USB data transfer - seems very slow

[sargan]

I have W7 64 bit PC (16GB RAM, GPU, i5 processor, ASUS mobo)

If I plug in USB stick into USB ports on PC .... surprised that data transfer rate is so slow. No cables, no external hub ... direct plugin

Just tried it now in USB2 and USB3 ports ... both only hitting around 9.5 MB/s

USB 2 should be good for a lot more ( 60 MB/s) and USB 3 (100MB/s)
Files are a number of video files typ in 300MB size

USB stick is a TDK 16GB, (LOR TF10) and it is not faulty .. I have 2 and they both perform the same.

 

[spooky2th]

That is about par for the course with entry level usb drives. 2.0 at that. The speed is not even listed anywhere that I can see. Usually means a slow drive.

Look for drives with their speed in the description. Something like up 120 read and 100 write.

Not all USB drives are a like.

 

[trismos]

Ran across this in another forum, and because you guys seem to honestly try to help, rather than reply with stupid comments "now why would you want to do that?", "or give totally non sequitur replies... I edited out the part where he insults other "helpers" for giving irrelevant "help"


ArcAiN6 replied on August 1, 2011

As for the 5 - 6mb/s transfer rate being " normal " it's not, that's slow for USB 2.0 or better. the actual cause of the problem is vinsta and win 7's approach to making USB devices safer to remove (in case of error during transfer i'm sure)

here's the way to get around that HUGE bottle-neck:

In Device Manager, right-click the USB drive in Disk drives folder, then select Properties, switch to Policies tab, and choose Optimize for performance. Click OK to keep it.

NOTE: If you use this method, make SURE you use the sub removal tool that pops up in your system tray when you first plugged in the device (system tray is the little area near your clock on the task bar)


After performing this fix for myself, my transfer rate on a cheapo cruizer micro went from 4.5 - 5mb/s to 20 - 30mb/s on small files, and average of 10 - 15mb/s on huge file transfers

This is because this method utelizes windows write-behind system of file management.

 

[spooky2th]

Will have to try that.

 

[trismos]

I got mine to go up to 70 mbs....... went back and looked at it 10 minutes later and it was back at 5 mbs.... after doing some extensive reading, I think it comes down to caching, and the larger the file, the less likely its going to be a fast send.... I gave up on the details, I am more interested in why something works, rather than why it doesnt work.... cause that means I cant do anything about it, and that aint good enough.... going to swap the USB stick around on different operating systems and computers... by the way, mine is a brand new stick....

 

[spooky2th]

My windows does not have those options. But I have Gigabyte USB 3.0 Turbo turned on in BIOS and I see a difference between the six USB drives I have compared to their rated specs. My first was a kingston 16GB USB 2.0 drive that was so slow. Emailed Kingston and they told me that that model was an entry level USB drive. Have another 2.0 8GB drive that is alot faster. I have a PNY 64GB USB 3.0 that has the best speeds of all the other three USB 3.o drives. Pay attention to the speeds that they are rated at and if there are no speeds listed, the drive is probably a slow one.