Download Speeds: XP getting 50% of OSX

[04texag]

I have an iMac, and on OSX, I'm getting 14-15 Mbps download speed when using speedtest.net.

I then restart into XP with bootcamp, and I'm getting 5-6 Mbps.

Does anyone know what could be causing this, or how I can fix it?

I really would like the faster speeds on XP as well as sometimes I download games and things.

I was excited because I just got some bad connections fixed in my house and the service tech tested the connection, which is when I got the fastest speed I've ever gotten while in OSX. So was eager to try in XP and it's effectively half.

Please let me know if there is anything I can tweak or why you think I may be having this issue. Thanks,

 

[Amdahl]

Get the program Dr TCP (drtcp021.exe) and set your TCP Window Size to 65535, and see if your speed improves.

Vista doesn't need this to be done, nor does 10.5 or above. (For any one else out there reading.) Window size should be just large enough, and never larger.

 

[DoFoT9]

few questions OP..

how are you testing XP, virtually? bootcamp? on an actual PC?

what software are you running to test it? interenet explorer? safari? firefox? etc.

we need details! haha

 

[04texag]

I have used DrTCP and I set it up with the settings indicated on dslreports tweak test. I saw a little bit of improvement but not much.

I am using firefox on both OSX and XP home SP3.

This is all on the same iMac. I boot into bootcamp.

Let me know anything else.

 

[DoFoT9]

I have used DrTCP and I set it up with the settings indicated on dslreports tweak test. I saw a little bit of improvement but not much.

I am using firefox on both OSX and XP home SP3.

This is all on the same iMac. I boot into bootcamp.

Let me know anything else.

ok excellent thanks for the info, that knocks out the web browser being the issue. one more thing. are you running via Airport or via Ethernet (cabled)??

i ask this beacuse bootcamp doesnt exactly have the best drivers for wireless, so that could be the main cause of the problem. if you have the alternative interface available to what you normally use, give that a try and see how you go.

 

[04texag]

I am using wireless, and I guess I can see then how it would run better on OSx then XP.

I'm right by the router, so I can disable the wireless and hook up a cat 5.

I'll try that tonight and see.

I'm getting the same speeds I've always gotten though. It used to be that the 6 Mbs I would get on speedtest.net was the same on XP and OSX.

But after the technician fixed a bad line and rearranged the splitters, I got 14-15 in OSX, which was awesome...

 

[DoFoT9]

I am using wireless, and I guess I can see then how it would run better on OSx then XP.

I'm right by the router, so I can disable the wireless and hook up a cat 5.

I'll try that tonight and see.

I'm getting the same speeds I've always gotten though. It used to be that the 6 Mbs I would get on speedtest.net was the same on XP and OSX.

But after the technician fixed a bad line and rearranged the splitters, I got 14-15 in OSX, which was awesome...

megabit i assume your saying, is your router running on 802.11n or 802.11g? im guessing 802.11n on OSX, because 802.11g cant go that fast!

maybe the bootcamp driver only allows for 802.11g? not 100% sure on that, i would have to go home and test it (at the gf's).

 

[04texag]

router is a wrt54g

I've been wondering as well, and this is kind of related, since you seem knowledgable, if I should flash to tomato or wwrt or whatever it's called.

 

[04texag]

and yes, sorry, megabits not bytes

 

[DoFoT9]

router is a wrt54g

I've been wondering as well, and this is kind of related, since you seem knowledgable, if I should flash to tomato or wwrt or whatever it's called.

not sure what wwrt/tomato is sorry. your router can only do 802.11g, which means you should only be hitting download speeds of 6.75megaBYTES at theoretical maximum.

i normally only hit 1-3megabytes at most, so your current internet connection is pretty much maxing out the router.

i still say give cat5 a go, see how that goes.

and yes, sorry, megabits not bytes

excellent

 

[04texag]

programs are an update to the software for wireless routers


well my download speeds i get are dismal. Maybe 200 kbs- 500 max.

My cable service is supposed to be 16 megabits which in download would be 1.5 Mbps? I'm not even 1/3 of the way there. So I know something is not right.

But also, same router for OSX and XP and XP is getting half the bandwidth on tests then in OSX.

Thanks for the help and info.

 

[DoFoT9]

programs are an update to the software for wireless routers

oh i see sorry, yes updates are always a plus give them a try.

well my download speeds i get are dismal. Maybe 200 kbs- 500 max.

oh that is quite bad, stupid XP!

My cable service is supposed to be 16 megabits which in download would be 1.5 Mbps? I'm not even 1/3 of the way there. So I know something is not right.

thats 2Mbps, still within the range of the router. no something definetely isnt right

But also, same router for OSX and XP and XP is getting half the bandwidth on tests then in OSX.

Thanks for the help and info.

thats a bummer, im guessing its XP's problem then, or the way XP communicates with the wireless card in the computer...

thats ok

 

[04texag]

It gets confusing when people in marketing create new language, megabits, and start trying to sell service that sounds exponentially faster....16 mbps....

anyways, i think you now understand what I was trying to say, i just wasn't clear with the mbps and Mbps

I'll try the cat 5e cable. Are there any other troubleshooting things I can do?

 

[DoFoT9]

It gets confusing when people in marketing create new language, megabits, and start trying to sell service that sounds exponentially faster....16 mbps....

anyways, i think you now understand what I was trying to say, i just wasn't clear with the mbps and Mbps

I'll try the cat 5e cable. Are there any other troubleshooting things I can do?

yes its very annoying! they do it with hard drives aswell, pisses a lot of people off.

the best trouble shooting i can think of would be to file share within your network. that would tell you where the problem lies pretty much exactly. if your files are only transferring around 200kb-500kb like you said then the problem is indeed with windows/the bootcamp drivers from apple.

 

[04texag]

Ok, I had not thought about trying to do that within the network.

How are they doing that with hard drives?

 

[DoFoT9]

Ok, I had not thought about trying to do that within the network.

How are they doing that with hard drives?

righto give it a go

with hard drives they advertise in gigabits.

if you buy a 500Gb (gigabit) hard drive, when you get it it will say 465.5GB (gigabyte) available. rip off, even though theoretically they are advertising correctly.. computers just check everything in GB's, not Gb's.

 

[04texag]

Thanks for your help. I'll try to follow up tonight once I can try out the fix.