Slow internet, but fast in safe mode with networking

Question

I have an HP Probook 650G with Windows 10. My home internet is rated at 300 Mbps. On this PC I typically only see speeds around 10 Mbps over Ethernet, occasionally up to 40 Mbps. But in safe mode with networking, I am seeing speeds of 300 Mbps. When I try a clean boot, speeds are back down to 40 or less.

Because of the difference between safe mode and clean boot, I strong suspect that some Microsoft Service is causing the issue. There are four services that I cannot stop:

1. Group policy client
2. Task scheduler
3. Time broker
4. Windows security service

Could one of these be causing my issue? Could it be something else?

Answer 1

Those services aren't going to cause that kind of problem. I would tend to agree that it is likely something swamping your network. You should use a network monitoring tool to see what is making network calls. In Windows network it shows you how much data you're uploading and downloading so if that number is very high then somebody is using it. A network sniffer (such as TcpView or Procmon) would help identify who. Note that there are lots of apps that use the network so you're looking for apps that you wouldn't expect to be using network or not a lot of it.

Also be aware that in safemode none of your startup apps run. If you've installed apps then many of them like to run at Windows logon. So network usage when you first start Windows is generally pretty high but thereafter it should lighten up. For example if you are running a Twitter app then it is constantly checking for more info. If you're running Steam then it is potentially checking for updates to your games, etc. I personally use Autoruns to see what processes are autostarting either with Windows or with my user profile and removing any that shouldn't.

Another test is to create a new user account on the machine. Then log off your existing account and log in using the new account. If the network usage is still high then it is more likely a shared app.

Answer 2

Hi,

To stop Task scheduler
Go to Control Panel.
Go to Administrative Tools.
Launch Task Scheduler.
Locate the scheduled task in left-hand navigation menu.
Once the task is selected, note the action menu on the right that has the start/stop action button.

To stop time broker

To stop Runtime Broker from using so much memory, select Runtime Broker in the list, select End task to close Runtime Broker, and then restart your computer.

Windows security service can be stopped from Task manager

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

--If the reply is helpful, please Upvote and Accept it as an answer--