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Why is it slow to copy a movie to a flash drive? Slow file copying

How to solve the problem with slow data copying to a flash drive? Let's look at the common causes of this problem and talk about ways to solve it.

1. Flash drive performance

If everything is in order with the computer, the culprit of the slow process of transferring files to the flash drive is, accordingly, the latter. Budget flash drives, as a rule, cannot boast of impressive data writing speed. And a speed of 5-7 Mb/s with a USB 2.0 connection interface can be common for them. You can test the data writing speed of a flash drive using Windows programs for testing the speed of hard drives, in particular, using the popular utility. You should not expect more speed from the flash drive tests than it will show in reality.

2. Computer USB ports

A USB 3.0 flash drive purchased with the expectation of faster data recording will work exactly the same as a USB 2.0 flash drive, only if this interface is supported by the computer, and USB 3.0 is not. The flash drive will limit the speed of the port. To get the performance of a USB 3.0 interface when copying data, your computer's USB ports must be equipped with it. The same applies to the situation when a USB 3.0 or 2.0 drive is connected to a USB 1.0 port. Windows, as a rule, immediately informs you that a flash drive is connected to a low-speed USB 1.0 port with a system notification: they say that this device can work faster if it is connected to a USB 2.0 port.

If data is slowly copied to a flash drive that is connected to the USB port on the front panel of the PC case, you can test its speed when connected to the USB ports of the motherboard at the back of the case. It may be that the front panel of the case has USB 2.0 or 1.0 ports, while the motherboard ports provide interfaces.

Just like USB ports limit the speed of data writing by their capabilities, USB extenders can limit the speed of copying files. If a USB extender provides a USB 2.0 interface, its maximum bandwidth will limit the speed of the USB 3.0 interface of the flash drive and the computer’s USB port.

3. Weak computer hardware

On older or budget computer models, slow data writing to a flash drive may be due to weak hardware, in particular, a small amount of RAM or a slow hard drive. In this case, only upgrading your computer will help.

4. Drivers

Slow copying of data to a flash drive may be a result of incorrectly installed USB drivers. In this case, you can either update the motherboard drivers or reinstall the USB controller drivers. You can update motherboard drivers manually by downloading the necessary installers from the official website of the board or laptop, or you can entrust this task to special programs - driver installation managers. These include: DriverMax, Auslogics Driver Updater, SlimDrivers, Advanced Driver Updater, etc.

To reinstall USB controller drivers, open the Windows Device Manager, expand the “USB Controllers” branch and use the “Delete” option in the context menu of each device in the list to remove its driver.

USB controller drivers will be installed automatically.

5. BIOS settings

In some cases, the slow speed of writing data to a flash drive may be a consequence of limiting the speed of USB ports in the BIOS settings. Such a limitation should usually be looked for in the “Advanced” section of the BIOS advanced settings. If the “USB 2.0 Controller Mode” parameter is set to “Low-speed”, it needs to be changed to “Hi-speed”.

6. How to speed up writing data to a flash drive using software

If the cause of the problem lies in the low data writing speed of the flash drive itself, unfortunately, it will not be possible to significantly speed up the process of copying files to it. Even if we have a powerful computer. Using software, the file writing speed can be increased only slightly.

If you need to copy several small files to a flash drive, it is better to combine them into one archive file. And place this archive file on the flash drive. One hefty file will be copied faster than a lot of small ones. By the way, when copying small files, even high-performance USB drives can “sag.”

You can slightly speed up the transfer of files to a flash drive using special programs that gain some performance over standard Windows copying tools due to their own data copying algorithms. One of these is WinMend File Copy, it can be downloaded for free from the creators’ website www.winmend.com/file-copy.

WinMend File Copy has a Russian-language interface, supports batch copying of files, setting up a buffer, as well as resuming data transfer from the point where it was broken.

Have a great day!

