win xp to hub to winxp sudden network prob plz help

hi
my problem is this all file copying across my network has slowed down to well crawl would signafy too fast a speed for it !

i have xp sp2 on both machines and they go through a hub

a router/ hardware firewall is plugged into the hub and provides broadband to both machines

i can play games on the lan ...but suffer a little lag

this has happened since i reinstalled xp on my second pc a week a go and no amount of reinstalling has helped! and yes i had sp2 on it for about two weeks before this so i`m sure thats not the problem

please help i have resorted to moving hd`s to copy files thats how bad this is!

thnx in advance

A hub doesn't give you the flexiblity a switch does.

If the nic and hub don't agree on a match speed and duplex mode crc errors occur which slows traffic down.

Try setting your nics to full duplex 10 or 100 depending on what they support and not auto. This is how you force the issue. Now its up to the hub.

well i set them both to 100 full duplex forced but no go they are both 100`s and the hub is a 100/10 switching hub the only thing i can think of is a problem with the router but both pc`s are getting full use of the broadband internet (its quicke for me to use msn on both machines and transfer files that way then over the lan which is just stupid! there has to be a cure for this illness my lan is suffering.

What about if i get a wirless nic for my main box ? i know my router is capable of reading wireless nic`s but would it add the machine to the hub ok?


kind off :
Box 1 [wireless]
to >>router{bt wireless network 1250}
to >>[cable] hub{netgear dual speed hub ds104}
to>>>>[cable] box 2{on board lan}
and>>>>[cable] broad band voice{cisco ata 186}
and>>>>[cable] box 3 {on board lan}

at the moment box 1 has onboard lan connection using latest nforce platform drivers box 2 has generic xp drivers for its on board lan and box 3 is my mates box and hasnt been connected to the network since this problem. i would prefer if a solution could be found that didnt resort to a new NIC due to financial reasons.