Slow Internet - Connection Issues in Windows Vista

I had to fix a computer with Vista Family Premium 32 bits installed where browsing the internet was nearly impossible.

Any loading of a web page would take minutes, because of a very slow DNS resolution. After investigating for a while, I found out that buggy IPv6 implementation in Vista was the culprit. Hundreds of tunnel adapters were enabled in the network panel, causing the slowdown. Disabling IPv6 completely fixed the issue -- it's a bit like using a hammer on a screw, but I didn't want to spend too much time on this.

To fix:

  • Disable the IP Helper Service (only needed for IPv6)
    • Hold the Windows key and type R, enter "services.msc" (without the quotes) and press Enter
    • Scroll down to the IP Helper service, right click on it and select Properties
    • In the dropdown box that says "Automatic" or "Manual", set it to Disabled and then click on "Apply"
    • Then click on "Stop" to stop the service from running in the current session
    • Click OK to exit the dialog
  • Disable IPv6 for the newtork adapters
    • Hold the Windows key and type R, enter "ncpa.cpl" (without the quotes) and press Enter
    • Right click on each network connection (except 6to4 and isatap) and select "Properties"
    • Remove the checkmark from the box next to "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)
    • Click OK to exit the dialog
  • Disable IPv6 in the registry
    • In regedit, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\tcpip6\Parameters
    • Create a DWORD 32 bit Value and rename it to "DisabledComponents"
    • Double click it and type 255 in the value box, it will disable IPv6.
      • For info the value can be the combination (logical or) of the following values:
      • 1 Disable tunnel interfaces
      • 2 Disable 6to4
      • 4 Disable ISATAP
      • 8 Disable Teredo
      • 16 Disable LAN and PPP interfaces
      • 32 Set preference of IPv4 over IPv6
      • 255 Disable IPv6 completely
  • Remove all the 6to4mp and isatap adapters
    • Download DevCon. It is a command line Device Manager that is useful for removing many devices at once.
    • Then run
 devcon remove *6to4mp
 devcon remove *isatap

Sources: Automating "6to4" Adapter Removal in Windows Too many Tunnel adapters

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