# Internet nightmare makes a comeback



## I Am That Is (Oct 12, 2012)

Hey guys,

as you may know I have a setup where I have my gaming PC I built, with a highspeed, completely compatible wireless card. A while back I was having problems connecting to my wifi. It only connected once and a while and my download speed was at bits per second. I updated to windows 7 and now it connects fine, but it is still very slow and way less than it should be. I have a Mac running OS X and windows 7 bootcamp, and it more than triples the internet speed of the PC and its in the same location. Here is the speedtest result for the Mac:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/2238599349.png

And here is the PC
www.speedtest.net/result/2238590088.png

This still makes no sense to me. I cant understand how on the PC my upload speed is double my download. When downloading anything I get maybe 200kbps. I am paying for the verison fios 150mbps plan. I know over wifi I wont be getting that speed, but this is ridiculous. the PC results there are really good. Sometimes the site wont even load properly so I cant do the test :/
2.92 is good for the PC, where its normally around 1 or less. Any idea what could be causing this?


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## Ricky (Oct 12, 2012)

Do other computers have the same problem on that wifi?

edit - oh derp, I read that wrong.

Yeah, if another computer is okay on the same wifi I'd probably check for malware first.


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## Runefox (Oct 13, 2012)

What brand/model modem do you have with Verizon? Does it have WiFi built in? Do you have a separate router? If so, what brand/model is it? Since this has been an ongoing issue, you might try replacing the router. The wireless card in the PC might also be suspect, but since the Mac isn't getting anywhere near what you should be getting on FiOS, I'd hazard to guess that it's the router. If you're running wireless G, then you're really limiting yourself; You really should get an N300 router at the very least if you don't already have one.


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## Saga (Oct 13, 2012)

How does it perform when plugged into your modem via ethernet cables?


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## I Am That Is (Oct 13, 2012)

I cant currently connect it through Ethernet, for reasons I cant explain very well. I have tried both and older router and what im using now: an Airport Extreme. I get better results with the newer Airport Extreme. It has to partly be due to the computer, seeing as the other computer running the same OS is working fine. I'm relatively new to windows and All I have done as far as virus checking and the like, is to install Avast and run a full system scan. It came up clean.


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## cobalt-blue (Oct 13, 2012)

Put wireshark on your windows boxes and see what is happening. If one works good and one doesn't the comparing the captures might be enlightening.  Wireshark is freeware and pretty simple to use.  If you get captures and need help I can look at them if you want.


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## kayfox (Oct 13, 2012)

cobalt-blue said:


> Put wireshark on your windows boxes and see what is happening.



I kinda want to say this is like dealing with reception problems with your TV by taking it apart and probing it with an o-scope.

I don't think it would be easy to determine what is going wrong with this connection using Wireshark without some pretty extensive knowledge of networking protocols.  And honestly I think that if the OP knew this kinda stuff, they would have figured it out by now, or wouldn't need someone to tell them to use Wireshark.


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## cobalt-blue (Oct 14, 2012)

kayfox said:


> I kinda want to say this is like dealing with reception problems with your TV by taking it apart and probing it with an o-scope.
> 
> I don't think it would be easy to determine what is going wrong with this connection using Wireshark without some pretty extensive knowledge of networking protocols.  And honestly I think that if the OP knew this kinda stuff, they would have figured it out by now, or wouldn't need someone to tell them to use Wireshark.



Well the other option is just to start replacing all parts of the network and hope it fixes it.  Wireshark is free and with a little googling the results may be helpful.  Just because someone does not currently have the knowledge does not mean they can't learn and figure out what is wrong, ya know the old fashioned hands on trouble shooting thing?


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## kayfox (Oct 14, 2012)

cobalt-blue said:


> Well the other option is just to start replacing all parts of the network and hope it fixes it.  Wireshark is free and with a little googling the results may be helpful.  Just because someone does not currently have the knowledge does not mean they can't learn and figure out what is wrong, ya know the old fashioned hands on trouble shooting thing?



