Slow download but fast upload!

I can't find an answer to this anywhere but here goes. I went out of town for 3 weeks and was on another wireless network. When I get back home and connected to my network, I noticed it was downloading pages a little slow, so I ran a speed test. The test shows that my download is at about 380 kbps and my upload is 1580 kbps! I didn't change any settings at all, and my desktop is also wireless and has download speeds of 6800 kbps. Anyone have any ideas what might have happened? Everything was fine before I left, downloading and uploading at the right speeds. I've tried resetting and playing around with network settings but nothing works. I'm completely stumped. I have a Sony Vaio FZ190 running Vista Home Premium. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Almost forgot, I'm using a Linksys WRT300N.

 

Is your desktop running a torrent client? That's the first thing that springs to mind. What happens if you run the speed test with your notebook sitting right next to the wireless router? It's possible that something is interfering with the router's signal range.

I would also suggest reinstalling your wireless drivers if you haven't already.

 

Hey Thain,

That's the first thing I tried, thought maybe interference or something, so I moved the laptop next to the router. No difference at all. Desktop is also wireless with no torrents running and has no problems. I'm connected to work wired right now and it's fine, so I'm really stumped. I thought I had reinstalled the drivers but will try it again tonight. The funny thing is it was working fine and then suddenly goes bad, with nothing being changed at all. I don't think it's possible to screw up something just by going to another wireless network, right? My uploads are great, just no downloads. Thanks for the reply and if you have any other ideas please let me know.

 

No, changing networks (or even using several different networks daily) should never affect your speed.

I do actually have two more thoughts:
Run a spyware scan using Spybot: Search & Destroy ( http://www.safer-networking.org/) and delete whatever it finds.

Also, try running that speed test again, but with your desktop turned off. I don't know why your router would do this, but it's possible it is doing some kind of QoS routing and deciding that your desktop is a more important connection, thus reserving the majority of your bandwidth for the desktop (if that's the case, I have no idea how to fix it beyond just doing a factory reset on the router to clear out all settings).

 

Thanks for the help. I've tried everything and nothing. I put the desktop on wired ethernet and still does the same thing. I also connected the laptop with an ethernet cable and it runs fine. Oh well, short of a clean install I can't think of anything else. Thanks again Thain.