File transfer speed over LAN very slow

killer_cow · 10-08-2005, 08:13 AM

Hi there,

Can someone please explain to me why when I send a file from one WinXP machine to the other it goes so slowly!
Opening task manager shows that Im only ever using 1-2% of my network bandwidth to send the file. Surely theres a way to improve this!
I do know about collisions and how that would limit network speed, but I have little/no other network activity going on at the moment and surely with XPs fancy dancy (pile of rubbish) QoS packet schedualer it would be a bit more efficient than 1-2%!

Help please!!

Cheers,

KC

**greffov** · 10-09-2005, 04:25 AM

how are the pc's connected? through a hub or switch? 10 or 100 or 1000 Mbits/s? What speed is your NIC? what speed is the NIC of the other PC? How is the quality of the cables? What about lost packages on the TCP stack?

Dr. Avery · 10-14-2005, 09:14 AM

What application are you using to transfer files?

You should avoid using messenger programs since the packets are routed outside of your network.

Ususally when I com upon this problem I find that setting everyone's network card to 10 half duplex does the trick. your cable (or any component along the way) might not be rated for 100.

So ditch autonegotiation and again - make sure both cards are set for half duplex. It is counter-intuitive, but usually works.

**greffov** · 10-14-2005, 12:51 PM

half duplex sounds evil to me... then just lower to 10Mbits... however, if you got CAT5 cables, you should be able to get 10MB/s...

killer_cow · 10-20-2005, 05:32 AM

Hey guys;

Right, Ive got Cat5e cable throughout my (wired) network, so I should think 100Mbps is ok?

Ive got 100Mbps NICs throughout my wired network aswell, although I did have to slow one of them down to 10Mbps in the past because it wouldnt connect reliably at all at 100.

The transfer i was doing, was through Windows Explorer, just copy and paste in network location. It was between 2 PCs with Auto Sense ( both detected at 100Mbps).

Could there be something in the Windoze crapware that could be slowing me down?

igalan · 10-20-2005, 06:08 AM

Sounds like a wire problem to me. Probably one of the wires is bad and causes the slowdowns. Considering that at one point you can't run at 100Mbps, that's a hint that something is wrong with the wiring.

killer_cow · 10-20-2005, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igalan

Sounds like a wire problem to me. Probably one of the wires is bad and causes the slowdowns. Considering that at one point you can't run at 100Mbps, that's a hint that something is wrong with the wiring.

Hmm. Well the one PC that has been slowed down to 10Mbps is running through a different type of cable, a cheap one I picked up from my local electronics store (it says its Cat5e, I dont believe it) but all the others are from a netgear kit I bought three years ago. So I would have hoped they are ok.

igalan · 10-20-2005, 07:34 AM

Cables and specially connectors can break over time. However unless you have access to a professional cable tester that can certify for at least to Cat5, you won't be able to know for sure.

So if you don't have such tester (it's very expensive) try using a new and tested cable, or try with a crossover cable if the hub/switch is suspicious.

A bad network setup can also cause these problems, but if the network worked well in the past then something else must be at play.

**greffov** · 10-20-2005, 02:13 PM

hey, check the collisions counter of the ethernet stack, and especially watch it when sending over a file. If it increases like hell, then something is really wrong. If you have a switch the collisions counter should be zero actually. Also have a look at the package lost counter and stuff.

I think under windows netstat can show it, or some other nifty command that can access the data. I did it once, but can't remember how.

igalan · 10-21-2005, 03:26 AM

netstat -e

killer_cow · 10-27-2005, 05:34 AM

Cheers, will give that a try.

renegadeandy · 10-30-2005, 02:44 PM

Have you had any luck seb? I think it may be the way your hub or switch may be setup, they are both 100mbps i know but, have you got a speed limiter?

Pixelporter · 10-24-2008, 09:07 PM

1. Make sure your Network Adapters are configured properly on all machines
For Example: Full Duplex and 100 Mbps, or use "Auto" mode.

2. Make sure "All" your Ethernet Adapters, Hubs, Switches, Routers, etc. support the speed you are trying to use and are all configured to operate at the same speed.

Case Example:
On my 100 Mbps network, I connected to my router a 10 Mbps Hub (which I thought was a 100 Mbps) and it caused a ton of collisions slowing file transfers to a crawl between all computers. Replacing the the 10 Mbps Hub with a 100 Mbps Hub eliminated the collisions and now file transfers are much, much faster.

