One of the hot topics since the release of Vista has to be some of the networking issues people have been experiencing.
Just to name a few: - Windows Messenger issues - Large File and copy transfers - Large file transfers which seem to “hang” right in the middle of the transfer - Off and on network issues - Routers Having issues (basically dying forcing a reboot of the router)
One of the “new features” in Vista, of course is the new networking stack. As with anything new, you can expect problems but did you know you can disable some of the “advanced” features (for the time being)
After reading all kinds of posts and a couple of MS FAQ’s, it seems the main culprit is the Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level.
One thing people seem to forget is, you can turn this off and on via the command line.
Let's Try it....
- Open a command prompt - Windows Icon (lower left) - All Programs - Accessories (STOP!!!) **in order for this to work you need to RIGHT CLICK on the command prompt and choose "Run as Administrator". You will be prompted by the ULA, please tell it "continue".
- Once the command prompt window has opened, you need to make SURE at the top of the command prompt window it say's: "Administrator: Command Prompt
Now we need to turn off the Auto-Tuning Level. Enter the following into the command window: netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
You should get an "ok" (see below)
REBOOT!
Once you have rebooted, you need to open a command prompt again with Administrative Privileges (see above if you need instructions on how to do this).
Once you have the command prompt open, we need to check and make sure we have disabled Receive Window Auto-Tuning by running the following command: netsh int tcp show global
You should see, under Receive Window Auto-Tuning Level - Disabled.
Test out your network, messenger, and other file copy functions and see if this doesn't solve some issues.
Of course you can turn the Auto-Tuning feature back on at anytime (you will have to reboot).
If you would like to turn the feature back-on, simply enter the following: netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal
Reboot, open a command prompt as Administrator, type: netsh int tcp show global - and make sure the Auto-Tuning Level is set to enabled.
Now Microsoft has also issued a "Hotfix" dealing with problems similar to what I have described above, but you must call MS in order to get it: - MS Page and Hotfix Info.