When a user starts copying files to a flash drive, you can sometimes notice that the copying speed is quite low. In modern versions of Windows, it is usually shown as a graph and a numeric value. My speed usually reaches up to 6-7 Mb/s, and often jumps up and down. If there are problems, the speed may not be higher than 600 Kb/s, or somewhere in these values. For a normal flash drive, this indicator is unacceptable.

Let's look at the reasons for this phenomenon and try to figure out a solution to the problem.

Flash drive properties

When using a flash drive purchased for 200 rubles, you will not see high read and write speeds. This suggests that no matter what port you use on your computer, the increase may not occur. You can try using the program and check maximum speed flash drives. It can be used to test hard drives and SSDs. The results will show exactly the maximum speed, which may differ greatly from what is written on the box. You shouldn't count on more.

Using high speed USB ports

If your laptop has a couple of USB 3.0 ports, then you should definitely use them. Typically, if you connect a device to a low-speed port, the system notifies you with a notification. If you connected a flash drive that has USB 3.0 capabilities to a 2.0 port, then you should not expect fast speeds.

In the case of a desktop computer, you can try connecting a USB flash drive to the back of the system unit.

Also, the extender can limit the copying speed. The longer it is, the lower the speed.

Poor computer performance

If you are still using old equipment that is 7-8 years old, and the characteristics of the RAM and hard drive leave much to be desired, then only upgrading your PC will help increase the speed of reading and writing on a flash drive.

Crooked drivers

If you just inserted a brand new flash drive, the installation of controller drivers will begin immediately. If they don't line up correctly, expect slow read speeds. In this case, the only option would be .

You also need to update your system board drivers if you haven't already. You can download what you need from the official website of your board manufacturer, or using special programs such as DriverMax, DriverPack Solution or SlimDrivers.

To reinstall USB controller drivers, you need to go to the device manager. This can be done as follows: right-click on the Start menu and select the corresponding item. You can also press Win+R and enter the command devmgmt.msc.

Find the “USB Controllers” section, open it and remove the drivers for the following devices – "Root USB Hub" And "Extensible Host Controller...".


After deleting, click the “Action” tab at the top and select the item "Update hardware configuration".

Removed drivers should install automatically.

Programs to increase the read/write speed of flash drives

If you have a good computer with performance characteristics, but with a flash drive that has low copy performance, you are unlikely to be able to greatly increase the speed by using utilities.

If you copy many small files, then in order for them to be copied many times faster, you need to place them in an archive.

The program will help to slightly increase the copying process. Free and with a simple interface, it will help you improve your copying speed a little. If copying fails, you can continue from where you left off.

OK it's all over Now. Maybe you have other options for answering the question why files are copied to a flash drive slowly?

Surely you have encountered a situation where files are copied to a flash drive very slowly. Let's try to figure out why this happens and how this problem can be solved.

Very often the cause of slow copying speed is the flash drive itself. The recording speed of budget models of this device is usually low - it can be no higher than 5-7 MB/s. You can check the performance of removable media using special utilities, such as CrystalDiskMark.

Download the program and run it (it works in the portable version). Select the desired disk from the menu.

Then we select the file size that will be used for the test and the number of read-write tests.

Naturally, you cannot expect speeds greater than those shown in the test results from this flash drive.

Computer ports

If your flash drive is designed for fast recording according to the USB 3.0 standard, but it still works slowly, you should use your computer. When you connect a drive to a low-speed port, the operating system usually displays a “device can run faster” notification. USB extension cables used can also reduce data transfer speeds.

Weak computer hardware

Slow writing to a USB drive may well be due to low-power computer hardware: a slow hard drive or a small amount of RAM. In this case, only an upgrade can save the situation.

Drivers

Incorrectly installed USB drivers may well be the reason for slow copying of data to a flash drive. You need drivers for the motherboard and USB controller and, if necessary, reinstall them.

BIOS Settings (UEFI)

On some computers, the write speed may be limited in the BIOS. To remove the restriction, look for the Advanced options section there. Since everyone’s BIOS version is different, it’s impossible to give universal advice on how to get there. In the settings, look for the “USB Controller Mode” parameter, check that it is set to the “Hi Speed” position.

