Solved Very Slow Download Speed

[lancastermom]

I upgraded to Windows 8 yesterday and my download speed has dropped from 6+ Mbps (under windows 7) to .25 Mbps (after the upgrade). My WiFi connection has 5 bars. All other WiFi enabled devices in this house still have a 6+ Mbps download speed. I believe that this is an upgrade issue as I did not have this problem before. Any ideas on how to fix this?

 

[damhamaza]

I change my wifi mode (router) to b/g instead of b/g/n..that help a bit...

 

[lancastermom]

Thank you, damhamaza. I don't know how to do that. I am absolutely positively not very tech savvy. Still have the problem and can't find a solution anywhere. I am so bummed.

 

[TheGrantFitz]

Thank you, damhamaza. I don't know how to do that. I am absolutely positively not very tech savvy. Still have the problem and can't find a solution anywhere. I am so bummed.

I use an Ethernet adapter, so I wish I could relate!
My Internet has dropped speeds from 18 MPS to 3 MPS. Not sure why? :S

 

[andyandrewjim]

I to upgrade form windows 7 to 8. I seen that happen when I went to download my drivers and it was at 0% for like 5 mins. I download all updates from windows update all but one download from other computer and installed updates that timed out. I installed the LAN driver for my motherboard. That didn't work. I think it is something with windows filtering the incoming internet. I did take a look via task manger and it show that the incoming would go up and come down in a second and would not come back up till 3 seconds later. Hoping someone finds out how to fix it never did it in beta to me.

 

[lancastermom]

Could it be that the driver for my wireless card is kind-of but not totally compatible with windows 8? I have a DW1520 Wireless-N WLAN Half-Mini Card and its latest driver is Windows 7 64 bit compatible. When the windows 8 compatible driver becomes available will it automatically download? Does anyone know? For now I'll download and stream using my old system.

 

[andyandrewjim]

I don't think they would update automatically. Unless they have that in the program. I know with my drivers it is for windows 8. For windows 7 I didn't need them and my speeds were fine. I think it has something to do more with windows 8. I have searched Google and there are lots of people with this issue.

 

[OmerBonfil]

Could it be that the driver for my wireless card is kind-of but not totally compatible with windows 8? I have a DW1520 Wireless-N WLAN Half-Mini Card and its latest driver is Windows 7 64 bit compatible. When the windows 8 compatible driver becomes available will it automatically download? Does anyone know? For now I'll download and stream using my old system.

Hey Man, I have Dell XPS M1330 with DW1505 Wireless card, had the same issue since installing Windows 8 two days ago.

Found the solution right now.

download this driver from Dell's Website: dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails?driverId=R295615

its some kind of all in one driver for our cards. go to device manager and update the driver select to search manually and not automatic and click have disc, navigate to where you extracted the driver and select from the drivers folder the Win7 folder and then WL folder, and install the driver available there.

Worked for me perfect, now wireless is speedy just like ethernet

 

[lancastermom]

Could it be that the driver for my wireless card is kind-of but not totally compatible with windows 8? I have a DW1520 Wireless-N WLAN Half-Mini Card and its latest driver is Windows 7 64 bit compatible. When the windows 8 compatible driver becomes available will it automatically download? Does anyone know? For now I'll download and stream using my old system.

Hey Man, I have Dell XPS M1330 with DW1505 Wireless card, had the same issue since installing Windows 8 two days ago.

Found the solution right now.

download this driver from Dell's Website: dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails?driverId=R295615

its some kind of all in one driver for our cards. go to device manager and update the driver select to search manually and not automatic and click have disc, navigate to where you extracted the driver and select from the drivers folder the Win7 folder and then WL folder, and install the driver available there.

Worked for me perfect, now wireless is speedy just like ethernet

I've tried your suggestion, but it didn't work for me. I do hope that it helps someone else. My download speed is still .25 Mbps. Any other ideas?

 

[SIL3NTKOD3R]

Not sure if my idea is going to work, but atleast it's worth a try.

Download your WiFi driver for window 7.
Extract your driver into a folder, any compression software can extract the files from an executable.
Then uninstall your WiFi driver, it will cause the loss of internet connection.
Then scan for hardware change. (You computer will detect your WiFi again and will install it.)
Right click on your WiFi, click on update and Browse the computer for driver software.
Navigate to the extracted folder and click next.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[lancastermom]

I tried. I have followed every step outlined by SIL3NTKOD3R and I get the same thing. When I go to update the driver from the extracted folder I get the message "The best driver software for your device is already installed" and my WiFi doesn't work the same. I'll keep searching for a solution.

