~ Windows 8-8.1 Connection Tweaks ~

[DosProbie]

If you have any Favorite Connection tweaks to make your connection faster feel free to share..

 

~DP

 

Cannot confrim ALL 5 of the Following "Faster Connection Tweaks" (Only tried #1, 2 and 3 which fixed my slow connection) but may be worth a try.

 

1. First culprit is to ensure you have the latest network drivers.
   then try the following if still having slow connection.

 

2. Change hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers) without # to:
   127.0.0.1       localhost
   ::1                localhost

 

3. Turn Off "Background Intelligent Transfer Service" (wireless connection)

 net stop BITS /y >nul 2>&1 sc config BITS start= demand >nul 2>&1

4. Reduce Unnecessary Usage of Packet Data by Windows 8 Apps
   Turn off the live tile (use internet every time you connect)
   News, Finance, Travel, Facebook apps etc.

 

5. Adjust Network Bandwidth limit (Set QoS packet scheduler to 0%)
 Start > Run
 Type gpedit.msc in the box
 A window named Group Policy will open
 Click on Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > QoS Packet Scheduler
 A list will open on the right side. Double click on Limit Reversible Bandwidth
 Now, a box will open, tick on Enable option
 Set the Bandwidth limit (%) as 0%.(While in browsing session the browser takes 20% of the speed to avoid this set the band width as zero)
 Click on Apply followed by OK

Edited August 12, 2014 by DosProbie

[NoelC]

I've no connection speed issues but I've always wondered what advantages BITS provides.  Did you find a reference on what it's good for before disabling it?

 

-Noel

[DosProbie]

I've no connection speed issues but I've always wondered what advantages BITS provides.  Did you find a reference on what it's good for before disabling it?

 

-Noel

Step 7 >> http://www.articlesbase.com/intra-net-articles/top-10-tips-to-increase-your-internet-browsing-speed-963398.html

[SanicHegehog]

Disabling BITS, are you kidding? This is a component required to run Windows Update and many other things. Disabling it will render Windows Update unable to download data in the background. Not even sure if it would work at all with BITS disabled.

[NoelC]

Presumably they claim you should disable it because they've sensed that the background transfer of data makes a noticeable impact on a limited speed network interface.  Is that, in fact, what was happening?  Shouldn't be hard to tell with Task Manager and Resource Monitor on hand and able to view Network activity.

 

What about your network connection feels sluggish?  What do IP speed tests tell you?

 

-Noel

[jaclaz]

Disabling BITS, are you kidding? This is a component required to run Windows Update and many other things. Disabling it will render Windows Update unable to download data in the background. Not even sure if it would work at all with BITS disabled.

Relax.

One can disable it and re-enable it when he/she actually wants to receive updates.

Consider the case of someone "on the move" with just a netbook or a tablet.

Let's say that hypothetical work week is:

• leaving home on monday morning
• traveling for business in rural areas ONLY covered by (say) 3G networks
• getting back home on friday night

It would make a lot of sense if he would not like to risk a crash (because of a "flaky" update while on the move (and with no backup available) or to consume ALL (or a LARGE part) of his 3G bandwidth on one of the stupidly larges updates pushed by MS (or other vendors).

When he gets back home and can have a "real" internet connection, he re-enables the BITS service and Windows Updates and updates everything over the weekend (and in case of issues he has available backups, boot disks, etc.).

jaclaz

 

 

[NoelC]

One can disable the automatic checking-for and downloading of updates directly.  Any reasonable person would want to control when that's done whether traveling or not.

 

I don't know what else relies on BITS, but it seems a bit of overkill to stop the basic service.

 

-Noel

[jaclaz]

I don't know what else relies on BITS, but it seems a bit of overkill to stop the basic service.

There are quite a few reports around of other software (or other Windows components) using BITS and consuming bandwidth, though I cannot find anything "definitive".

 

JFYI:

http://www.trishtech.com/2013/10/disable-bits-service-permanently-in-windows-8/

 

Another possibility may lie in the Registry, but hard to say if this

http://smallvoid.com/article/winnt-bits-config.html

still applies and/or if it is "respected" in new versions of the OS.

 

Still, since it is anyway a "theoretical vector" for not wanted or potentially dangerous things (be them updates or not) in the example given above I would disable it.

 

Unrelated , but not much , a few days ago I have seen a grown up woman cry like a child when (thoughtlessly) opted in for an iPhone upgrade while traveling (cannot say if the cause was a corrupt download through a "flaky" WiFI AP, the fact that she was lowish on battery or *something else*) however the net result was that she lost all her data,  BTW she works in a software house and she did have a recent  "Cloud backup" (or whatever is the Apple name for that), but for some reasons the iPhone was "bricked" and she had  to wait until Monday to get to the shop and hopefully revive the thingie.

Since she was traveling with her husband (that actually out of lazyness more than anything else opted out the same update on his "twin" iPhone) she was able to communicate nonetheless, and he had on his device most of her contacts anyway.

 

jaclaz

[NoelC]

I guess things are bloated all over. 

 

But it's all good.  Every such incident serves to lower people's expectations of modern technology, which of course sells more modern technology and boosts the economy mightily.

 

Mindless choice making...  The new normal.

 

-Noel