Using software

In some cases, you can increase copying speed using specialized programs, such as WinMend File Copy. According to the developers, it implements its own copying algorithm, which is much faster than standard Windows tools.

Question from a user

Hello.

Please tell me why the USB port on my PC is so slow. The fact is that I downloaded several files onto a flash drive on another PC, and having connected it to my computer, I’ve been waiting for an hour while they are copied from this flash drive to the hard drive.

I experimentally determined that the problem is in the USB port (since on other devices the file is copied from the same flash drive many times faster). What can be done?

Michael. Yaroslavl.

Hello.

This problem occurs, and most often with flash drives and external hard drives (where the exchange speed between the USB port and the drive is very important).

In this article I will answer why the USB port may have low speed and how to fix this problem. I think that most users will be able to figure it out on their own...

What to look for when your USB port is slow

1) Understanding USB ports

There are several types of USB ports on modern computers and laptops:

  1. USB 3.0 (USB 3.1)- provides transfer speeds up to 5 Gbit/s. The most popular today;
  2. USB 2.0- exchange speed up to 480 Mbit/s. I note that USB 2.0 has three port speeds (switch to BIOS): Low-speed (up to 1500 Kbps) - needed for keyboards, joysticks, etc.; Full-speed - up to 12 Mbit/s; Hi-speed - up to 480 Mbit/s;
  3. USB Type-C- the most modern option. Transfer speed up to 10 Gbit/s. However, I note that this port is not yet popular; there are very few flash drives and external hard drives with this interface!

I will add that on very old computers (laptops) you can find USB 1.1 ports. These ports work very slowly, and even now they are becoming less and less common, so I don’t see the point in considering them in this article...

Please note that USB 3.0 now by many manufacturers marked in blue(they mark both the ports themselves and, for example, flash drives).

Important!

USB 1.1, USB 2.0, USB 3.0 are backward compatible, i.e., for example, to a USB 3.0 port you can connect older devices designed for USB 2.0 (and vice versa). The exception may be only a very few devices that will not be able to work due to the lower data transfer speed.

A simple example.

If you connect a USB 3.0-enabled flash drive to a USB 2.0 port, your flash drive will operate at a lower speed than it could.

If you don't know what USB ports you have

The easiest way to find out is to run the AIDA 64 utility (look for this utility and its analogues), then open the section "USB devices/devices" .

Next, you will not only be able to find out what ports you have, but also see which port your flash drive or disk is connected to. And if it turns out that your USB 3.0 flash drive is connected to a low-speed port, then simply switch it to another (if, of course, it is available).

For those who don't have high-speed USB ports

If you have a laptop- it’s unlikely that anything can be advised. Although, lately you can order a lot of all sorts of gadgets for laptops on Aliexpress, for example, there are various adapters with USB 3.0 for the ExpressCard34 slot (and there are also various options for the CD/DVD drive slot). True, you can’t install this in every laptop, and it’s not so easy - but it’s an option...

2 Port USB 3.0 Express Card 34mm (NEC UPD720202 Hidden Adapter)

If you have a PC, then you can buy a special hub (controller) that connects to a PCI slot. Such hubs cost pennies, connection is not complicated (it’s the same as installing a cartridge in a set-top box...).

PCI controller. 4xUSB Ports

2) Lack of drivers

A very common cause of problems with USB ports are drivers. If they are not installed (for example, they were not updated after installing Windows), then USB may either not work at all or work at a lower speed. First of all, pay attention to the drivers for: Chipset, USB 3.0 Host Controller, USB 3.0 Root Hub.

Important!

Often the problem lies in the fact that Windows installs “its own universal” drivers during installation, which do not work properly.

By the way, to see for which devices there are no drivers, go to device Manager (can be opened through the Windows Control Panel using the search in the top menu). In the manager, pay attention to the devices next to which the yellow exclamation mark is lit.

By the way, you can try to find the driver using Windows: to do this, right-click on the device and select “Update driver” from the menu. Next, the Hardware Installation Wizard should start - just follow its instructions step by step.

