[vitaum88]

Hi! I've done some researching here on the forums and I saw this post www.geekstogo.com/forum/Lag-Spike-Problem-t233460.html which was kind of similar to mine, but well, didn't really solve my problem. I'm brazilian, so my bad for English mistakes.

Here's the thing... I've had a pretty good laptop for 3 years and I had windows XP on it ever since, and just recently I bought a new one and gave my other one to my mother. The new one is an ASUS G50, a pretty hardcore gaming laptop, with Windows Vista, 2 processors, 4 GB of ram and NVIDIA GeForce 9800 video card.

I've been playing CS1.6 over the Internet through a cable connection HARDWIRED and never had any problems... I live with 2 other students from my college, and we bought a DLINK-524 wireless router. We've set it up alright with all the required configs. I'm the only one that has CS on the PC, so I can't really check whether my problem happens with them as well....

The thing is, from the moment we set up the wireless connection I started to have some lag spikes experience, even when there's nobody at home (which means only I am connected to the router, so no bandwidth is split). On the beginning, the spikes were completely unplayable (I'd just stand still for 2-3 seconds and everyone else would walk around, shoot me or do anything else). From my own research, I went on wireless network config and turned off the "Automatically look for better connections" and it helped a bit! Now the spikes are actually playable, but it's still pretty bad (my ping goes from 20 to 200 and then back to 20 after the 2-3 seconds gap). This happens on EVERY SINGLE SERVER. I've had a router on my hometown for 3 years and never had problems with my old XP laptop, and now I'm experiencing this problem with the Vista one.

I'd not like to downgrade my computer to XP. Below are my "ipconfig /all > C:\Ipconfig.txt" and my "ping 192.168.0.1 -t > C:\Ping.txt" (both with ADMIN rights and downloading a 300mb file at max speed (330kb/s because my internet speed is 3mbps)):

IPCONFIG.TXT:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Victor-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8168C(P)/8111C(P) Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-23-54-35-05-9B
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® WiFi Link 5100 AGN
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-21-5D-1D-BD-2A
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::f51c:ff04:f154:3859%11(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.101(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, April 02, 2009 2:29:37 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, April 09, 2009 2:29:36 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 201.6.0.43
192.168.0.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{67A9D689-69B9-497B-B7CC-9A5F16A1EDD3}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{228266F9-E899-4FCD-B7D2-921C06FC8589}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

PING.TXT:



Pinging 192.168.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=105ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64 <----------------------------------------------- LOOK AT THESE
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=177ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=84ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=4ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=64 <----------------------------------------- LOOK
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
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Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=11ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Request timed out. <------------------------------------------------------------------------ LOOK!!!
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=4ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=206ms TTL=64 <---------------------------------------------------
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=94ms TTL=64 CHECK THESE
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64 OUT
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=208ms TTL=64 <---------------------------------------------------
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 192.168.0.1:
Packets: Sent = 192, Received = 191, Lost = 1 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 208ms, Average = 6ms

--------------------------------

Any suggestions?

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It's been my experience that wireless speeds are noticeably less than wired speeds for a given router. Signal interference, and additional layer of checking, and other things would seem to support this.

Try connecting to the router with a wire to see if the lag remains. If it does, then try the connection again without the router (connected directly to the modem). This will tell you if the problem is with the wireless radio, the router itself, or with your connection.

[usasma]

It's been my experience that wireless speeds are noticeably less than wired speeds for a given router. Signal interference, and additional layer of checking, and other things would seem to support this.

Try connecting to the router with a wire to see if the lag remains. If it does, then try the connection again without the router (connected directly to the modem). This will tell you if the problem is with the wireless radio, the router itself, or with your connection.

[vitaum88]

as I imagined, when hardwiring to the router i had no connection issues....
apart from that, this is the only wireless device in the house apart from cell phones, and I'm as close as 5ft from the router, so the signal is always strong.
anyway, as i said before, it looks like that the spikes are "kind of" cyclic, they come and go on minute-or-so timeframe

[vitaum88]

and I'm not having SPEED problems.. they are lag spikes

[usasma]

I understand the difference between speed and lag. Lag is basically a speed issue, but it's a bit more complicated.
You've noted that they seem to be cyclic, so I'd presume that it's either a problem with the wireless radio in the router, or with something in the environment that's emitting signals that interfere with the radio transmission.

