Slow transfer speeds to USB 2.0 flash drive

Anonymous
2010-07-11T02:29:36+00:00

Hi all,

I know that this topic has appeared once or twice in these forums but there haven't been any resolutions and they've been quiet lately so I started a new one. 

Recently, I migrated from Windows XP to 7 and found this problem. When I try to copy a file (a 1.2GB video) to a usb flash drive that I know is usb 2.0 hi-speed (copying files to it in xp were really fast) it takes over 2 minutes. 7 reports that it is copying at 3-4 MB/sec. When I copy from the flash drive to my computer it copies at about 9-10MB/sec. I've also tried plugging it into the rear ports but that doesn't change the transfer speed at all. I know it isn't something related to the flash stick itself because transferring files to it in xp were a lot faster.

Some random information: Transferring files from one hard drive to another averages at about 60MB/sec (both of the hard drives are SATA II drives). I'm not sure what speed it should be but it doesn't feel drastically slower than on my xp machine. Windows 7 and my device drivers are all up-to-date.

System specs:

Dell optiplex GX620

Pentium 4 3.2GHz

2GB Ram

Windows 7 Professional 32-bit

AVG 9 free edition anti-virus

My setup is almost identical to how it was on my windows xp machine except I have less programs installed so there isn't something new that could have caused problems.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-07-11T02:43:13+00:00

    I also tried copying the file in safe mode and the speed was the same.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-07-14T00:02:17+00:00

    Hi BK201,

    I've actually tested copying a 1.2 GB file to a flash drive on both an XP machine and a Windows 7 machine and I'm getting almost the exact same speeds (between 3 and 5 MB/s). These speeds are very normal for USB 2.0 flash drives. The vast majority of flash drives read (copy to the computer) faster than they write (copy to the flash drive). That's why you're seeing the difference in speed when copying to the computer.

    If you still feel that the USB speeds are slower and you still have the issue in safe mode, the only thing I can recommend is to get the latest Windows 7 chipset driver. Considering Dell doesn't offerWindows 7 (or Vista) drivers for the GX620, your drivers are likely not up-to-date. The best I can do is recommend contacting Dell for any Windows 7 drivers they might have.

    Thanks for using Microsoft Answers!

    Cody C

    Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

    Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-07-14T02:18:58+00:00

    Hi Cody,

    Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I can't do any tests of my own on my XP machine because 7 has replaced it but it does feel slower. Perhaps it's just my imagination. I noticed that if I copied that 1 GB file to the flash drive that if I cancel it the computer locks up and will only respond if I pull out the flash drive (can't even disconnect it properly. I have to just pull it out). Is this a bug or just something related to my out-dated chipset drivers?

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-07-14T03:10:26+00:00

    Since I don't have any other reports of that issue, it's most likely due to the drivers.

    Cody C

    Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

    Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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  5. Anonymous
    2011-04-05T06:36:59+00:00

    Cody,

    Have you or anyone in your community figured out why USB and hard drive transfer rates are slow in 7 compared to XP.  My Dell Studio 1735 has a 4 GB ram and 2.1GHz Dual core.  With two hard drive bays, I installed XP pro on one and 7 Ultimate x64 on the other.

    The 7 had rates ranging from 466Kb /s to 8 Mb /s  (up to 25 Mb /s when transferring to 2nd hard drive).

    The XP ranged from 5Mb /s to 20+Mb /s (up to 40Mb /s when transferring to 2nd hard drive).

    After searching online, I see this is a common issue with Vista / 7.

    Any reason why this is?  Or suggestions to increase the USB transfer?

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