Pray tell, how would you troubleshoot a wireless connectivity issue with wireshark?


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## cobalt-blue (Oct 14, 2012)

The OP asked for help, instead of bashing me for giving my thoughts on how I would start looking for causes why don't you give some insight how you would resolve the issue at hand.


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## I Am That Is (Oct 14, 2012)

Lets just say for now my goal is to get the internet speed on my Desktop to the same level as the Mac. I know it has something to do with the PC because its been like this since I built it, and no other devices in the house have any problems. My iPhone can connect much better than my PC which makes 0 sense to me. I guess I could give wireshark a try and post the results here, but I think its not as complicated as all that.


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## cobalt-blue (Oct 14, 2012)

Well look up MTU it has to do with how big the packets are.  If the packets from the PC are to big they have to be resized to work correctly. IE a big packet has to be made into a a less big packet and a second packet.  Google Win7 and the access point type and see if others have had the same issue.  Also Google the type of wireless card and the access point and see if there is a issue there.  Firmware on the card may need to be upgraded.  How close is the PC to the access point?  any possibility of outside radio frequency interference?  Wireshark may show if there is a lot of resends being requested.  Resends are caused by lost, late or corrupted packets.  Another thought how are IP addresses assigned on your network, any possible chance of a duplicate?


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## kayfox (Oct 14, 2012)

I Am That Is said:


> Lets just say for now my goal is to get the internet speed on my Desktop to the same level as the Mac. I know it has something to do with the PC because its been like this since I built it, and no other devices in the house have any problems. My iPhone can connect much better than my PC which makes 0 sense to me.



What kind of wireless card is the PC using and where are the antennas for that card located?  The problems your having somewhat smack of bad reception. 

cobalt-blue mentions MTU issues, but I don't think that would be an issue because it would affect your Mac just as much.  Besides, are we not comparing Win7 on a Mac to Win7 on a PC?  This hints towards a hardware issue of some sort, or something that has been done to the PC and not to the Mac, like some sort of software installed.



I Am That Is said:


> I guess I could give wireshark a try and post the results here, but I think its not as complicated as all that.



Well... the point I was trying to make above is that you cant exactly "use wireshark and post the results" its a packet capture and analysis tool.  It does not probe anything on its own and tends to be a bit complicated.  You would have to generate test traffic or try to find the issue in normal traffic.  As well, posting the packet capture here might not be a good idea either, it would likely reveal something you dont like revealed, like IM passwords or something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireshark


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## Ricky (Oct 14, 2012)

kayfox said:


> Well... the point I was trying to make above is that you cant exactly "use wireshark and post the results" its a packet capture and analysis tool.  It does not probe anything on its own and tends to be a bit complicated.  You would have to generate test traffic or try to find the issue in normal traffic.



Unless you have a virus that's uploading kiddy porn to some server in another country and that's why your bandwidth sucks ;3

Then it might give some clue.


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## Bulveye (Oct 15, 2012)

The fact that you had troubles connecting before leads me to believe that it's an issue with the card itself. 
To test the connection between the card and router, go to start > run > cmd and assuming your router's IP is 192.168.1.1 (192.168.0.1 is also common), type in: ping 192.168.1.1 -t
This will continue to test the connection between your computer and router until you close the window. Let it run for a minute or so and watch what it's doing. The times should all be low, between <1ms or 5ms and nothing should time out. If it does, your card is trash!

Since you're new to windows, I found this guide that has screenshots on what you're looking for. Only difference is that this has you pinging a website instead of your router: http://www.wikihow.com/Ping-an-IP-Address


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## kayfox (Oct 15, 2012)

Ricky said:


> Unless you have a virus that's uploading kiddy porn to some server in another country and that's why your bandwidth sucks ;3



That would probably affect the other machine as well.

Good test for that would be to test speeds from the Mac while the PC is on and also while its off.

A little difference (<25%): Probably different speeds being selected by the Wifi AP.
Large difference: Bingo.


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