Thinkpads Forum

Hello,

as crazy as it sounds, I have the following problem:
I have my T60p connected to the network via the internal network card (intel 1000 pl). I also have mapped a shared drive of another PC on the network. When I make a "Dir /s" command on the shared directory, the output scrolls very slow.
About one line per second. As i move my mouse (connected through usb) the output scrolls fast!

Also observed this behavior with windows explorer:
Deleting a bunch of directories takes forever, but when I move the mouse the deletion goes on much much faster

IRQ-Sharing Problem? Most Devices seem to stick to IRQ 16.
Any recommendation for BIOS IRQ settings. Currently I left the default with irq 11 on all positions...

I experience exactly the same behavior (under Windows) as mentioned by Tron04:

Copying files makes about 1 (text) file per second. When moving the (USB connected) mouse copying speed increases tremendously.

I haven't found any workarounds so far and will check on my Ubuntu dual boot for the same behavior.

Somebody else possibly found a way to fix this issue?

Very interesting. I seem to have a similar phenomenon. Very strange.

Hello,

I have found a bit of a solution so far for Windows XP:

In the settings for the network card, there is an item called "Interrupt Throttling Rate". If you set this to "Extreme", then the symptom goes away. I set it to "Medium" and this works rather fine.

The interesting thing with the symptom is, that copying a large file does not show any slowdown. So only lots of "queries"/dir-calls to different files (like a dir /s) show the slowdown.

Try messing arround with the network card setting and it will help.
Nevertheless I still do not understand this strange issue...
Also the newest Intel driver does not help.

Is this a bug in the Intel driver? Normally the network should run fine with the default setting of the switch (adaptive).

Just for completeness: I conducted my tests with a 100Mbit switch between the two PCs and also with a crossover cable. This did not make a difference. I cannot comment if the problem also exists with 1GBit connections...
My test-PC has a 100MBit 3com Etherlink XL PCI Card installed. The problem is also not related to duplex settings. Tested also all possibilities concerning duplex. No effect.

I contacted IBM/Lenovo-Support for the issue and they are totally unwilling to help via email and want to offer paid support
They "downed support over FORUMS" (original quote)

Now I am trying with Intel Support via mail. See if they can come up with something plausible...

Got only a generic response from Intel support. Seems no one is willing to dig any deeper into the issue. Sad, sad world....

Tron04 wrote:Hello,

I have found a bit of a solution so far for Windows XP:

In the settings for the network card, there is an item called "Interrupt Throttling Rate". If you set this to "Extreme", then the symptom goes away. I set it to "Medium" and this works rather fine.

The interesting thing with the symptom is, that copying a large file does not show any slowdown. So only lots of "queries"/dir-calls to different files (like a dir /s) show the slowdown.

Try messing arround with the network card setting and it will help.
Nevertheless I still do not understand this strange issue...
Also the newest Intel driver does not help.

Is this a bug in the Intel driver? Normally the network should run fine with the default setting of the switch (adaptive).

Just for completeness: I conducted my tests with a 100Mbit switch between the two PCs and also with a crossover cable. This did not make a difference. I cannot comment if the problem also exists with 1GBit connections...
My test-PC has a 100MBit 3com Etherlink XL PCI Card installed. The problem is also not related to duplex settings. Tested also all possibilities concerning duplex. No effect.

nice finding, but.. where is this setting ? I tried to look under control panel->system->device driver-> network adpater ->wireless adapter but no luck..

I tested using a mapped network drive as a destination for a file copy from a command prompt, and could not reproduce your problem.

Here's a couple of tests I would do:

1. Unplug everything from your Thinkpad except power and LAN, and see if the problem goes away.

2. Save an image of your hard drive, restore to factory, and see if you can reproduce the error in factory configuration.

MIB wrote:
nice finding, but.. where is this setting ? I tried to look under control panel->system->device driver-> network adpater ->wireless adapter but no luck..

Hi, I am talking about the 1000 PL nic and not about wireless.

Here is the last reply from IBM eSupport:

"you find a solution in the FORUM?
Its there write down sombody calls uns?
If you want a solution we have one but you must call us,
and somtime its not free of charged.
and WE NEVER SUPPORT ENY FORUMS !"

This is the unmodified answer from IBM.
Crappy english and really no useful info
So sad I could cry....

Forget the official-support! I have not seen such crappy and unhelpful support in a long time....

The forum here is the place to go to get real good support!

RonS wrote:I tested using a mapped network drive as a destination for a file copy from a command prompt, and could not reproduce your problem.

Hi RonS,

a file copy itself is fast. What's really slow is a "Dir /s" on the remote drive. (e.g dir /s C:\).
It only gets faster when playing around with the Interrupt Throttling Rate (or by moving the external USB mouse )

Tron04 wrote:

RonS wrote:I tested using a mapped network drive as a destination for a file copy from a command prompt, and could not reproduce your problem.

Hi RonS,

a file copy itself is fast. What's really slow is a "Dir /s" on the remote drive. (e.g dir /s C:\).
It only gets faster when playing around with the Interrupt Throttling Rate (or by moving the external USB mouse )

I can confirm, that I have this very same behavior on a T40p with wireless LAN.
sometimes the connection is super slow and stalls. as soon as I do something else on the notebook, move mouse, open windows etc. the WLAN speeds up dramatically. I found out it was somewhat dependent on power savings settings, sometimes.

I thought it was hardware related and never investigated further... good to know I am not the only one with that problem.

Maybe energy saving is enabled to max for the wireless ?