalled network adapter drivers, doesn't help.

Something somewhere is throttling my wifi signal, I just can't find it. I don't think it's a service or a program as I have turned them all off, but between safemode and normal something is loading.

What the hell is it?
 
1 which router do you have?
2 added any new wifi device recently?

I only ask because I still use a BT HH5. Added another phone and tablet couple of weeks ago and now my daughter complains how slow the net is on her laptop. If I remove the new phone and tablet (turn them off) her laptop is fine. Her laptop is like 7 years old and my phone and tablet are brand new so i'm not too worried :-)
 
Yes, a new phone, but I eliminated this from being a problem when I tested the computer in safemode. Router can't distinguish what mode I'm in and it works fine in this way.
It's a sky router.
 
when you check the Network and Sharing Center does it show your network as public or private? I've noticed if i've reconnected to my wifi sometimes it has given the option to share files over the network and if you answer no it classes that network as public and has resulted in slower performance.
 
Does your virus software also have a firewall where you also need to tell it your network is private / trusted?
 
It doesn't. AVG free. I have also tested with that completely disabled, with no affect.
I am starting to think it is part of windows causing it. Hence the thread, I cannot seem to narrow down the culprit, all I can think is it is a device driver or similar that isn't being loaded during safemode.
 
Windows 7.

I did consider this, so I changed the windows update to ask before downloading. No joy on that front. Appreciating the help though, might think of something I didn't.
I might upgrade to see if it fixes the problem. However I am a fan of 7 and have hated everything since.
 
What if you don't have a browser open? Can you use task manager to see whether traffic is high or is something like a firewall restricting the traffic? You can get packet inspection utility to sniff the NIC interface and pause it and go through it slowly to see what is doing the comms. I can't recall the name of the utility i used as it was a long time ago. I think there are some posts about using this technique in order for someone to find their sky username and password being communicated.
 
Ok, I think I have entered some sort of twlightzone here. This is beyond weird.

Downloaded Microsoft Network Monitor, most of the results mean nothing to me whatsoever. Regardless, started speedtest, minimised to look at the realtime results, (nothing) that seems out of the ordinary. Maximise to see speed results - 5mbps. WTF.
Rerun test, what it fizzle out at 0.7mbps. ???? Rerun test and minimises and it's 5mbps.

What the hell is going on, this happens in both IE and firefox.
Have reinstalled flash, it isn't that. Something is slowing my internet connection when the window is minimised or maximised. Is that even a thing?

edit/// has to be some sort of add on based issue, as a html5 speedtest gives dramatically different results.
Getting close to a solution though.
 
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I do, but it isn't active and I have disabled it.
Seriously confused, only thing that seems to affect it is being maximised or minimised. Going to wipe firefox and anything installed on it and go from there.
 
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