To help!

3) The BIOS speeds are too low

Through the BIOS you can not only reduce the speed of USB ports, but also disable them altogether! However, I note that this applies more to older PCs (in new ones there are no options to reduce the operating speed).

In BIOS, as a rule, the USB controller settings are located in the section Advanced. In the settings you can select the operating mode (speed) and whether the controller will be turned on in general.

Pay attention to the "Controller Mode" line: in it you can specify Full Speed ​​(or Hi Speed) for the maximum USB speed.

To help!

4) The device is connected to a low-speed port

When connecting flash drives, external drives and other drives, pay attention to Windows messages. So, for example, when connecting a USB 3.0 external HDD to a USB 2.0 port, the system itself sends a warning (notification) that "The device may work faster when connected to USB 3.0"(see example below in the screenshot).

Those. in this case, if you do not respond to the notification, you will not work at the maximum possible speed that the drive supports.

5) Copying many small files

Probably, many have noticed one feature: many small files take much longer to copy than one large one. This is due to the fact that for each file it is necessary to find free blocks on the disk, update the disk table, etc.

Therefore, before copying many small files, place them in an archive: ZIP, RAR, 7Z, etc. Moreover, this applies not only when copying data to flash drives and disks, but also when transferring files over the network.

To help!

How to zip and unzip a folder, file (we compress files to save space). Mini-instructions -

6) Antiviruses (viruses) interfere with normal exchange

The fact is that sometimes when checking them and total distrust of external drives, they block their operation and interfere with the normal exchange speed.

Disable Avast antivirus for 1 hour || As an example

All the best!

Modern USB drives are one of the most popular external storage media. The speed of writing and reading data also plays an important role in this. However, capacious but slow-running flash drives are not very convenient, so today we will tell you by what methods you can increase the speed of a flash drive.

The first thing to note is the reasons why the speed of a flash drive may decrease. These include:

  • NAND wear;
  • mismatch of USB input and output connector standards;
  • file system problems;
  • incorrectly configured BIOS;
  • viral infection.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to correct the situation with worn-out chips - the best way is to copy the data from such a flash drive, purchase a new one and transfer the information to it. It is also worth considering the origin of such a drive - flash drives from little-known manufacturers from China may turn out to be of low quality with a very short service life. You can try to eliminate the remaining reasons described on your own.

Method 1: Checking for viral infection and eliminating it

Viruses are the most common reason for a flash drive to slow down. Most types of malware create a bunch of small hidden files on the flash drive, which causes the speed of access to normal data to be significantly reduced. To deal with the problem once and for all, it is worth cleaning the flash drive from existing viruses and protecting it from subsequent infections.

Method 2: Connecting a flash drive to a faster port

Nowadays, the USB 1.1 standard, adopted almost 20 years ago, is still widespread. It provides very low data transfer speeds, making the flash drive appear to be running slowly. As a rule, Windows reports that the drive is connected to a slow connector.

A message about slow operation can also be received by connecting a USB 3.0 flash drive to the most common USB 2.0 now. In this case, the recommendations are the same. If all the connectors on your PC or laptop are 2.0 standard, then the only solution to the problem is to update the hardware. However, some motherboards (both desktop and laptop) do not support USB 3.0 at the hardware level.

Method 3: Changing the file system

Method 4: Changing settings for working with a flash drive

In modern versions of Windows, a USB drive operates in quick erase mode, which provides certain advantages for data safety, but also slows down the speed of access to it. The mode can be switched.


The only drawback of this method is the dependence of the flash drive on "Safe removal". However, for most users, using this shutdown option is rather the norm, so this drawback can be neglected.

Method 5: Changing the BIOS Configuration

Flash drives have been around for a long time, and modern PCs and laptops are not always compatible with older flash drives. The BIOS has a corresponding setting, which is useless for modern drives and only slows down access to them. You can disable this setting like this:


We have looked at the most common reasons for a drop in the speed of flash drives and solutions to this problem. However, if you have any other options, we'd love to hear them in the comments.