 

[brummyfan]

Hi lancastermom,
Go to Network and sharing centre(rightclick wireless icon in taskbar), click change adapter settings, right click the WiFi and disable, reboot and see whether it helps.
EDIT: you can also uninstall any security software temporarily.

 

[lancastermom]

No change, but thanks. I'm starting to think that the problem is not really with the WiFi, but that my download speed is somehow affected by something else.

I say this, because: 1. My connection is fine - 5 bars
2. I can connect to the Internet - absolutely no problems
3. I can upload at my normal rate of .65 Mbps - so no trouble there
4. It is only when I download anything, that I have a problem. The time remaining to download will say the 2 min or 5 min, but the actual download progress will take an an hour or more (the whole time indicating some small number of minutes remaining.

Edit: I had no security software, other than Windows 8 Firewall, running. I have since downloaded my preferred security software and the problem persists.

I wonder if the problem could be caused by Defender? What do you all think? Can Windows Defender be temporarily disabled to see?

 

[brummyfan]

Can you go to advanced power options and check the minimum Processor Power state and maximum processor state, if it is less than 100%, try change it to 100% and see. It worked for another member with similar problem.

 

[TheGrantFitz]

Internet seems slower on Eight for a lot of people... hmm? :0

 

[lancastermom]

I finally thought to contact Windows 8 Customer Service. I believe that we've identified the problem, though it seems that I'll have to live with it in the short term. Here goes: Windows 8 used generic drivers wherever Windows 8 drivers were not available. It seems that for some of us those drivers don't work perfectly. The problem should be fixed once the appropriate driver is made available.

 

[jnichols2]

I upgraded to Windows 8 yesterday and my download speed has dropped from 6+ Mbps (under windows 7) to .25 Mbps (after the upgrade). My WiFi connection has 5 bars. All other WiFi enabled devices in this house still have a 6+ Mbps download speed. I believe that this is an upgrade issue as I did not have this problem before. Any ideas on how to fix this?

My issue is slightly different, yet similar. I experience the problem on my wired desktop computer. At that time, all devices on my WiFi also experience the slowdown. If I reset my router, the speed returns to normal, and gradually slows down over a period of 24-48 hours.

I feel the problem originates in Windows 8, but it obviously impacts my router, as a reset clears it up temporarily.

I have downloaded the latest router firmware and will install it tonight. More likely, Microsoft will quietly put out an update to fix it.

If you haven't tried resetting your router, that may help.

 

[lancastermom]

Thanks, no change for me.

 

[L T]

In my personal opinion Windows 8 is a horrible experience, with poor design that is nowhere near finished.
Nothing works properly, it took ten minutes for the account activation email from eightforums.com to open my download speed is about 5% or less of what it used to be. I just upgraded to this Windows 8 piece of junk from Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit and I regret it.

For those of you who think this OS is great, let's look at the facts:

The new Windows 8 Internet Explorer is unresponsive, and sluggish. When I click on links it does nothing for a number of minutes then the page loads, and it's not like my connection is normally slow or anything, I have cable modem, the fastest plan, in Win 7 downloads, browsing, gaming, everything was a breeze.
In Windows 8 my games, first example, Tribes: Ascend, does not even work, even after installing .net framework and DirectX, which normally does the trick, the launcher for the game doesn't even work properly.

Windows 8 is $39.95 AUD via direct download > Windows 7 $199 Cheapest price I've found for Ultimate 64 Bit

Why is Windows 8 so cheap?
In my personal opinion they made it cheap because they know it's no good.
I also reckon the new "Metro Menu" is a bit on the queer side.
Anyone used the new "Store".
From memory there was no "Store" in Win 7, personally the only Microsoft software I really need is Windows, and possibly Office.
This new "Store" is clearly just to make Microsoft some big moneys, from app junkies.

What do you guys think?

Do you like the new Win 8 or do you hate it as much as I do?
If I actually bought Win 8 on DVD instead of downloading it, I would of burnt it by now.

P.S. When I installed Win 8 it claimed that it was creating a restore point, and it's not in the list of restore points, there are no restore points in the list actually.
Does anyone know if the restore point is just for the installation in case it crashes or something?
Thanks

 

[stealth2920]

My internet speed is a little faster since installing Win 8. I have Verizon fios..35/35