help with slow computer on xp lan

[pandaflux]

i am running a win xp pro home network, internet comes in to the main computer and then i use ms internet connection sharing to send it to the second and third computer.
the computers are connected via a switch and also share files via a microsoft tcp/ip network(which is the only protocol installed). the cable internet sharing works fine, fast. the problem arises when transfering files from either computer one or two to computer three.... super slow.... slow as in 3 kbps... always... this is only when transfering files between the third computer and another.... the internet functions properly and i can download files from the internet faster than i can transfer them on the lan. thus far i have reinstalled xp once, windows 2000 once, tried a different network card, tried a different pci slot for the network card, enabled and then disabled netbui, reset the switch and enabled 100tx full duplex...... im now at a loss to what could be causing this problem..... any help would be greatly appreciated.

the computer in question is not overclocked and running a celeron 800, abit bh6 motherboard, and a netgear fa310 network card. i also have a linksys lne100tx that i have tried and could use if needed.

matthew

 

[theXing]

Try allowing everything do an auto-detect (i.e. in the network card settings). If they aren't the same in the different OS versions they may screw up. Also you my try hooking the Internet connection into the switch and just run Zone Alarm or something like that. ICS is known for its issues. Hey it is Microsoft!

P.S. before you try this maybe see if there are any updates on update.windows.com... if you install and reinstall your OS try downloading them at corporate.update.windows.com

 

[JustinLerner]

I believe the problem is ICS. When I use ICS in Windows 2000 it does the same thing. My guess is because the 2000/XP ICS DHCP server is a stripped down DHCP server (non-standard). The odd thing is that once the computer seems to 'lock up' at a slow download rate, if I end the transfer via the Task Manager, the download is already completed, but the download window still shows a slow download. I dunno why this happens.

Disabling "Obtain automatic IP addres" (dynamic) on the client and setting the sharing PC to a static IP address always solves the problem for me, but I don't have the faintest idea why the MS ICS causes this problem. My guess is they will fix it either in SP3 or XP 2004. (This problem exists in 2000 for me when used between a 2000 Server and 2000 Pro ICS (I know its a security violation).

Oh, one possible fix I haven't tried. Setting the DNS Server address on the ICS clients to the ICS private IP address of the shared NIC (usually 192.168.0.1). I forgot to try this.

 

[theXing]

Have you considered buying a rounter? Just a thought - I looked for mine for a while and it was a $100 Dlink 704 and I bought it for $25 at Bestbuy about two weeks ago. Since then my network flies and so does my internet. Best of luck!