Connection problems on Windows 7, fine on Linux/OSX

A brand new Dell Inspiron laptop, purchased from BestBuy just today, is hooked up to a DSL modem/router. It cannot reach several websites, including Microsoft's, at all; bandwidth is terrible, and the connection is dropped every few minutes. This is with the preinstalled OS, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. This happens with both wired and wireless connections.

A Macbook Pro on the same network, connected via wireless, gets a steady connection and decent bandwidth. So does my Linux-powered EeePC, whether connected by wifi or ethernet.

What might the problem be? Some quirk of network configuration maybe? Is it possible that some of the preinstalled Dell bloatware is causing the issue?

 

Can you boot from live cd on that new box to check if network works fine in the live session?
Mrk

 

Yes, and everything worked fine from the live session. (ATI/AMD video card included.)

I'm beginning to suspect this is a firewall settings issue. There are tons of Dell presets in the firewall, weird per-application rules including some that are disabled...

OTOH, sites that don't work (e.g. Microsoft) fail for IE 32-bit, IE 64-bit, and Chrome. If there were something wrong with the firewall settings, I'd expect it to only apply to one browser.

Oh, update: it just rebooted to a message about the OS being damaged in some way and requiring a System Restore. No idea why; the live USB stick shouldn't have left anything on the hard drive, or altered it in any way... I'm starting to wonder if someone goofed the Windows install on this thing.

 

Sounds like. Try disabling the firewall.
I would personally reinstall, but no sure if you can.
Mrk

 

Thanks.

BTW I was wrong about the wireless, it hadn't been tried yet. The Dell cannot connect to the wireless network *at all*, and does not say why (though it gives advises me to reboot the router/modem). Linux netbook still connects fine.

And... tried disabling the firewall, nothing. Microsoft, eBay, and many other websites still don't load at all (and work fine for the netbook).

 

Just make a new clean installation of the OS (without OEM junk), it will perform much better.

 

Hmm weird. nslookup gives the correct IP addresses for eBay, etc. on the Dell. OTOH, nslookup on the Dell says the name server is the router/modem(?) while on the netbook it says it's... the netbook (127.0.0.1). No idea what that signifies.

 

I wouldn't worry about the name server. The router is likely acting as a DNS forwarder for Windows. The other OSes may handle it differently. I doubt is relates to the problem. You may want to check for updated network card drivers for the Dell or just reinstall as others have suggested. I would wipe and reinstall if it were mine.

 

Well, I expected the Geek Squad people to point out something blindingly obvious and stupid; but the computer reproduced its strange behavior on BestBuy's network, and they were as stumped as I was.

We wound up just exchanging the Dell for a Toshiba. The Toshiba is working fine, though it also is burdened with a dozen-odd gigabytes of OEM bloatware.

 

That's the best part of getting a new computer! Cleaning it out and getting it in working condition. You can try PC Decrapifier. It works fairly well. Good luck.

 

I expected the results you got...