Solved New Toshiba S55 B getting very bad Internet connection

MOlson

New Member
Messages
7
I'm new to Win 8.1 but I'm fairly tech-savvy. I've got a new Toshiba Satellite S55 B5289 with Win 8.1, connecting to the Internet via Time-Warner over wifi. I'd go into the details of the wifi and router, but given that I've got a month-old HP with Win 7, and a 2-year old Samsung Chromebook sitting here with the Toshiba, all three running Chrome as opposed to IE, and the other two getting significantly better speed, I don't think those details are really critical.

This problem has been going on since I brought the new laptop home, but I've carefully uninstalled all the bloatware that came pre-installed, and made the standard Chrome tweaks [unchecking the hardware accelleration] nothing has helped. Yesterday I took it to a friend who has a computer repair business and he tuned up a lot of the things inside Win 8.1 that I had no clue about - as I understood it, making 8.1 run Chrome without going *through* IE. I didn't pay as much attention to that as I should have, but essentially everything seemed to be working very well. His Internet connection, however, is lightning fast, and connecting to that wifi, things were downloading and running spectacularly well. Just what I'd expected - or at least hoped for - when I bought it.

Using it at home today, the problems have resurfaced. Loading emails, for instance, is not quite right. Images in the emails frequently don't load properly - it will stutter and often stops in the middle of an email. If I click on a link, there can be a significant delay before the page loads. Videos buffer every few seconds and even when I let the entire video load, it still plays spastically.

All of this is in Chrome, using tabs - which I always do. Yes, of course I could clear the cache, start fresh, use no tabs, let one thing load at a time, but that's not what I have ever done, so this is real world testing. The most telling detail, though is the download speeds I'm getting.

Running Speedtest on all three machines, the ping is basically the same, but on the Toshiba, it frequently can't even finish the download test. It just stalls to a halt. The Chromebook gets a download speed of 5.75 and the HP gets 21.31. We pay Time-Warner for 20, so I'd really like to see something like that on the Toshiba!

Any suggestions would be gratefully accepted.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba S55 B5289
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4710 HP 250GHz
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3L
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1.0 TB
    Browser
    Chrome 37
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32
If you are working from inside Metro/Start interface, yes everything is going to look odd. As for Bloatware, there is only a bunch of shortcuts, Norton, and some minor Toshiba apps.

Try using the Desktop interface instead of the Metro/Start interface. You will find that things will look a whole lot better.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
No, I'm definitely not using Metro Start. I figured that one out fairly quickly. It had Norton, a number of games that popped up eagerly, plus some shortcuts. I stripped those things out ASAP. and while they're not as bad as some, I still didn't want them.

It's not that it doesn't *look* normal, it's that it's behaving poorly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba S55 B5289
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4710 HP 250GHz
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3L
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1.0 TB
    Browser
    Chrome 37
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32
The Wild Tangent games do not really go away, unless you deep clean them out of the registry. Now the big question is, what are you paying for from TWC for Speed Package. What does Shaper Probe show for the speed from that machine, and same for the others. You can download Shaper Probe from ShaperProbe

Make sure when you paste the output of Shaper Probe. That you state in the post if it was from a wired or Ethernet connection, and what OS/Machine you ran it from. Internet throughput can vary machine to machine, same as network connection.

The biggest issue also that can cause problems with connections, is using the ISP's Gateway, bad line quality, or your own modem that is older (ie docsis 2.0), and an older router that does not have good WAN to LAN throughput.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Just clarifying you don't have weather apps, and other apps that run in the background? You don't have any widgets?

What type of security/firewall is being used? What are they set to?

Have all windows updates been completed?

What type of wireless card/adapter are you using?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    iBUYPOWER
    CPU
    AMD 8320
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon 7850
    Screen Resolution
    1024x768
    Case
    Azza Solaris
    Internet Speed
    50MBps download/10MBps upload
    Browser
    Chrome/Firefox/Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes PRO
Wild Tangent was definitely in here, but was uninstalled yesterday. Didn't do any deep cleaning, just uninstalled. I haven't got any widgets on here, nor any apps running other than Chrome.

The wireless card is Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 1x1 AC (433Mbps). We're paying Time Warner for "Turbo" which is *supposed to be* 20 Mbps down, but this is the first time I've ever noticed anything about it at all - it seems fine on the others, and my husband dowloads videos all the time on the HP and has no problems.

All the Windows updates are complete, and the Windows firewall is running. I turned it off as a test, but it made no difference.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba S55 B5289
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4710 HP 250GHz
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3L
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1.0 TB
    Browser
    Chrome 37
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32
Let's see - no widgets, no weather apps.

Wild Tangent was uninstalled yesterday, no registry investigation.

We're paying Time Warner for "Turbo" which is reputed to be 20 Mbps. Never had any question about that until now.

The Windows firewall is active. I had turned it off as a test, but it made no difference.

The Shaper Probe output is as follows:

DiffProbe release. January 2012. Build 1008.
Shaper Detection Module.


Connected to server 74.63.50.34.


Estimating capacity:
Upstream: 2184 Kbps.
Downstream: 103336 Kbps.


The measurement will take upto 3.5 minutes. Please wait.


Checking for traffic shapers:


Upstream: No shaper detected.
Median received rate: 2128 Kbps.


Downstream: No shaper detected.
Median received rate: 21429 Kbps.


