WLAN Connection seems to slow down over time

[Bastinka]

So, average speed when I'm downloading files from a server is about 240 kbp/s. After what seems like 30 seconds to a minute time it goes down to 120 kbp/s and stays there. The connection speed starts off at 54 Mbp/s to the WLAN Router, but after a short amount of time drops to 11 Mbp/s. Works perfectly fine, but I don't want to have to reconnect to the router every 30 seconds just to get good performance.

More information:


The router is located about 6 meters ( 20 feet ) away from where the USB stick is.
It's got a WPA2 ( Security ) password for wireless protection on the router.
I am the only wireless user of that router, and it is not being used by any other computer.
I have tried downloading files from different servers, even ones that are extremely close.
Turning off Windows Firewall achieves nothing either.


It's really starting to bug me, as in one of the computers that is connected through wire gets 240 kbp/s yet here I am 6 meters away getting that for 30 seconds time and then it drops down to 100 kbp/s.


Any ideas on what the hell would cause this?

[klange]

- Proximity does not always equate to speed.
- WPA2 is a form of encryption, though it shouldn't be affecting your speed that drastically (it's a very fast algorithm).
- Which means the problem is on your end.
- ... which again means the problem is on your end.
- Of course not, it blocks ports outright, it doesn't slow down key ports like TCP/80.

Have you checked for viruses? A network slowdown can be caused by high traffic usage. Disconnecting could temporarily halt activity by a virus, giving you better performance immediately after reconnecting, until the virus starts making new connections.

Just a theory.

[jcap]

If you hardwire it, what speeds do you get?

What bandwidth are you paying for from your ISP?

Go to www.speedtest.net and test from both your wireless and wired connections. Post the results here.

[Bastinka]

Disconnecting could temporarily halt activity by a virus, giving you better performance immediately after reconnecting, until the virus starts making new connections.
Exactly what happens, although it really doesn't seem like it's a virus as when I wire it up to the router ( I have to bring it in the other room ) it gets full speed.

I also am really doubting I got a virus after a clean reinstall 2 weeks ago.


Edit:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/557527362.png


Wired
http://www.speedtest.net/result/557528933.png

[jcap]

Seems like there might be something a little strange with your wireless connection, but it's really difficult to pinpoint without having different hardware. Try changing the channel between 1, 6, and 11.

If you download from the same source on a wired connection, does the speed do the same thing? (drop from 250 kb/s to 120 kb/s)?

[Bastinka]

I'll go try that really quickly. Also, how and where would I change the channels?
EDIT:
I tried reinstalling the driver after I tested it but it fixed nothing.

The same computer got the same speed for wireless and wired, it seems as though this computer has a problem. There is an OS difference. This PC runs Vista Home Premium x64 while the other runs XP SP3 x32. The driver is setup differently however, I'm going to download the latest one for x64.