Windows 10: Slow speed in normal mode fast speed in safe mode

Hi,

I tested my speed (PC connected by Ethernet cable) and a couple of days ago i noticed it had dropped to 20 Mbps (i usually get 60+) so having searched online i found it could be a conflict, a few threads pointed to AMD quick stream so i uninstalled it and it made no difference, i then tried safe mode and could not use it as i couldn't enter my password so searched again and found your excellent guide which helped me sort that problem (anyone having the same problem see link below) in safe mode i got my usual 60+ Mbps (my modem speed is 72 Mbps) so i rebooted and ran the tests again and it was back to 20 Mbps again, i assume this rules out a fault with the network card, cable and modem.
I also tried my laptop on the same Ethernet cable and that gave the full 60 Mbps.

I decided as the PC is a few years old i would take it back to factory settings and hope it would fix the problem which as you can see above it hasn't, has anyone any idea what can be causing this or how i can try to find a solution, thanks in advance.

Enable or Disable Elevated Administrator account in Windows 10

:)

 

Download Speed fast in Safe Mode but slow otherwise--HELP!

Note- the computer has normal download speeds while in safe mode. Any clue?

 

Computer Speed Slow in Windows Standard Mode But Normal in Safe Mode

I have a Dell XPS 13 9350 Laptop. Running Windows it operates slowly. Checking the speed in Task Manager it shows processor usage of never more than 16% and processor speed of .38 Gigahertz and sure enough everything runs like molasses. When I boot into
Safe Mode and check the speed in Task Manager it shows processor usage fluctuating above 16% and processor speed of 2.4 Gigahertz. Dell's online diagnostic testing doesn't show any issues with the hardware. I am a novice, but this seems to be a software issue
rather than a hardware one.

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

Computer Speed Slow in Windows Standard Mode But Normal in Safe Mode

Thanks, Eric.

I don't recall making any changes prior to this issue, but to be honest my realization that something might be wrong only dawned on me gradually so I can't be 100% sure I made no changes.

Troubleshooting steps (takes a deep breath):

When I first started looking into this issue and rebooted into safe mode, I attempted to reboot into safe mode with networking, but the networking function did not work in safe mode with networking (that's another puzzling issue neither here nor there for
the moment). Since according to task manager the processor was working up to speed in safe mode and since the networking function was disabled, back in normal mode I uninstalled the network wifi controller. That didn't solve the issue.

I updated all of the drivers and the BIOS.

I saved my data and restored windows to the factory settings through the Windows troubleshooting options.

Through the msconfig function I rebooted the computer in Limited Boot, Active Directory Repair, Networks and Alternate Shell with the following results:

Limited Boot: task manager showed the processor speed at .38 Gigahertz and usage didn't rise above 16% (which I will refer to as "not working.")

Active Directory Repair: Not working

Networks: Working (2.4 Gigahertz speed and higher than 16% usage according to task manager)

Alternate Shell: Working

I then listed all of the background processes running in Active Directory Repair according to task manager that were not running in Networks or Alternate Shell, rebooted the computer into normal mode and one by one stopped the background processes that had
been running in Active Directory Repair mode and checked each time to determine if the problem was solved. The computer crashed when I stopped two of the processes so I was unable to determine if they were the source of the issue, but the issue remained when
I stopped the other processes.

At that point I gave up.

I am running Windows version 1511 build 10586.1176

I am not running third party security software (McAfee came with the computer, but in the troubleshooting process I uninstalled it).

I have not tried a clean boot per the link you provided, but will do so after I have submitted this message and inform you of the results.