Slow LAN connection from Win xp to Win 98

[chris wolbert]

Hello,

We have a small network of 6 computers all of which are
win98se except 1 which is winxp home ed with service pack
1.. I can connect to all machines, however, the connection
is very slow. I am only accessing word and excel docs.
Opening the folder on the win 98 machine can take up to 30-
40 seconds. It is a large file but it only take 1.5 to 2
seconds when opening with a win 98 machine.

Any suggestions?
thanks

 

[Robert L [MS-MVP]]

quoted from http://www25.brinkster.com/ChicagoTech
XP accesses Win9x very slow

Symptom: in a mixed OS, win98, MW and W2K/XP, if win98 and Me client have a
password-protected file share; all computers are part of a workgroup; you
are using the "Save this password" feature on your XP client computer, you
may experience slow browsing Win98 and ME from the XP.

Resolution: XP always saves the password in the Credential Manager. When you
browse a Win98 or Me client in a peer-to-peer network, Credential Manager
tries to contact a domain controller to validate the password. Because the
computers are in a workgroup environment, there is no domain controller, and
you must wait until the requests timeout. Install SP1 should fix this
problem.
--
For more and other information, go to
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Don't send e-mail or reply to me except you need consulting services.
Posting on MS newsgroup will benefit all readers and you may get more help.

Robert Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Windows & Network Support, Tips and FAQs on
http://www25.brinkster.com/ChicagoTech
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.

 

[Steve]

We had similar problems with an XP machine in our office (100 mbps
switches, cards). Changing the port on the switch from auto to 100
did not help; neither did changing the properties of the NIC from Auto
to 100Mbps (half or full duplex). However, after changing the port on
the switch back to auto, I changed the NIC from auto to 10Mbps (both
half and full duplex). This improved the opening of an excel file on
the network(2 Meg) from 1 minute and 40 seconds to 5 seconds.
Previous to this change, the user was not able to even save
consistently - the save operation would time out. Now he is able to
save in a matter of seconds. I'd been working on this problem for
over a week to no avail. Tried installing new NIC, using new cable,
etc.

I'm still at a loss as to why this improves performance so
significantly. We have the proper hardware across the board to
support 100 Mbps, but when opening/saving office docs on the network,
the speed went to sh!t. All of the other non-XP stations in the
office work fine at 100Mbps. Hopefully this will help others with
similar issues - and if anyone can explain why what I did worked, I'm
very curious.