Windows 8 Ethernet Driver Causing Slow Download Speeds

Hey guys,

I recently put together a new 64-bit Windows 8 Build. Everything is running fine except my Ethernet connection.

I use the build in my office and my co-workers are consistently getting download speeds of 30+Mbps using speedtest.net. Unfortunately, my speeds were around 5Mbps.

I narrowed down the issue to a network driver conflict. After downloading and installing the latest drivers from Realtek, my internet speeds jumped to 30+Mbps on Speedtest. The only issue is everytime I reboot the computer, the same problem occurs. I have to fiddle around with device manager disabling/uninstalling the default drivers and/or reinstalling the Realtek drivers.

Windows keeps reverting back to the signed older driver causing the issue, instead of the newer unsigned version from Realtek.

Anyone can help?

My issue is very similar to this:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/window...

But none of the solutions there seem to work

Windows Update is probably the culprit - try disabling it (Windows key +X > Control Panel > Windows Update > Change settings), restart, and then check the drivers. If that is the problem you can either leave it disabled, which means you would have to update manually (ie., you have to initiate the Windows Update process yourself), or you can change the setting to "Check for updates but allow me to choose whether to download and install them".

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, I've already disabled that but the problem persists after rebooting my computer

Also do the following from a command window: ipconfig /flushdns & netsh winsock reset catalog

Okay i'll try that tomorrow (the problem is for a work pc). What does that do exactly?

Did you turn it off entirely (ie., Never install updates)?

yes i did. I also messed around with policy settings in gpedit.msc - that only prevented me from installing the actual needed 3rd party driver.

Ok here's what you want to do:

First, (make sure the Windows drivers are loaded, not the Realtek drivers)


1. Windows Key + X > Command Prompt (admin)

2. Copy the line below, then place your cursor at the blinking command prompt and rt.click once (which will paste the command)

pnputil -e

3. Find the driver (should be under Network adaptors) > then type this:

pnputil -f -d published name

whereas published name is the name of the driver

4. Exit the command prompt and install the Realtek drivers.

okay thanks ill try this tomorrow, should i uninstall the currently installed 3rd party RealTek drivers before trying this?

Yes, make sure that the Windows drivers are loaded before you do it because the command will be permantley deleting whatever drivers are loaded at that point.

Okay should i just leave windows update to the default (auto-update) settings or the manual settings when doing this?

Also do i need to disable the network adapter under device manager before doing this?

Thanks i really appreciate the help.

Just follow our instructions. Do not add any extra steps or over think what we have told you. It is all very simple information that can resolve this problem you are having.

Okay guys I have tried everything above.

By using update drivers and selecting the folder where the new driver was located, I managed to update the driver to the right version.

Now the internet speeds have increased to 20Mbps. Rebooting my PC is fine, the speeds stay at 20 Mbps.

Unfortunately this pales to the 30+Mbps my windows 8 laptop and colleagues are getting in the office. It seems as though Windows 8 is throttling my speeds now.

I have tried disabling AVG antivirus and results are still the same.

I have also changed the group policy setting to reserve bandwith limit to 0%, but the issue remains.

Very frustrating. Contemplating downgrading to Windows 7 if i can't get this fixed.

Then something is throttling it at the router. Also keep in mind that every unit behaves differently than another. Instead of downgrading to Windows 7, which unless you know there are drivers available that will work with your unit. Get a USB adapter and try that. The Netgear 6200 & 6210 USB adapters allow for you to adjust the antenna on them, to help fine tune the signal.

Here is an ipconfig to see the diagnosis

You cannot post a screenshot, and do not need ipconfig /all. That is not going to do anything to diagnose & troubleshoot your problem.

Only way to fix. Is to try another Wifi adapter, that you can plug into a USB port and see if that improves reception and connection speed. Otherwise it is possible that QOS throttling is being done on your MAC ID for your adapter on the Router.

Need a couple of speed tests, run Shaper Probe & post the results from that. Along with the output of "netsh wlan show all" for wifi connection & driver info.

Thanks for all the help bro23 and the rest of the forum. You guys have been a great source of help during this frustrating time.

Unfortunately I don't have access to a USB Wifi Adaptor. Right now i'm assuming something is happening to my network settings when i reboot.

Windows still somehow installed the default drivers after I went through deleting them in the command prompt window. However I realize now it is not a driver issue. I uninstalled the new Realtek drivers and suddenly the Speedtest jumped back up to 30Mbps.

The issue seems to be everytime I change the settings around on my network port it triggers something
that allows the speeds to reach back normal speeds.

This has happened when
a) installing the third party drivers
b) uninstalling the third party drivers
c)flushing dns

all of these seem to resolve the issue temporarily and I get my speeds back up to normal.

The issue comes back only when i reboot. Something must be triggering a setting when i reboot that is causing my speeds to drop down to 10-20Mbps after a reboot. The issue is resolved after doing one of the above fixes but does not stay permanent.

This is getting really frustrating. Any more ideas? You guys have been great

Again, without you posting the information from "netsh wlan show all". There is nothing else that can be discussed per this matter.

Ben,

First off, if you turn auto update back on, it's just going to reinstall the signed drivers, which means they are going to go straight back into your driver store, and you are going to have the same problem all over again (if this is the problem).

But one thing you should keep in mind, as Broe mentioned, all devices and individual setups perform differently. The only way you will truely be able to figure out what is wrong is if you try a different network adaptor, or even a different connection. Since you already mentioned that you don't have access to another adaptor, have you tried the computer somewhere else besides work? Is this a wireless connection? Have you attempted to connect somewhere else outside of the office network? Are you attaching to a server at work? Connections could have quotas imposed by the server, based on any number of things. Also keep in mind that speedtest (if you are talking about the website) might not be consistent enough to rely on for your connection speeds. The time of day could greatly effect the speed that is being reported. Let's start with some questions:

1. Is this a WLAN, or wired ethernet connection?
2. How is the office network providing your internet access? Is there a server involved? A Proxy server? Firewall? Router? Are they static IP addresses, or are you using DHCP?
3. How many connections in the office total, and what kind of ISP are they using (ie., is it a business account with higher bandwidth)?

Try doing this when you notice the connection slowing down:

1. Windows key +X > Command Prompt (admin)
2. type this command

ipconfig /release

3. Wait at least 2 or 3 minutes, then type this:

ipconfig /renew

4. Try your connection again, but don't rely on one test, conduct 4 or 5 of them and average the results.
5. Perform a speedtest while enlisting a couple co-workers to do a few at the same time from their own computers.
6. Boot into "Safe Mode (With Networking)" and test the speeds that way.

I might add that if you have changed Windows Update back to automatic, make sure the Windows drivers are currently loaded, then remove them as explained above (with pnputil). Reinstall the Realtek drivers and leave Windows Update off while we are troubleshooting (go into Device manager and double-check what drivers the NIC is using after you've restarted the computer).


Let me know what happened and we will proceed accordingly.