Slow file transfer with VM EXSi 4.0: I tried everything but it's still slow

Slow file transfer with VM EXSi 4.0: I tried everything but it's still slow

I was asked to setup an older HP server with VMware and some Virtual
machine window servers.
File transfer from another machine on the network to the Win 2008 server
VM is ultra slow(under 70kbs usually). What's really strange is that it
occasionally is much fast(7MB+) but usually reverts back later.
Hardware:
Corsair SSD
Nvidia 10/100 mbs onboard NIC(set for auto negotiation)
Netgear Gigabyte switch(the higher end models for server rooms)
HP Proliant DL385 running Vmware 4.0.0 ESXi(NIC also set for auto
negotiation)
Other info:
The VM has it's own separate AD and Domain since it's intended to be
installed in a new office but the DNS/DCHP server isn't configured yet.
So far I've tried:
Disabling all TCP offloading options on both NIC cards: in the card menu
and via the registry
Tried the E1000 and VMXnet3 NIC on the VM...no difference
Removed a dying hard drive from the RAID array
Various network configurations
Disabling firewalls on both
Installed VMtools
Monitored the server stats; memory, cpu, etc. aren't being stressed
greatly at all by the VM.
Moving files on the same disk to another location via another
computer(accessed as a shared network folder) moves just as slowly. If I
connect and do the same thing via RDP the speed is 7-10mb moving them on
the same disk.
I'm completely befuddled....any ideas? Could it be some security
rule/configuration that I need to remove? Upgrade to the lastest VM?