By default Microsoft reserves 20% of your bandwidth for their own purposes (updates, error reporting, etc.). However, you can easily disable this feature and reclaim 20% of your bandwidth that otherwise sits idle.

Note: This method only works on Windows XP Professional.

1) Click START> Run

2) Type gpedit.msc in the Run dialog box. This will open up the Group Policy Editor.

3) Next go to Local Computer Policy> Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates> Network> QOS Packet Scheduler

4) Double Click on Limit Reservable Bandwidth

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5) On the Settings tab click ENABLE Reservable Bandwidth

6) Set the Bandwidth Limit percentage to ZERO.

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Now you will get that extra 20% of bandwidth that Microsoft has taken away from you!