WinXP Pro - Slow file transfer for Intel Pro/1000 MT Networking on Thinkpad laptop

[txbd75]

Weird problem....
I have a desktop (Pentium 4-2.4Ghz-512MB Ram) running WinXP Pro with a
10/100 Mbs NIC card.
I have a laptop (Pentium M-1.2Ghz-512MB Ram) running WinXP Pro. The
laptop is new (Thinkpad X40), replacing an older laptop. It has an
integrated Gig-E port using the Intel Pro/1000 MT Mobile Connection
driver.

I sync my machines regularly by doing a 400MB copy across the network.
This has always taken 2-3 minutes on my 100Mbs network in either
direction. I'm just using XCOPY to do the copy.

With the new laptop, my performance has gone to heck.....

If I launch my copy program on my desktop and copy FROM the laptop TO
the desktop, it still takes 2-3 minutes.

If I launch my copy program on my laptop and copy FROM the desk TO the
laptop, it takes 10-15 minutes to complete the copy and sometimes it
never completes. It is painfully slow.

As an experiment, I put a 10/100 PCMCIA card into the laptop and the
problem disappeared. I'm using the same patch cable I've always used.

When it works, the laptop's hard drive light is on pretty solid. When
it has a problem, the hard drive light flashes and then has long
pauses before it flashes again.

I've gotten the lastest NIC drivers from IBM and then from Intel and
the problem won't go away. IBM Support couldn't help me - never saw it
before.

Any ideas/suggestions/questions would be appreciated.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

What kind of ethernet switch/hub do you have?
Are you using autsense on the gigabit ethernet card? Try locking it down at
a specific speed/duplex setting (autosense stinks).

 

[txbd75]

What kind of ethernet switch/hub do you have?
Are you using autsense on the gigabit ethernet card? Try locking it down at
a specific speed/duplex setting (autosense stinks).

- Switch is a Linksys 10/100 switch. it's worked fine up till now.
I've got a crossover cable around here somewhere, so I could try
eliminating that possible trouble spot.
- I turned off autosense and said use '100Mbs / Full Duplex'

 

[txbd75]

What kind of ethernet switch/hub do you have?
Are you using autsense on the gigabit ethernet card? Try locking it down at
a specific speed/duplex setting (autosense stinks).

Fixed it - Since the thinkpad uses an intel chipset, I kicked around
Intel's site and got a new driver. It didn't fix the problem, but then
it occured to me (should have sooner) to search Intel's support DB.
Sure as heck I found:

http://support.intel.com/support/network/adapter/1000/sb/cs-004212-prd871.htm
which is titled: PRO/1000 Receives Slower than it Transmits

It recommends dropping the TCP receive window to 8K. Did that and
bingo - performance is back to where it should be 2.5 minutes for a
400+MB transfer.

Thanks for thinking through it!

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

txbd75 wrote:

Fixed it - Since the thinkpad uses an intel chipset, I kicked around
Intel's site and got a new driver. It didn't fix the problem, but then
it occured to me (should have sooner) to search Intel's support DB.
Sure as heck I found:

http://support.intel.com/support/network/adapter/1000/sb/cs-004212-prd871.htm
which is titled: PRO/1000 Receives Slower than it Transmits

It recommends dropping the TCP receive window to 8K. Did that and
bingo - performance is back to where it should be 2.5 minutes for a
400+MB transfer.

Thanks for thinking through it!

Glad you got it resolved.