Long Waits

[pointone]

I'm having some strange network problems around here. My one desktop computer (Pentium 4 3.0E GHz, Asus P4R800-V Deluxe) is taking abnormally long times to connect to web pages when browsing the Internet (or even the local network). It's hooked into a D-Link DI-524 four-port router, which also serves two laptops for wireless connection and another desktop.

None of the other computers are experiencing similar problems, so it's not a problem with my modem or WAN connection; I've tried using another network cable, but the problem remained; I've tried connecting to another port on the router, but no luck.

The strangest part about this: I plugged my laptop into the cable this desktop was using, and it started experiencing the same problem, so I assumed it must be the cable or port on the router... But I've already ruled these options out.

Another strange part: the *only* problem is with web browsing... It takes a long time to connect to a site (status bar says: "Connecting to ...; Searching for ...; Waiting for ..., etc. for a long time), then the page loads fine. However, I am still able to download at my normal top speed, and my latency or ping in online games is still at its normal levels.

What gives?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

[jlreich]

What browser are you using? It sounds more like a browser problem than an anything.

[pointone]

I've tried both Firefox and Internet Explorer; same problem with both of them.

[PrntRhd]

Might be a router port going bonkers, I had a customer who was having issues (they were using home grade router instead of business class equipment) and their problems went away with a replacement of the router.

[jlreich]

Might be a flaky network card as well since another machine hooked up to the same cable worked fine. But I am doubting it since he can download fine and latency in games is good.

Or a firewall issue. Try disabling your firewall temporarily to see if the problem goes away.

Or could be a malware infection. We won't go there until we can rule out some other things first.

Go to start menu > run > type in cmd > type in ping -n 30 > then the address of the website you are having problems with. ping -n 30 www.google.com

Please copy the results for us to look at.

[Variable]

On the problem machine do an ipconfig /all from a command prompt and look at the DNS servers. On a machine not having a problem do the same thing. Do they match?

[pointone]

I've tried using a working port on the router (i.e. the one that my other wired desktop was plugged into).

I've tried disabling the firewall.

I'm almost positive it's not malware--I keep my machine very clean, and I know what to look for. I'm no novice when it comes to malware.

"Ping statistics for 72.14.205.103:
Packets: Sent = 0, Received = 30, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate rount trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 25ms, Maximum = 35ms, Average = 27ms"

And all my machines display the same DNS servers.

[pointone]

To update, I tried running in Safe Mode with Networking, and it worked perfectly... Meaning it is not hardware-related.

This all started around the time I hooked up a new monitor, now that I think about it... I just didn't connect it at the time because I thought it was just random slow browsing. I fail to see how a new monitor could have ANY affect on network performance... But I'm going to try my old one again and see if the problem goes away, nonetheless.

The funny thing is, my mom suggested the monitor might be the problem (she really didn't like me bringing home a 19" CRT; it is a tad on the larger side). I laughed at her when she said that... "The monitor couldn't possibly affect the network," I said. "That's like saying it's because of my mousepad." ^_^

[azzey]

Or your keyboard...

But it could be that the monitor driver is interfering. That's logical since it works in Safe mode.

[pointone]

Well, it wasn't the monitor... Or any of the other programs I had installed in the past two weeks (which I went and removed).

Now I'm stumped again. Perhaps it would be simplest to just format my drive and reinstall (and before you get all shocked and think that's a drastic move, I usually format three or four times a year; and it's about due for one soon, anyhow).