A rchive Date
[ 06-11-2005 ]
Category
[ Information Technologies ]
sub-Categoy
[ Microsoft ]
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[http://computingcentral.msn.com/topics/pccommunications/DBDetails.asp?DownloadID=42720
Microsoft Vtcp.386 Update (read before installation)
The following program directly from Microsoft supposedly fixes a bug in Vtcp.386. It should be installed on Windows 95, 98 or 98SE.
According to Microsoft, because of a math error, the Windows 9x TCP/IP stack incorrectly computes a timer used to retransmit packets (based on round trip time to a server). When you are transmitting packets over high-speed/high-delay networks, such as any broadband Internet connection, this can result in unnecessary retransmissions and lower throughput... This fix helps reduce retransmission of packets, therefore improving the overall performance of the TCP/IP stack. While It achieves that, in some systems it might also reduce throughput a bit, since it increases the wait before a packet is retransmitted. If you decide to install this fix, backup, or rename Vtcp.386, located in the \Windows\System directory, so you will have a way of going back to your original setting. You can download the Microsoft fix directly from here:
Microsoft Vtcp.386 fix (12-23-1999) - Install and reboot for changes to take effect. This file will not interfere with any of the other patches.
Now for the really fun part - the fix made for a bug in TCP/IP has a bug in itself, it fails to install properly on some Windows 95 systems. If you have problems installing it on your PC, try the following workarounds, which might, or might not work (I'm not aware of a 100% fix for Microsoft's fixes, short of formatting your HD and installing Linux :)...)
1. Get the updated Windows Sockets 2 for Windows 95 from Microsoft.
Windows Socket 2 update Windows 95 - It contains some bug fixes from earlier implementations and includes performance enhancements, such as TCP large windows and time stamps support.
2. If you are still unable to run the Microsoft fix, try the following file instead:
vtcp386.zip - to install, extract vtcp.386, copy it to your \Windows\System folder, then reboot. IMPORTANT: In some Windows 95 systems, the new vtcp.386 does not work at all, please backup, or simply rename your original vtcp.386, rather than overwriting it, in case you need to revert to the original file.
@Home Speed Patch
A lot of people reported drastic speed increase using this patch. It's a program that was supported by @Home Cable Modem Service at the beginning of 1998, and it claims to make registry changes in order to increase Cable modem performance. The only key it makes changes to, that I'm aware of is "DefaultRcvWindow". It changes it to "373360" ?! The only disadvantages that I know of, are that the program "TCPAdjust" chokes on that registry setting, and wouldn't start, and that the 373360 RWin setting seems bogus, since it is not multiple of MSS. Another fact is that such large value is not supported under Windows 95 and NT, only Windows 98, 98SE and Windows 2000 have Large TCP Windows Support. To get the last bit of performance out of your Cable Modem, I'd recommend changing the RWin setting to some multiple of MSS after applying the patch - check the Registry Tweaks section , or install one of our Generic Registry patches after applying the @Home patch .
This patch is no longer supported by the @Home staff, according to them "It might cause some problems with stream video..." If you still want it, you can download it from here. It has a nice install/uninstall program and I couldn't reproduce any problems with "video" while running the patch. If you want to uninstall this patch for some reason, you can do it easily from "Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs"
Speed Patch]
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