Download Speeds FUBAR'd in WinXP

[Kaos Kid]

I have a weird problem pertaining to my download speeds on just one computer in my network that is running WinXP-32. I have Charter with 30 Mbps/4Mbps, and when I try to do a Charter speedtest with this computer I only get between 1-2Mbps download, but upload is still strong at 4Mbps. Most of the time I get ping speeds between 40-100ms and an error that the download or upload file wasn't read correctly and it doesn't complete at all, and when it does happen to work I get the limited speed. I don't know what I did to mess this one up, but it is frustrating. I have tried uninstalling my COMODO AV/Firewall, switching wireless adapters, clearing pagefile and temp folder, and defragging. I know this has to be a setting or something that I inadvertently changed/corrupted in WinXP, because when I dual-boot into Win7-64 (separate primary partition on same drive) I get 40Mbps/4Mbps with 4-10ms latency without a hitch using the same WiFi adapter. Other computers on this network have no problems with their speeds either. What did I do to mess this up on just the one computer, and what can I do to fix it? Thanks as usual for any insights.

[Major_A]

Have you installed the motherboard chipset drivers for Windows XP? What adapter are you using?

[Kaos Kid]

Have you installed the motherboard chipset drivers for Windows XP? What adapter are you using?

Yes, this is actually an install that I have been using for quite awhile now. Probably time for a format/reinstall. The adapters that I use are the Rosewill RNX-N2LX and the 600UBE. I uninstalled the 600UBE and reinstalled the N2LX to see if there was a difference, which there wasn't. The Win7 test showed that adapter and router both working fine I did get some speed back, but I don't know why this particular computer was slow.

[Major_A]

If the install is over a couple years old then you might want to do a fresh install like you said. Since moving to Vista and then 7 they both don't seem to get "OS Rot" nearly as quick as XP did. I assume you've installed updated drivers. In case you didn't know for future reference the RNX-N2LX uses a Realtek 8192SU chipset and the 600USB uses a Ralink RT3572 chipset. I'd also recommend letting Windows manage your WiFi adapters rather than letting Realtek or Ralink install their software.

Realtek Drivers:
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/dow ... #RTL8192SU
(Make sure you scroll down to the 8192SU package, released 4-19-12.)

Ralink Drivers:
http://www.ralinktech.com/en/04_support ... php?sn=500
(First driver on page, released 11-29-12.)

[Kaos Kid]

Thanks for the input. I got the speeds back on that particular computer, still don't know what was going on. I uninstalled the NL2X and reinstalled the N600UBE because it can take advantage of the 5Ghz band on my router. I've been using the drivers from the Rosewill site, so I went and downloaded the drivers from the links you provided. Funny the RaLink drivers listed as 11-29-2012 had the same driver numbers as the ones from Rosewills' site dated 4-17-2012. I'll keep the Rosewill version for now, if I start getting lag again I'll use the RaLink branded drivers and see if they fix the problem.

When I get the SSD from the 10th Anny contest I'll probably split it and dual-boot Win7 and Win8 off of it, and if the wife likes Win7 then I'll phase out the WinXP on this box. It is my upstairs torrent box and surfer, and she shares it so I have to take her preference into consideration.