System slowdown due to file transfer?

[defcom_1]

I am on a (small) home network with a couple of other machines, all linked together with a 100baseT switch. Works fine most of the time, except for when somebody is grabbing a file from my system. I get serious system lag, my windows take a long time to redraw, etc..

I have an XP1800+, running on an MSI KT600A motherboard, with 512MB 333DDR Ram. I'm using the on-motherboard lan.
Oh, the HDD's an 80GB 8MB Western Digital, running at UDMA5 (ATA100), I just checked again.

So basically, why is my system slowing down so much when somebody grabs a file?

Thanks!

[Blitzrommel]

Could be inferior NIC drivers, or an inferior NIC altogether. I see the word "VIA" anywhere near my computers, and that instantly sets off the alarms. :D

Seriously, try different drivers. If you're using Windows native drivers, switch to the latest manufacturer drivers.

[defcom_1]

I just made sure I had the newest drivers... and I do. Thx.. ;)

[Blitzrommel]

Do you have a PCI NIC you can try out, to see if that works better?

[tdg]

The onboard NIC is a Realtek based one, which sucks. Go with a good offboard NIC like a 3Com and you wont be seeing much lag after that.

[Blitzrommel]

Originally posted by tdg
The onboard NIC is a Realtek based one, which sucks. Go with a good offboard NIC like a 3Com and you wont be seeing much lag after that. I agree, but not all realtek NICs lag down a system with heavy use. :) Fortunately, even high quality NICs aren't expensive.