Windows 10 laptop hogging the wifi

tsb

Jenni_D said:

Did you actively turn OFF the WiFi on the Acer while it was connected by Ethernet cable? (Clue: you should have)

Have you tried deleting the WiFi adaptor per my previous reply?

Yes, the wifi was turned off before I connected the ethernet cable.

I didn't try anything with the wifi adapter as I thought the idea of trying the connection through the cable was to eliminate the wifi adapter altogether.  Didn't it do that?

400ixl

What wifi router is it? Have you looked in the router logs to see if there are any clues there?

As I put in my earlier post I have experienced similar where it is an issue with the router (in this case Apple networking stack) which is rare but non unknown on those router devices (BT / Plusnet routers and more than one had the same issue).

Do you have any other wifi routers you could use by putting an ethernet cable from the LAN port on your existing one to the WAN port on the additional one. You can then setup the additional wifi router with a different wifi name and put it on a different channel to the existing one. See if that stops the issue. If it does, then try also moving the other device to the additional router and see if the issue returns. If that all works it is likely a router issue and you have a work around.

tsb

400ixl said:

What wifi router is it? Have you looked in the router logs to see if there are any clues there?

As I put in my earlier post I have experienced similar where it is an issue with the router (in this case Apple networking stack) which is rare but non unknown on those router devices (BT / Plusnet routers and more than one had the same issue).

Do you have any other wifi routers you could use by putting an ethernet cable from the LAN port on your existing one to the WAN port on the additional one. You can then setup the additional wifi router with a different wifi name and put it on a different channel to the existing one. See if that stops the issue. If it does, then try also moving the other device to the additional router and see if the issue returns. If that all works it is likely a router issue and you have a work around.

As in an earlier post it is a NowTV Hub 2 router NR801.  The logs didn't show anything.  Whilst I was logged in to the router I renamed the 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz  bands to separate them as was suggested.

Unfortunately I don't have another router to hand but can ask around to 'borrow' one. 

It all seems a lot of faff just to have this old laptop still working. It will only be used for one dedicated program but would like to keep windows up to date on it as it can be there as a backup laptop.

[Deleted User]

tsb said:

400ixl said:

What wifi router is it? Have you looked in the router logs to see if there are any clues there?

As I put in my earlier post I have experienced similar where it is an issue with the router (in this case Apple networking stack) which is rare but non unknown on those router devices (BT / Plusnet routers and more than one had the same issue).

Do you have any other wifi routers you could use by putting an ethernet cable from the LAN port on your existing one to the WAN port on the additional one. You can then setup the additional wifi router with a different wifi name and put it on a different channel to the existing one. See if that stops the issue. If it does, then try also moving the other device to the additional router and see if the issue returns. If that all works it is likely a router issue and you have a work around.

As in an earlier post it is a NowTV Hub 2 router NR801.  The logs didn't show anything.  Whilst I was logged in to the router I renamed the 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz  bands to separate them as was suggested.

Unfortunately I don't have another router to hand but can ask around to 'borrow' one. 

It all seems a lot of faff just to have this old laptop still working. It will only be used for one dedicated program but would like to keep windows up to date on it as it can be there as a backup laptop.

It is a lot of faff but that's the nature of diagnosing computer problems like this. I've worked in IT support for years, there is nothing better than letting a techie get hands on with the computer as there are hundreds of things that can be checked but are difficult to run through on a forum.

Just to sum up what is happening for clarity:

1. This problem was happening 6th Feb when you first posted, you re-installed Windows on 10th Feb and reported the problem stopped. The problem hasn't re-occurred until you posted again on this thread 22nd April.
   
   
2. The reason the above is relevant is it makes we think there is some software / config on the laptop that was wiped clear on the re-install but has since come back.
   
   
3. The laptop slows connections / crashes the router regardless of wifi / ethernet connection - that would suggest one of 4 things to me:
   
   
4. Malware - but we've pretty much ruled that out from the scans you have done (although not confirmed whether you did a deep scan or default scan with the malware checkers)
   
   
5. Network configuration - things like the DHCP / IP addresses etc might be misconfigured - an IP address conflict might cause this.
   
   
6. Software - something installed or running on the laptop that is changing the network settings or creating a load on the network that it doesn't like.
   
   
7. Router - Either from one of the above problems - the router is crashing, something like the network stack overflowing, firewall detecting a SYN flood / DoS or even buffer bloat because the laptop can't handle incoming traffic.