For more information, visit: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~partha/diffprobe

Was run wirelessly on the Toshiba.

And finally, the wireless card is an Intel dual band wireless AC-3160 with driver up to date.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba S55 B5289
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4710 HP 250GHz
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3L
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1.0 TB
    Browser
    Chrome 37
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32
I was going to suggest if you had a wireless adapter you could plug that in and do a test and see if the network works fine that way. if so it would narrow it down to your card.

At this point I am not exactly sure what would be making it act as such.

Edit: one more idea, is the wireless card software driver fully up to date?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    iBUYPOWER
    CPU
    AMD 8320
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon 7850
    Screen Resolution
    1024x768
    Case
    Azza Solaris
    Internet Speed
    50MBps download/10MBps upload
    Browser
    Chrome/Firefox/Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes PRO
Maybe a good idea about that wirelss adapter. Must go rummage around in the old tech-stuff graveyard.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba S55 B5289
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4710 HP 250GHz
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3L
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1.0 TB
    Browser
    Chrome 37
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32
Well, I found an old wireless adapter and installed that, and after the first seeming success, we're back to the same old thing. The first time I tried a speedtest after plugging in the old adapter, I got a screaming 7.44 Mbps down and 2.18 up. I tried it again and got 5.72 down and 2.18 up, so I thought we might be onto something, but the third time it just ground to a halt on the download portion and has done that repeatedly since then.

Meanwhile, but *not* simultaneously as I was testing the Toshiba, the Chromebook got 20.86 down and 2.35 up and the HP got 19.76 down and 3.80 up.

I tried the Shaper Probe on both the HP and the Toshiba again and got slightly different results. The HP had no shaper detected, but the second time the Toshiba read as follows:

DiffProbe release. January 2012. Build 1008.
Shaper Detection Module.


Connected to server 38.106.70.162.


Estimating capacity:
Upstream: 1280 Kbps.
Downstream: 3265 Kbps.


The measurement will take upto 2.5 minutes. Please wait.


Checking for traffic shapers:


Upstream: No shaper detected.
Median received rate: 1306 Kbps.


Downstream: Burst size: 8377-8475 KB;
Shaping rate: 709 Kbps.


For more information, visit: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~partha/diffprobe

I'm not entirely clear on what that means, or why there was a difference in this test, but things are still not working much better.

Any other suggestions?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba S55 B5289
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4710 HP 250GHz
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3L
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1.0 TB
    Browser
    Chrome 37
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32
one last wireless card test... how many lines does that card have, and how many lines does the chromebook have?

how many packets is it showing is being sent under properties compared ot the chromebook?

Are all three of these devices being connected all at the same time? I guess it's possible the router may be "smart" and could be trying to put so much power to only certain devices?

I don't know of any other device or setting in the computer which would cause this.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    iBUYPOWER
    CPU
    AMD 8320
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon 7850
    Screen Resolution
    1024x768
    Case
    Azza Solaris
    Internet Speed
    50MBps download/10MBps upload
    Browser
    Chrome/Firefox/Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes PRO
The first test came out the best. Worse with the second adapter. What is the mfg & model of the Gateway if you are renting one from TWC? If using a separate modem & router. What is the mfg & model of modem & same for the router?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Whew! This is pretty wild, but the problem has been resolved. although it's not that easy to explain. I've been busy with other things [life] since the last suggestions were posted, but I hadn't given up monitoring everything the laptop was doing, and trying to figure out what was happening in what I'm finding a rather opaque Win 8.1 operating environment.

I had located the Event Viewer, which in my fairly long Windows experience, often has information that, even if I don't really understand it, can often lead me to other people's questions and answers, and to cut a long story short, it did. I was seeing errors having to do with the WLANextensibility module, so googling that I found plenty of commentary on problems created therein. Further investigation brought me to an old post on this very forum:

http://www.eightforums.com/network-sharing/29328-event-id-10002-wlan-autoconfig-no-internet.html

Normally I don't give much weight to posts over a year old, but his solution having to do with the Intel ProSet software caused me to look at mine, which I had previously discovered. There was an option to "repair" the ProSet software built in to it, so I did that, which turned out to be surprisingly catastrophic - it caused the Intel wireless adapter to entirely vanish from the system!

Given that my only option at that point was to plug in an Ethernet cable to go online and find help, I did that and magically the wireless adapter reappeared. What I find now, though, is that there is a new driver for it dated a week ago - 9/19/2014.

In all my attempted problem solving, I had verified more than once through the Device Manager that the driver was up to date, but I never went there through the Intel tools. There seems to be an internal relationship between the ProSet tools, which was updated in late August, and the driver which was updated a week ago. Still some mystery there, but it's certainly working better.

I've checked the video buffering and the page loading that I was having so much trouble with, and it all seems good. Thanks very much for your suggestions!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba S55 B5289
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4710 HP 250GHz
    Memory
    8 GB DDR3L
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1.0 TB
    Browser
    Chrome 37
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32
Glad to hear it's working for you now and sorry I wasn't able to assist further!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    iBUYPOWER
    CPU
    AMD 8320
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon 7850
    Screen Resolution
    1024x768
    Case
    Azza Solaris
    Internet Speed
    50MBps download/10MBps upload
    Browser
    Chrome/Firefox/Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes PRO
Back
Top