[vitaum88]

well, as I said I've done my own research on that matter, and I don't really think that it is the cause... Could it be anything else?

[usasma]

You know your system better than I do. I'm just offering suggestions based on my experiences.

The interference thing is the most likely IMO - but since it still occurs when 5' away from the router I'd have to wonder about that.
The only way that I know how to "test" the router radio is to try another router - and that's awfully expensive unless you borrow one, or purchase one that you can return.
Maybe you can convince one of your roommates to install CS1 on their computer for test purposes? Tell them that you'll uninstall it as soon as the tests are done?

Beyond that, then I'd have to suspect the computer itself. If the wireless is a bit slower than the wired connection, then the background stuff that occurs over the web could be causing even more slowness - which could be contributing to the lag. It could also be a problem with the wireless card in your computer. Trying another wireless card is the way to check this. Maybe you can borrow a PMCIA wireless card from someone to test that?

[vitaum88]

Ok... I did the following test:
I opened a download page and downloaded Windows XP SP3 (300mb) so iahd enough time to graph and analyze everything...
here are my results.... the image with the troughs every 60 seconds is my computer, while my friend's is the one with the straight line... His "ping 192.168.0.1 -t" is very satisfactory (no spikes/jumps on the latency). Look at the attached images..
What can I do pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

[usasma]

Nice work! I'd have never though of that!

So, every 60 seconds something is snatching some of your connection for it's own uses.
I'd first try shutting off any internet-aware applications that you may be using.
If that fixes it, then it's a matter of sorting through the stuff that you shut off to find the culprit.
If it doesn't fix it, then you've gotta delve deeper into the OS to see.

Try stopping non-essential processes in Task Manager...Processes tab to see if that helps
Maybe you can look for CPU spikes there also, to see if any coincide with the 60 second interval.

I think you can use Ethereal (also known as Wireshark) to check the packets that are going out (haven't used it myself)
You can also use the free Process Monitor to see what's happening during those intervals. It's free here: http://www.microsoft...essmonitor.mspx
Beware of the log files that it generates, they can get huge and take over your entire hard drive. Be sure to stop the monitoring once you've captured the events that you need.

[Ayreon]

EDIT: After doing some research it seems the problem is in Vista's WLAN Autoconfig.
Let's see if it's actually the problem by temporarily disabling it:
Go to Start and right click “Computer”. Click on “Manage”.

The Computer Management window will appear. Under Services and Applications, select “Services”.

Scroll down and right-click WLAN AutoConfig. Now click stop.

Edited by Ayreon, 02 April 2009 - 03:19 PM.

[L'xiGo]

I have practically the same problem as him.
I used to use 1 XP Laptop to share my Internet connection (through Wi-Fi) to the another XP Laptop.
Then I play Warcraft 3 on the other laptop with no lag/spike.

However I now have 2 Vista Laptop, but when I share the connection, I gets about the same spikes as him.
This happens even though the Laptop R side-to-side (1cm), and I have close any internet using programs or most unused single program/process.
I will try to check the 'WLAN Optimizer' & 'WLAN AutoConfig' tomorrow.

Edited by L'xiGo, 02 April 2009 - 04:35 PM.

[vitaum88]

EDIT: After doing some research it seems the problem is in Vista's WLAN Autoconfig.
Let's see if it's actually the problem by temporarily disabling it:
Go to Start and right click “Computer”. Click on “Manage”.

The Computer Management window will appear. Under Services and Applications, select “Services”.

Scroll down and right-click WLAN AutoConfig. Now click stop.

When I turn it off all the wireless connections disappear and I can't connect to anything... So it either has got to be on or I need a new "wireless management software".

[L'xiGo]

lol.. I have tried it too. .When we turn off this service, All wireless networks are unavailable.. cant see anything..

[Ayreon]

Hmm try http://www.martin-ma.../wlanoptimizer/

[vitaum88]

doesnt work