Slow file copy XP and 98SE LAN

Hi,

I have a "mixed" lan: 3 x 98SE machines and a "XP Home" laptop (Sony).

The lan is at 100 Mhz with 1 hub, shared ADSL internet connection (a 98SE PIII 800 MHz machine uses Internet sharing protocel of Windows), Zone Alarm pro on all machines (and firewall of the XP not actif) etc.

The shared Internet connection works great, copying files from 98 to 98 machines work great BUT copying TO the XP machine is VERY slow :-( Copying FROM the XP to the works fast. Ex. copying a big directory from the XP takes 3 min and to the XP tahes 125 min javascript:smilie('')

The funny part is that it worked great till several weeks ago and I can't remember if I changed something.

Any ideas or help would be VERY appreciated ;-)

Regards.

Robby

 

If you turn off Zone Alarm before trying the copy, does it still run as slowly?

 

Many people are saying that SP1 has solved many of their networking problems.
If you like to read (and don't mind some popups):
http://www.tipsdr.com/windows-xp-networking.html

 

Hi and thx for your answers but ... :-(

No SP1 doesn't change a thing
No, closing Zone Alarm, inactivating Norton AV, stopping the ADSL connection doesn't change a thing. IT IS SLOOOOOW

The lights on the hub blink when packets are sent/received and usually, they blink real fast; when I copy TO the XP, they blink like once a sec. The copy is even slower then copying to a floppy.

The dir where the copy is done is shared on the LAN, can this be an issue ? During the copy, there are no acces to that dir though.

Regards

Robby

 

Robby - so far these ain't answers. Just troubleshooting tweaks.

You mentioned a "hub ". Is it a hub or is it a switch?

And no, having the folder shared on the LAN should not cause this at all.

If you have another port available, try moving the XP system to it.

If not or if that doesn't help, try slowing things down a bit by setting the NIC (and the port if it will) to 10Mb half-duplex. If that speeds up copying to the XP system, try 10Mb full-duplex and 100Mb half-duplex and 100Mb full-duplex. See if you can figure out exactly what setting is causing problems.

Also, if you are up to it, get a packet sniffer and take some samples of traffic while it is running normally (9X to 9X or from XP) and then some when it is snailing along. You may see lots of retries and bad packets or something. They are available for download from various locations including Ethereal , JVSniff , Snort and a number of others.

None of the above is a "fix" but all should help in locating the specific cause and getting it really fixed.

 

Here are some general XP network speedup tips. I am not sure which worked the best, possibly the one on searching for scheduled tasks, but it speeded transfers on my network.
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/slowbrowse02.htm

 

Hi and thnx for your ideas and help.

The "speed up tips" didn't change anything. Anyway, the lan is working nicely: fast internet acces thru the lan, copy files FROM the XP to the other computers etc works great. The ONLY problem is when I copy files TO the XP.

There is no diffenrece if I initiate the copy from the XP or from the PIII 800 on 98SE. It is still slow

I have D/Led and installed Ethereal but there is so much information that I don't know what to look for... Hints welcomed ;-)

I have a 100 MHz hub. No other port where I can instal XP. I didn't have time to slow down the LAN to test yet but I really start thinking that the problem IS NOT with the LAN but with the writing to the HD of the XP.

Regards

Robby

 

.
.
Came across this article today, robrub , if you are still around and still having the slow copy problem:
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;q315237

 

Hi Abraxas

Thnx for your help. Yes, I'm still around and so is the problem. I added/modified the settings to accelerate the lan to no go. I tested things with nothing else on the lan (juste the "server" and the XP and did a xcopy and I got rates around 8500 kb/sec (on a 100 MHz half duplex lan) ! I got this result with Ethereal (spelling ?) software.

I'll check you your link ASAP.