10-08-2005, 08:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
killer_cow Moo indeed. Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a grassy field :D Posts: 140	File transfer speed over LAN very slow Hi there, Can someone please explain to me why when I send a file from one WinXP machine to the other it goes so slowly! Opening task manager shows that Im only ever using 1-2% of my network bandwidth to send the file. Surely theres a way to improve this! I do know about collisions and how that would limit network speed, but I have little/no other network activity going on at the moment and surely with XPs fancy dancy (pile of rubbish) QoS packet schedualer it would be a bit more efficient than 1-2%! Help please!! Cheers, KC __________________

10-09-2005, 04:25 AM	#2 (permalink)
greffov Da House Nerd Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: One CPU Lane Posts: 3,512	how are the pc's connected? through a hub or switch? 10 or 100 or 1000 Mbits/s? What speed is your NIC? what speed is the NIC of the other PC? How is the quality of the cables? What about lost packages on the TCP stack? __________________ Linux virusscanner detected a virus: Windows 95 ... delete [Y/n] y ~ ~ :wq

10-14-2005, 09:14 AM	#3 (permalink)
Dr. Avery Tech Weasel Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Fortress of Awesometude Posts: 1,145	What application are you using to transfer files? You should avoid using messenger programs since the packets are routed outside of your network. Ususally when I com upon this problem I find that setting everyone's network card to 10 half duplex does the trick. your cable (or any component along the way) might not be rated for 100. So ditch autonegotiation and again - make sure both cards are set for half duplex. It is counter-intuitive, but usually works. __________________ 01010001 01110101 01100001 01100011 01101011: Fowl Syntax.

10-14-2005, 12:51 PM	#4 (permalink)
greffov Da House Nerd Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: One CPU Lane Posts: 3,512	half duplex sounds evil to me... then just lower to 10Mbits... however, if you got CAT5 cables, you should be able to get 10MB/s... __________________ Linux virusscanner detected a virus: Windows 95 ... delete [Y/n] y ~ ~ :wq

10-20-2005, 05:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
killer_cow Moo indeed. Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a grassy field :D Posts: 140	Hey guys; Right, Ive got Cat5e cable throughout my (wired) network, so I should think 100Mbps is ok? Ive got 100Mbps NICs throughout my wired network aswell, although I did have to slow one of them down to 10Mbps in the past because it wouldnt connect reliably at all at 100. The transfer i was doing, was through Windows Explorer, just copy and paste in network location. It was between 2 PCs with Auto Sense ( both detected at 100Mbps). Could there be something in the Windoze crapware that could be slowing me down? __________________

10-20-2005, 06:08 AM	#6 (permalink)
igalan PCTT Articles Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Barcelona, SPAIN Posts: 1,018	Sounds like a wire problem to me. Probably one of the wires is bad and causes the slowdowns. Considering that at one point you can't run at 100Mbps, that's a hint that something is wrong with the wiring. __________________ AMD64 X2 3800+, Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, 2 GB RAM, GeForce 6600GT, Windows XP Home SP2

10-20-2005, 07:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
igalan PCTT Articles Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Barcelona, SPAIN Posts: 1,018	Cables and specially connectors can break over time. However unless you have access to a professional cable tester that can certify for at least to Cat5, you won't be able to know for sure. So if you don't have such tester (it's very expensive) try using a new and tested cable, or try with a crossover cable if the hub/switch is suspicious. A bad network setup can also cause these problems, but if the network worked well in the past then something else must be at play. __________________ AMD64 X2 3800+, Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, 2 GB RAM, GeForce 6600GT, Windows XP Home SP2

10-20-2005, 02:13 PM	#9 (permalink)
greffov Da House Nerd Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: One CPU Lane Posts: 3,512	hey, check the collisions counter of the ethernet stack, and especially watch it when sending over a file. If it increases like hell, then something is really wrong. If you have a switch the collisions counter should be zero actually. Also have a look at the package lost counter and stuff. I think under windows netstat can show it, or some other nifty command that can access the data. I did it once, but can't remember how. __________________ Linux virusscanner detected a virus: Windows 95 ... delete [Y/n] y ~ ~ :wq

10-21-2005, 03:26 AM	#10 (permalink)
igalan PCTT Articles Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Barcelona, SPAIN Posts: 1,018	netstat -e __________________ AMD64 X2 3800+, Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, 2 GB RAM, GeForce 6600GT, Windows XP Home SP2

10-27-2005, 05:34 AM	#11 (permalink)
killer_cow Moo indeed. Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: In a grassy field :D Posts: 140	Cheers, will give that a try. __________________

10-30-2005, 02:44 PM	#12 (permalink)
renegadeandy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Scotland - Edinburgh Posts: 83	Have you had any luck seb? I think it may be the way your hub or switch may be setup, they are both 100mbps i know but, have you got a speed limiter? __________________ "KEYBOARD FAILURE : PRESS F1 TO CONTINUE" - how retarded can bios get?

10-24-2008, 09:07 PM	#13 (permalink)
Pixelporter Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1	Two things to check 1. Make sure your Network Adapters are configured properly on all machines For Example: Full Duplex and 100 Mbps, or use "Auto" mode. 2. Make sure "All" your Ethernet Adapters, Hubs, Switches, Routers, etc. support the speed you are trying to use and are all configured to operate at the same speed. Case Example: On my 100 Mbps network, I connected to my router a 10 Mbps Hub (which I thought was a 100 Mbps) and it caused a ton of collisions slowing file transfers to a crawl between all computers. Replacing the the 10 Mbps Hub with a 100 Mbps Hub eliminated the collisions and now file transfers are much, much faster.

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