Odd BT speed problems

[VitrifiedRocket 0]

I've got a really odd problem on my hands that I have no clue how to fix. I'm hoping someone here might have some ideas I haven't tried so far.

 

On this computer (Win7 64bit, 802.11n dual, plenty of power) I was able to torrent and use AirVPN via OpenVPN client for several years at full rated vpn speeds (1-3mBps versus my direct ISP 5-6mBps). However, several months ago an issue cropped up. Now whenever I torrent, the most speed I can get is 20-30kBps and trying to browse the web while torrenting is impossible. If I close the bittorrent client, then I can browse web sites again in a couple of seconds. If I stick to only web sites, then I can still download over HTTP at full speed and speed tests easily pass. The moment I turn on a BT client, the speed tests drop from 10-30megabit to around 200kilobit.

 

It is not my ISP or home network. I have another computer (OSX Yosemite) with TunnelBlick that gets full rated speeds on torrents while browsing, connected to the exact same network and ISP. I have used a well seeded public Linux ISO as a test, and the Mac does it fine while the Win7 desktop cannot.

 

Things I have tried:

• Different clients - while the issue first cropped up with OpenVPN, these days I use AirVPN 2.9.2. It has the same problem whether I use TCP, UDP, SSH tunnel, or SSL tunnel.
• Reinstalling - I've deleted the TAP device and uninstalled drivers + software. A complete reinstall did not fix the issue
• Torrent clients - while my main client has been Tixati (and it worked in the past), I've tried qBittorrent and Deluge with similar results.
• Port forwarding - I have verified that forwarding is disabled in my router, there is no uPnP, and that ports are correctly forwarded on AirVPN. This should not be an issue anyways as the mac has no problems without any forwarding
• Network settings - As near as I can tell, I have default MS TCP/IP settings for my network adapter. Microsoft Firewall is disabled.
• Background applications - I have limited the number of services and programs running at the same time as tests with no difference.

I am assuming that the number of open BT connections is part of the problem, since it takes a few seconds before I can browse the web again after I close the BT client. If I had to guess, that would be because a bunch of half-open connections are stuck around or packets are still coming in (though no EnableConnectionRateLimiting in the registry). But I have no idea where to go from here. Do you guys have any more things I could try? Thanks!

 

[zhang888 1065]

Boot some live USB, repeat the tests on a wired connection. In case you see ones that are similar to the "good" setup, nuke the Windows

In case you see bad results, write them here, there is probably something wrong in your router settings.

 

Bad Wi-Fi drivers is a very common issue as well, and Macs handle it properly since they provide both the OS and the drivers.

[VitrifiedRocket 0]

Boot some live USB, repeat the tests on a wired connection. In case you see ones that are similar to the "good" setup, nuke the Windows

In case you see bad results, write them here, there is probably something wrong in your router settings.

 

Bad Wi-Fi drivers is a very common issue as well, and Macs handle it properly since they provide both the OS and the drivers.

 

That's sort of what I was afraid of. I'm convinced there is something wrong in the netstack in my copy of Win7. It didn't start that way, but I guess it is what it is now.

 

I've cleaned out and updated the drivers for my WMP600n (terrible card), checked it over gigabit ethernet, and tried fresh TAP drivers, a fresh install of OpenVPN, and a fresh AirVPN install.

 

Until I have the time to upgrade this system to Win10, I at least now have a stopgap. Operating a VM with XP and direct access to my network adapters seems to do the trick. I can manipulate shared folders enough that things are fairly transparent. On the downside, I have less certainty that it won't leak IP information and even less time to hop on WireShark and find out.

[wuffles 7]

Have you tried "netsh int ip reset" - it's an IP stack resetter (for want of a better word). Google it, don't just trust some lunatic on a forum. BUT, it will eliminate any "Windowsy" grown problems and saves you reinstalling.