The son's computer is fully connected to the internet.
The son's computer is fully connected to the internet.
On my computer, phone, and other gadgets the internet works perfectly everywhere. But when my son uses his PC, the Wi-Fi and wired connections drop completely for a short time while he starts up. His video playback suffers too, but his own performance stays smooth. I’m confused about how to solve this problem.
You can limit the bandwidth of his PC either through the router or through software on his PC. I'd recommend doing it through the router if this is being done against his will, or he is the type to disable the limit. If he's fine with it and you have an agreement of times or situations where he can disable the limits, doing it through software on his PC is probably a better way. Through the router, you should be able to limit his bandwidth via IP or MAC address (use MAC address if he's against it, much easier to change an IP address). The settings to limit bandwidth will likely be under the QoS settings area. If not, have a look through your router's manual or just go through settings till you find it. For PC software, something like NetBalancer is a good choice. It can often give more precise control over the limits than a router. I would also advise checking what it is that's using so much bandwidth on your son's PC. Have a look in task manager for things that eat up a lot of network bandwidth (or use NetBalancer to monitor how much applications use). If there's something using a lot of bandwidth all the time, you may want to limit that application alone, or uninstall it if it's a virus or something.
I think because of how he explains the problem, his router won't be able to enforce bandwidth restrictions.
He might have adjusted the router's priority for his PC to the top level. If your internet speed is 5Mbps or lower, a YouTube video could consume all your bandwidth, and since his PC is prioritized, other activities won't get any data at all while he's streaming.
I would attempt these actions. 1. Execute MalwareBytes. If his machine consumes that much data, it's probable he has a virus—possibly part of a botnet. 2. Open Wireshark and monitor bandwidth usage. https://ask.wireshark.org/questions/9405...dwidth-hog 3. Check if you can adjust his bandwidth limit in router settings. If DD-WRT isn't an option, it might be worth considering for a larger problem.
I frequently manage the environment with very restricted bandwidth, like 1 Mbps across the entire site. The best solution is installing a router equipped with bandwidth control for each client. As a beginner, I recommend using Task Manager to identify which applications consume the most bandwidth when your PC starts up—often Steam updates or Windows updates. After that, remove or disable those resource-heavy apps.
I faced the same issue at home where my son's computer would lose connection when powering it on. The Wi-Fi would intermittently fail. I went to clean his PC and discovered several malware using a trial version of MalwareByte. After removing them, I ran an AVAST full scan and then used Cleaner for a quick cleanup. We both felt relieved—his PC is now running smoothly and the network problems are gone. It seems some malware was consuming all the bandwidth during startup. Hope this helps.