Very slow internet in normal mode but fast in Safe mode

Hi, this is my first post on SevenForums.

My internet speed is really slow. I'm lucky if I can reach 1Mbps when I start up Normally. However, when I start up in Safe Mode with Networking I can reach 12Mbps.

The computer is fairly old (8/9 years old maybe) and I've only just upgraded from XP to Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit. When I was running XP I connected to my router using a Linksys USB wireless network adapter. After upgrading to Windows 7 I couldn't use the Linksys anymore as I couldn't find any drivers so I installed a Belkin Desktop PCI Card F5D5000. I managed to connect to the internet straight away and this is when I first noticed the slow speed. I've updated the drivers directly from the Belkin site but it hasn't improved the speed .

I've tried connecting to the same router using WiFi on a laptop and the internet speed is fine (14Mbps). I contacted my ISP Talk Talk and asked them to test the connection but they didn't find any faults with either the line or hardware.

I've also tried switching off my Anti-Virus program but this doesn't make a difference either.

Could anything else be slowing the internet down? Any ideas would greatly appreciated.

Dave

Tookeri said:

Hi Dave, and welcome to SevenForums!

I'm not an expert in this area but I suggest you try a Clean Boot as next step. You disable all non-MS services and reboot. If that works you can enable one service at a time to find out if it's a specific service that is causing the slow Internet.
How to perform a clean boot in Windows
Clean Boot assumes the problem is not with Windows itself but a 3rd party product or conflict, while Safe Mode loads minimum necessary drivers etc and without any start up programs.

It could also be caused by malware, that in Safe Mode isn't allowed to start during normal autostart procedures. So scan with a couple of good antivirus/antimalware products, for example Malwarebytes | Free Anti-Malware & Internet Security Software

Hello Tookeri. Thanks for your reply.

I hope it's not a virus. This is a fresh installation onto a new hard drive. However, I restored my backed up data using Windows Easy Transfer wizard. Maybe a virus could be lurking in an old file. l've already run Malwarebytes but it didn't find anything. I've also run Panda anti-virus, and again nothing detected.

I'll try your suggestion about the Clean Boot and report back. Thanks for that.

When checking for malware, it's always a good idea to use more than one program. I generally run superantispyware free after MWB.

That said, Tookeri's Clean Boot suggestion sounds like a good bet.

Clean boot didn't make any difference unfortunately.

Thanks msalton1 I will try running Superantispyware and maybe Spybot to see what happens.

Another thought...safe mode may be using a different driver for the adapter card. You could try generic drivers, or even older Belkin drivers. You could also try another card to see if performance improves (if you have another around, or a friend's card). The Belkin's drivers may not play well with the other hardware. If it works better in safe mode, it's likely that it's some sort of driver or compatibility issue that isn't present when in a 'generic' safe mode environment.

msalton1 said:

Another thought...safe mode may be using a different driver for the adapter card. You could try generic drivers, or even older Belkin drivers. You could also try another card to see if performance improves (if you have another around, or a friend's card). The Belkin's drivers may not play well with the other hardware. If it works better in safe mode, it's likely that it's some sort of driver or compatibility issue that isn't present when in a 'generic' safe mode environment.

One thing I've noticed since installing this Belkin card is that it takes longer than usual to boot into Windows.

I'll try a different card and see what happens. Thanks again for the advise.

I've tried the following.
Full scan using Superantivirus in Safe Mode. Found nothing.
I tried another network card. Updated drivers. No difference.
Tried using the network card in the motherboard. Still no difference.

Nearly 18 months later I've since bought a new machine. Out of curiosity I fired up this old PC. Turns out it was a problem with the Panda anti virus program I had installed. Although the program was doing its job it was dramatically slowing down the speed. Disabling at the start didn't make any difference. Only when I completely uninstalled Panda using an official removal tool did the speed return to normal. Now getting an average speed of 8mbps.