"rollercoaster" bandwidth with wifi

U

ultimoamore

n00b
Joined
Dec 30, 2011
Messages
32
Using the same Belkin USB wifi adapter, one PC works fine, while the other has "rollercoaster" bandwidth. Basically works ok for about 30 secs, then stops for 30 secs (0 bytes/sec) then it's ok again.

Here's a ping -t result (see the "general failure"...):

Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=71ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=230ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=76ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=186ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=217ms TTL=64
General failure.
General failure.
General failure.
General failure.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=19ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.0.0.1: bytes=32 time=168ms TTL=64

What should I look at?

29bkh90.png
 
Is your Windows install a single time install or is it cloned from an image?
What version of windows?
Do you have IPv6 enabled?
Have you updated drivers recently/at all?
Are you running with UAC enabled or disabled?
Do you get the same sorts of results when you ping 127.0.0.1?
 
Interfering devices in the area, such as cordless phones, baby monitors, just about anything wireless. Also beware of airports, aircraft carriers, and larger missile cruisers- their radars can cause havoc for miles at even the lowest transmission levels.
 
Definitely sounds like some kind of interference. Some kind of device that "polls" at a specific interval. A radar actually kinda makes sense, but very unlikely unless you're near a military base or something.

Try using a different channel just to see.
 
single time install
Win7 SP1
I have IPv6 enabled
No driver updates; this PC has always worked like this, it's not something that has changed
UAC disabled
Pinging 127.0.0.1 is always <1ms
 
Red Squirrel said:
Definitely sounds like some kind of interference. Some kind of device that "polls" at a specific interval. A radar actually kinda makes sense, but very unlikely unless you're near a military base or something.

Try using a different channel just to see.
Click to expand...

The other PC doesn't have this problem.
 
BTW: I don't really understand the ping "General failure". I can understand the timeout, but the "General failure"???
 
It could be a power issue with the port the adapter is plugged into. General failure usually shows up when there is some kind of hardware issue like the adapter was disabled or removed from the computer. If you were to unplug the cable (Or drop connection) or disable the adapter while pinging on the good pc it should also throw general failures until the connection comes back up.
 
ultimoamore said:
single time install
Win7 SP1
I have IPv6 enabled
No driver updates; this PC has always worked like this, it's not something that has changed
UAC disabled
Pinging 127.0.0.1 is always <1ms
Click to expand...

Disable IPv6 on the WLAN adapter (assuming you don't use IPv6 that is). Test again.

If still not resolved, check for driver update. I highly suggest doing a full uninstall of your existing WLAN driver prior to installing any updated driver.

ultimoamore said:
BTW: I don't really understand the ping "General failure". I can understand the timeout, but the "General failure"???
Click to expand...

"General failure" means the network stack has barfed for some reason, and something is too dumb to give you the exact reason why. Could mean bad hardware, could mean bad software, could mean bad driver, could mean malformed communications between point A and point B causing some weird stuff to be sent back to the driver making Winsock not understand what it's talking about. It just means, "Hey, I don't know what the hell your WLAN card is doing or trying to say."
 
Tried without IPv6, same problem.

another info: just tried with a Linux live dvd. It works flawlessly
 
SunnyD said:
So be it. Time for a driver reinstall/update.
Click to expand...

I think I've tried 100 times to re-install the driver.
I'll try to do a clean install of Windows on another HD, and see what happens.
If the "new" installation of Windows works, what are the chances that buying a different adapter will not lead to the same problem?
That is: how can I be "sure" that it's a driver only problem, and not a windows installation problem? 10$ for a new adapter is nothing compared to having to reinstall windows + programs. But I don't like the idea of spending money and go back to square one...
 
ultimoamore said:
I think I've tried 100 times to re-install the driver.
I'll try to do a clean install of Windows on another HD, and see what happens.
If the "new" installation of Windows works, what are the chances that buying a different adapter will not lead to the same problem?
That is: how can I be "sure" that it's a driver only problem, and not a windows installation problem? 10$ for a new adapter is nothing compared to having to reinstall windows + programs. But I don't like the idea of spending money and go back to square one...
Click to expand...

(Please don't take this to imply I'm speaking in a condescending tone, I know it's going to come off as I am... I am the "IT guy" for my family and my wife's family, and I've spent time working helpdesk/desktop support, so I've kind of learned to ask the "dumb" questions first. Apologies if I insult your intelligence at all, it's not intended!)

You've reinstalled the driver, but have you looked for updates or are you reinstalling the original driver/same driver you downloaded?

Also, if you've been using the Belkin drivers for this, try figuring out what chipset is in the adapter and using the chipset drivers instead. For example I've always had much better luck with Realtek drivers directly from Realtek rather than cobranded drivers from whatever OEM I bought whatever device from. Sometimes that's not an option though, since some chipset manufacturers don't publicly distribute their drivers in OEM form.

Final thought, it could just be bad hardware at this point. The ideal test is to try it on another machine. You seemed to imply you have an almost identical setup elsewhere that doesn't suffer this problem? Try swapping the wifi sticks and see what happens. The good news is a USB Wifi adapter is pretty cheap, and it's always good to have a spare.
 
No insult at all, I'm here to get help: you wasting some time trying to help me can not be an insult.

1) The driver is always the same, because Belkin didn't release anything updated (it's a F5D7050 v4)
2) I'll look at the chipset driver (apparently it's a Zydas ZD1211)
3) It's not bad hardware, as the same PC + adapter using a live linux dvd works
4) I was going to buy another adapter, but I would like to rule out my windows installation before wasting money... is there any way to check it???
 
ultimoamore said:
No insult at all, I'm here to get help: you wasting some time trying to help me can not be an insult.

1) The driver is always the same, because Belkin didn't release anything updated (it's a F5D7050 v4)
2) I'll look at the chipset driver (apparently it's a Zydas ZD1211)
3) It's not bad hardware, as the same PC + adapter using a live linux dvd works
4) I was going to buy another adapter, but I would like to rule out my windows installation before wasting money... is there any way to check it???
Click to expand...

Well, you could reset winsock. From an administrator command prompt do each of the following:

netsh winsock reset
netsh winsock reset catalog
netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

Reboot your machine.

You may have to reinstall any firewall software afterwards.
 
Just bought a different wifi usb adapter, and this one seems to be working fine at the moment.

Thank you everybody for the help.
 
ultimoamore said:
Just bought a different wifi usb adapter, and this one seems to be working fine at the moment.

Thank you everybody for the help.
Click to expand...

It's the little things.

For what it's worth, I had a usb lan adapter that worked absolutely fine on every machine except one that I put it on. Horrible throughput, drops, etc. Put it on a different machine and it seemed to work okay. No idea why. Sometimes you just get the short straw.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top