[kcomeforo]

I have a strange tethering problem that I can't figure out. I have tried tethering with my Sprint Touch Pro on several XP PCs and it works fine. On my Vista laptop, it mostly works. I have no problems with normal things like internet browsing and the speed is good. However, I'm having major issues when I try to run a game, Final Fantasy XI (FFXI).

The issues don't seem to be network related. Everything about the game slows down, even things that don't depend on your internet connection, like animations while logging in. The game is impossible to play -- in fact it was so non-responsive I wasn't even able to type a single letter. I've never see anything like it.

FFXI is designed to be playable over a dial-up modem, and they cap your transfer rate even if you have broadband. The game normally works fine on tethering; I have used it for years on my old T-Mobile MDA with Edge speeds. It also works with my new Touch Pro on other XP systems. So it seems like the problem is with Vista.

The issue with FFXI behaves very much like when you have a runaway process taking up 100% of your CPU. But I checked it and there is 60-80% idle time with FFXI hovering around 10%.

I'm wondering if maybe there is some conflict between FFXI and the network driver used on Vista for tethering. I'm at a loss as to how to troubleshoot this further. Anyone have any ideas?