Hardware & Technical Win 10 - data transfer/stream blocking other internet activities

Ashnak

Ashnak
Hi all,

got a problem here which I'm pretty sure is local to my machine and Win 10.

Basically, if a data stream is running, other internet activities are between hindered and blocked.

2 Examples:
1) uploading a video to youtube blocks all browser access
2) watching the E3 live stream blocks access to the matchmaking server

I'm pretty sure that this is not an issue with my internet access or total router load, although there is a small chance that this is related to the router port, because
- when the youtube upload is running, pretty much maxing out my uplink, I have no problem watching Amazon or Netflix video (running through the same router and network access, but connected via WiFi)
- while watching the E3 live stream, other browser activity was fine, it was just the matchmaking server that didn't want to play along

Setup is:
- cable connection
- cable modem/router
- ethernet cable to my own router
- PC connected via ethernet cable, everything else connected via WiFi

Like I said, browsing the web through my mobile or watching netflix on the TV while the youtube upload is running is fine. Accessing the frontier forums from the PC that is doing the upload is a no-go, I can't even get to the DNS.

Anyone got an idea if this is curable, or what I should look/search for? The user friendly settings in Win 10 are no help :mad:.

Usual connection speed is ~50 Mbit/s down and 2.5 Mbit/s up.
 

Asp Explorer

Asp Explorer
What NIC do you have? Download the latest drivers for it, and check your bindings.

Are you purely using IPv4? Anything exotic on the LAN? Have you made any changes to the NIC properties trying to benchmark after far too many refreshments and completely forgotten about them? :D
 

Ashnak

Ashnak
Thanks for the fast feedback.

NIC is the one on the Motherboard (Asus H97-M plus, Win 10 says it's an Intel I218-V) and I haven't made a Mobo driver (neither BIOS) update as far as I can recall.
Would have assumed Win 10 to handle any system level driver updates on its own. Windows reports the driver to be up to date (26.04.16). Oh, and I'm running Win 10 pro on the deferred branch.

Adapter has both IPv4 and v6, but I'm pretty sure my ISP only hands out v4 so far (yep - Ethernet status says "no network access" in v6). Nothing exotic on the LAN (Netgear router, smart TV, a few Android mobiles, Amazon and Google sticks). Never changed the NIC properties or settings.
 

Asp Explorer

Asp Explorer
Ahhh - Intel Intel I218

Not a bad NIC, but drivers in Windows 10 need some, urm, coaxing - or it'll choke itself at under 3 megabit whenever the machine has gone to sleep or hibernate. You can check this yourself in Task Manager, download some big ISO and watch it crawl.

Disable the adapter, unplug the cable, re-enable, wait about 60 seconds or so, then replug the cable. Test speeds again.

IF you see this behaviour, download the latest driver for your OS, then uninstall the adapter and select delete driver, add new hardware and use the driver you just downloaded.

I'm at work for a while yet so I can't give you version numbers, sorry.
 

GuruNot

GuruNot
Defo sounds like a local issue.

When the issue manifests, Run resmon.exe and see what app is pulling down the most on the Network tab, i assume when watching a stream it will be your browser.

If it is maxing out your bandwidth then you could try setting up (using powershell) a QOS profile for the browser to limit the bandwidth it could use:

New-NetQosPolicy -Name LimitFFBandwidth20Mbit -AppPathNameMatchCondition Firefox.exe -IPProtocolMatchCondition Both -NetworkProfile All -ThrottleRateActionBitsPerSecond 20000000

replace the browser name accordingly. Test it and see if it helps. If not remove the policy with Remove-NetQosPolicy ie in this instance "Remove-NetQosPolicy LimitFFBandwidth20Mbit" .

Also, make sure that nasty windows 10 peer to peer update isnt having an impact. This can be quickly done (along with other bits) by downloading and running ShutUp10 and applying all recommended settings under actions (make sure you make a restore point). If you dont want to use the app you can do it manually (https://www.howtogeek.com/224981/ho...ading-updates-to-other-pcs-over-the-internet/)

TCPView is another handy tool that will show where all your local endpoints are connecting to and the amount of bytes transferred, this could also help narrow things down for you.


EDIT - Or just go with ASPs advice if it is not maxing it out :D
 
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Shadowdancer

Shadowdancer
Sounds like a case of a particularly dumb router, especially with limited downstream activity blocking other downstream activity. What make/model is it?
 

Ashnak

Ashnak
Thanks so far - I'll try the driver update.

@Shadowdancer: router is a netgear WNDR4300 with current (well, it's been some time since the last update) firmware.
 

Ashnak

Ashnak
...and with the new driver, running the Beta in parallel to watching (ok, listening to) the video stream works :)
 
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