Networking – Internet noticeably slower on one computer while faster on another connected to the same router

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I have a 120Mb/s Internet connection and it works well on my laptop with 1Gb/s network card and Windows 7. But it works too slow on another computer which is older and which have 100Mb/s network card and also Windows 7. Both computers are connected via wired Ethernet.

I realize that I won’t get the full 120Mb/s on a 100Mb/s network card, but as far as I know it should work with speed about 90Mb/s, but it is only getting about 35 Mb/s.

I am using Ubee EVW3226 modem/router device and I have updated network card drivers on the systems in question.

Best Answer

Few things to try (test your speed after each step to see if the problem persists):

  • Connect the computer to the router using a different ethernet cable.
  • If you have a switch in between the computer and the router, try connecting the computer directly to the router.

  • Check link speed/duplex:

    1. Press Win + R to open the Run menu, and type devmgmt.msc to open Device Manager
    2. Expand Network adapters and double-click the appropriate adapter
    3. Navigate to the Advanced tab
    4. Select Link Speed & Duplex from the Property list and make sure its value is set to Auto Negotiation.

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  • Reset the TCP/IP stack1:

    1. Click Start, search for cmd
    2. Right-click cmd.exe and click Run as administrator
    3. Type netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt and hit Enter
    4. Reboot the computer.

1You can also use the Fix it wizard from the following link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/299357

A corruct TCP/IP stack can cause several issues with the network connection. Resetting the TCP/IP stack will overwrite the following registry keys:

SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters 
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DHCP\Parameters

This has the same effect as removing and reinstalling TCP/IP (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/299357).

If none of the above solves the problem, your network adapter may be bad, or you could have some sort of malware which is hogging the bandwidth.

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