Slooooooow Network Connetion Prob

I have a computer that I just formatted and reinstalled the OS on. I put all of the files that were needed back on the computer on the server, and was just going to download them back on the computer after reinstalling the OS. This was taking a looong time, and many of the big files errorred out and said the disk or drive was no longer accessible (or something like that). I have a few programs that run off the server that run very slow on this computer. I can't even download the latest Windows Updates, it keeps freezing-up the dowload in the same spot.
ANYWAY... I really don't think it's a software prob, because it was a clean install, I have a good updated AV, there's no spyware, and all the other computers on the network are doing fine... so it's gotta be a hardware problem, right? :confused:
Hardware troubleshooting isn't one of my strengths, so I am calling on the knowledge of you smart, hardware saavy AntiOnliners. :D

Do you know what kind of hard drive you have in it? You can download diagnostics from the manufacturers sites to test the drive.

This site has a pretty good list.

http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

Hi, What hardware and OS have you got?

:)

Hey Whatthe, I don't think it's the hard drive, but here's the info:
-Maxtor Diamond Plus 8, 40GB ATA/133, 3.5 Series

Nihil, it's XP SP2. I don't know what hardware info you need, but the motherboard is a:
-MSI, Model MS-6734, VER: 1
-The RJ-45/Ethernet port is intergated onboard. All I can see to identify it is that it says "foxconn" on it.

I hope this is all the info y'all need.

Thanks for the quick replies.

Quote:

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Originally posted here by BlackHatHunter
This was taking a looong time, and many of the big files errorred out and said the disk or drive was no longer accessible (or something like that).

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This is probably what made whatthe think its a HD issue, and I think the same thing, oratleast its a start.

Whats the ethernet card speed ? 10 or 100 ? Could be that....

It may not be the drive but you need to start somewhere and downloading PowerMax to a floppy is free and doesn't take long. It's a good place to start ruling things out.

You should also check your NICs speed and duplex settings. With the reload they are probably set to Autoconfig or Hardware Default. You may need to set them manually based on your network setup. This can make transfers very slow.

Thanks tons guys, I got it figured out.
I had a spare Ethernet card laying around. When I chucked it in everything was great! Internet and network speeds were back to normal. So, I guess it was just the onboard ethernet adapter that was screwed-up, right?
zENGER and whatthe, I didn't think it was the HD cuz everyother application I was running on the computer that weren't running online or on the server were running, copying, et cetera just fine. If all applications (both on and offline, networked and local) were running slow and freezing up in would probably be the loacl HD. Is that right?
Thanks again guys.

I agree that the possibility of a hard drive problem should be eliminated first.

http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...re%20Downloads

You can get the Maxtor diagnostics from that link.

Which files do you get errors with, and what are the messages?

:)

Quote:

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Originally posted here by BlackHatHunter
So, I guess it was just the onboard ethernet adapter that was screwed-up, right?

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It may be OK and just the duplex needs to be adjusted, you'd have to play around to be sure.

But hey, if it's working now why screw around? ;)

Yep, it's working now, and I've tried several different downloads and applications, so I think it's safe to say it's not the HD. But for in the future, I will rule out the HD before troubleshooting other stuff... Great links BTW.
Yeah, as long as the NIC keeps working that I put in, I won't mess with it anymore.

Thanks again guys! :)

When you install a bunch of applications you need to defrag before you boot, older HDD's are a little finicky about this. When integrated peripherals start to act up, it's best to run over to the maker’s site to see what BIOS upgrades are at your disposal. There you can see what they fixed and determine if you want to flash. Flashing the BIOS is the first thing I do when I get my boards in. Plus drivers......the usual etc....etc.

Adding to what !mitationRust said, it's probably best that you now uninstall the drivers for the onboard nic...

Quote:

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Originally posted here by The Duck
Adding to what !mitationRust said, it's probably best that you now uninstall the drivers for the onboard nic...

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Well, I would just go into the BIOS and turn off the nic. Actually everything else I don't need on, I disable. This will result in a faster boot-time most of the time.

Yeah, I disabled the old one after I installed the new NIC.
Do I need to change anything in my BIOS still?

Well, blackhathunter, you could turn off the nic, though I doubt you'll notice a difference. Since you already uninstalled the old drivers the OS won't load those drivers which will result in faster boot up... Not to mention prevent any problems conflicting between the two drivers, which happens occasionally...

I finally got this issue resloved thanks to all of your great input. The post explaining the really issue and resolution can be found here.

Thanks again for all your help!

Sorry I didn't explain the problem better earlier.