January 09, 2008 by sharky
Jan 09/2008
Hello fellow WinXP users.
If you are a fellow Windows XP user (specifically Service Pack 2) and you’ve obtained the copy legally, I repeat - legally, then you’ve recently qualified for the latest CRITICAL RELEASE updates from Microsoft that were sent out on Jan 8th, 2008.
Did you install these new updates? You did? Well, I know what you’re thinking: It’s hard not to when they keep nagging about it in the taskbar. Notice anything different now in regards to your Internet speed? We sure did - browsing and P2P programs just got a whole lot slower, as of about three hours ago. “Why’s that?”, you may ask.
That’s because included in the latest MS updates release is a whole new version of TCPIP.SYS version 3244, that reverts the max. allowable half-open TCP connections back down to 10. So if you’ve used BitComet or any other program to raise that number in order to squeeze a little more juice out of your Internet/P2P connections, you’ll have to do it again. But this time around, it’s not so simple. BitComet doesn’t support the new TCPIP.SYS version 3244 so you won’t be able to do it that way. You’ll notice that it now says “This version of tcpip.sys is not supported to be modified” in the BitComet window. Other P2P programs that change the TCP limit are not likely to be able to change it, either. Here’s the window in BitComet:
To check if you are receiving those 4226 error messages, go to your START BUTTON > SETTINGS > CONTROL PANEL > ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS > EVENT VIEWER > SYSTEM and look for warning messages that contain “tcpip” with the corresponding number 4226 under the EVENT column. If you see any 4226 messages (which you now should if you’ve been using your Internet connection heavily) then it means the tcpip.sys file has been changed and your max. connections has reverted back down to 10. See the screenshot below:
The Solution:
This can be fixed by using one of these methods.
1. You can try to fix it with the LLVLORD patch.
You’ll need to apply the patch found at http://www.lvllord.de/. Click on the “Downloadpage” link, and select the file “EvID4226Patch223d-en.zip“. Unzip, and run EvID4226Patch.exe. Now, the new default change for this patch is to “50″ max. connections, so if you want to raise it to 100 or even 150, type “C” to change the limit - now enter the new number. Follow further onscreen instructions. You’ll likely receive a security-related error message from Windows XP - allow this change.
To test if the patching worked, run the patch again, and this time look for this line - Current maximum concurrent half-open connections: (and verify that the new number is listed as the one you entered).
NOTE: We recommend that you start doing some heavy downloading (P2P and browser at the same time) and check the EVENT VIEWER > SYSTEM again to see if any future warning messages are generated. Also note that any changes to TCPIP.SYS will not be reflected in BitComet’s Options pages.
Our Notes: On our machine, we noticed that while the patch DID reflect the new changes and we didn’t generate any further 4226 warnings, we found the speeds to still be restrictive, for whatever reasons.
2. You can always fix it with a “system restore”.
If all else fails, or if these error messages are still reported and you notice slower speeds, another possibility it to do a system restore point from your START BUTTON > PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS > SYSTEM RESTORE and be sure to select a date prior to when you did the WinXP upgrade (at least one day earlier).
After a System Restore, Microsoft will likely attempt to re-install these updates soon (and future ones) so you might want to turn off “Automatic Updates”. Do this through your CONTROL PANEL > SYSTEM - click on the ‘Automatic Updates’ tab and set it to OFF. Click APPLY to set the new changes. Be sure to do this after the system restore.
After a successful system restore, you’ll be able to see your old TCPIP.SYS as listed in BitComet, with the ability to change the settings. This change will also be reflected in the “EvID4226Patch.exe” patch (just be careful not to change anything in the patch if not necessary). See below:
3. Using XP-Antispy to patch the tcpip.sys file.
XP-Antispy offers an in-program solution for patching the TCPIP.SYS file, as well. If you already patched it with the LLVLORD patch, you’ll be able to at the very least verify that the patch took hold.
In XP-Antispy, go to SPECIAL > Connection Limit… and then click the ‘YES I GOT IT‘ message.
If you already patched it, your new connection limit should be listed properly. (We set ours to 500, a substantial increase from the old limit of 10). But more importantly, you can verify the BUILD number that you are using. Notice that the build for TCPIP.SYS is listed as 2892 - this verifies that the old (correct) version is being used, not the new build 3244 - and thus the LLVLORD patch did, indeed, correctly patch the file.
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