Things I'd check first are:

1. All updates and security patches are applied to the laptop AND the router - make sure it is on latest firmware. Also factory reset router to default settings if not already done.
   
   
2. Examine everything running on the laptop and the config - this is difficult over a forum conversation and not easy when you don't know what you are looking for - easiest way is to provide a dump of the laptop config for analysis as per instructions below - don't paste it on the forum - private message me and I'll give you an email address to send it to:

Get a dump of laptop config:

1. Run "msinfo32", also called "System info" - looks like screenshot below. 
2. Go to File menu and select Save
3. Save the file and then either upload to a shared location like OneDrive / Google Drive or email it to me for a more detailed look.
   
   

400ixl

Ok, so its only for this one program, I assume it does not run on an up to date OS like your main device is running.

How about running a virtual machine on the main device with the older OS and app installed into that. Something like Virtualbox can run the virtual machine. It is easier to create a VM installing the OS and App, but you could if you must convert the physical machine into a cloned virtual machine, but it is more complex.

tsb

[Deleted User] said:

tsb said:

400ixl said:

What wifi router is it? Have you looked in the router logs to see if there are any clues there?

As I put in my earlier post I have experienced similar where it is an issue with the router (in this case Apple networking stack) which is rare but non unknown on those router devices (BT / Plusnet routers and more than one had the same issue).

Do you have any other wifi routers you could use by putting an ethernet cable from the LAN port on your existing one to the WAN port on the additional one. You can then setup the additional wifi router with a different wifi name and put it on a different channel to the existing one. See if that stops the issue. If it does, then try also moving the other device to the additional router and see if the issue returns. If that all works it is likely a router issue and you have a work around.

As in an earlier post it is a NowTV Hub 2 router NR801.  The logs didn't show anything.  Whilst I was logged in to the router I renamed the 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz  bands to separate them as was suggested.

Unfortunately I don't have another router to hand but can ask around to 'borrow' one. 

It all seems a lot of faff just to have this old laptop still working. It will only be used for one dedicated program but would like to keep windows up to date on it as it can be there as a backup laptop.

It is a lot of faff but that's the nature of diagnosing computer problems like this. I've worked in IT support for years, there is nothing better than letting a techie get hands on with the computer as there are hundreds of things that can be checked but are difficult to run through on a forum.

Just to sum up what is happening for clarity:

1. This problem was happening 6th Feb when you first posted, you re-installed Windows on 10th Feb and reported the problem stopped. The problem hasn't re-occurred until you posted again on this thread 22nd April.
   
   
2. The reason the above is relevant is it makes we think there is some software / config on the laptop that was wiped clear on the re-install but has since come back.
   
   
3. The laptop slows connections / crashes the router regardless of wifi / ethernet connection - that would suggest one of 4 things to me:
   
   
4. Malware - but we've pretty much ruled that out from the scans you have done (although not confirmed whether you did a deep scan or default scan with the malware checkers)
   
   
5. Network configuration - things like the DHCP / IP addresses etc might be misconfigured - an IP address conflict might cause this.
   
   
6. Software - something installed or running on the laptop that is changing the network settings or creating a load on the network that it doesn't like.
   
   
7. Router - Either from one of the above problems - the router is crashing, something like the network stack overflowing, firewall detecting a SYN flood / DoS or even buffer bloat because the laptop can't handle incoming traffic.

Things I'd check first are:

1. All updates and security patches are applied to the laptop AND the router - make sure it is on latest firmware. Also factory reset router to default settings if not already done.
   
   
2. Examine everything running on the laptop and the config - this is difficult over a forum conversation and not easy when you don't know what you are looking for - easiest way is to provide a dump of the laptop config for analysis as per instructions below - don't paste it on the forum - private message me and I'll give you an email address to send it to:

Get a dump of laptop config:

1. Run "msinfo32", also called "System info" - looks like screenshot below. 
2. Go to File menu and select Save
3. Save the file and then either upload to a shared location like OneDrive / Google Drive or email it to me for a more detailed look.
   
   

That's an excellent summary.  When I get chance to dedicate some time to looking at the laptop I will go through the points listed one by one.  

I appreciate the offer of looking at the system information file, the problem  maybe obvious to someone who knows what to look for.  

Thanks everyone for the input.