Wireless LAN slow but Internet is fine

I have a Linksys WRT300N v1.1 (latest firmware) and have a Windows XP laptop connecting via Wireless G, a desktop connected via Wireless N and another computer plugged directly in to the router. All signals are maximum strength and from all computers I can download from the internet at approximately 900k which is as fast as my cable modem goes. However, if I attempt to transfer files through the local LAN between any of the 3 machines, they fluctuate between 100k and 200k. If I physically plug into the router, then I can get ~8000k.

I've tried both FTP and Windows File Sharing and received the same results.

Laptop:
HP Compaq nc6400 Windows XP Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG

Desktop:
Windows XP WUSB300N Adapter

I appreciate any suggestions or ideas to try, I've tinkered with any settings I could get my hands on but without success.

 

first of all - if you are reading the numbers of possible thruput off the box - lots of luck - those are fantasy island and have nothing to do with reality

to begin with 1/2 of the bandwidth is taken in overhead

A number of factors to improve speeds

1) Is the router high and uncluttered
best is high
not in a basement
nothing around it

2) change the channel
the default channel is channel 6 for most routers
you can change to any of the other 12 channels
first picks are channels 1 and 11

the reason is that rogue signals can drift in from amazing distances
you may not even see the signal in the windows wireless utlity . You will have high local signal strength from your router but poor reception rates or no internet reception
you may see the signal with netstumbler which is more sensitive for detection of signals

3) for the same reason same change the ssid if it set to a default value even if only to add a single digit


4) distance factors
- do not remember if you have n but certainly with g , speed drops with distance, especially after 30 feet

5) Change frequency

try setting to g only , or b only

6) move the router
even though wi fi is said to be line of site - a lot of the reception is the bounce around
- try moving the router if even a foot or so over

 

Thanks for the reply, and I'll give a try to some of these ideas. With my laptop, I use it about 10' from the router, so I think that would eliminate the distance thing, and I use a non-broadcasted custom ssid to avoid collisions.

I understand that wireless has so much overhead it'll never live up to the box speeds. But to me, the real mystery is that it isn't that the signal can only handle some slow speed, because I can download from the internet at 900k via wireless, so at the very least I'd expect to get 900k on my LAN. That leads me to believe it must be some kind of setting problem where packet collisions coming from wireless are causing the transfers to die.