Windows 7, Deleting Large files is extremely slow. (Not going to recycle bin, permanent delete)

Anonymous
2009-12-13T14:37:28+00:00

It is taking a huge amount of time to delete files.

The files are not going to recycle bin (I am hold shift while hitting the Delete key)

Also I have even tried shutting off the recycle bin

I have timed a few of these

Single file delete, 2.6 gb, 2 minutes 14 seconds

Single file delete, 1.9 gb, 1 minutes 44 seconds

Single file delete, 230 mb, 0 minutes 24 seconds

Most of the time the dialog window that pops up says "Calculating..."

Judging by the times, This has something to do with file size.

I get similar time when I delete from the command prompt.

Windows XP would do permanent deletes and moves (on the same drive) in a split second, especially since we are talking about one file.

I work with large image files regularly. I can't wait 2 plus minutes every time I delete one of these files when I may have to move or delete a few hundred at a time.

I am getting very frustrated with Windows 7.

So far...

I have disabled Remote Differential Compression (RDC)

I have disabled TCP AutoTuning and Receive Side Scaling

                netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled (AND)

                netsh interface tcp set global rss=disabled  (And rebooted)

There are no removable drives, USB devices, or other attached devices other that the keyboard and mouse.

I have disabled

Windows Search and Indexing

I am viewing "Details" only in windows explorer (No Thumbnails)

I have shut off IPv6 support (I read about it somewhere but I believe it was to do with network operations, but I tried it anyway)

Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface is disabled

All Drivers are up to date.

I have completely wiped the drive and reloaded the OS.

This is on a 1tb storage drive, no RAID, 3gb SATA drive (Seagate 7200.12)

Windows 7 64bit (Windows experience is listed as 6.1)

Intel i5 processor with 4gig memory

Fresh install, fast hard drive (OS).

Avast AV

Not much else running

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

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-01-24T21:52:55+00:00

    it works if you do it manually.

    * disconnect any drives that the large file still may be talking to.

    • open terminal (as adminstrator)
    • use command> del FILENAME

    this worked for me, just deleted a 700 mb file.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-01-21T05:04:07+00:00

    Resurrecting this thread since the issue has plagued me also.  I had been testing out different configs with a current laptop and was building a new PC, figured I'll test with some fresh installs.  The test folder I permanently deleted (Shift+Delete) was 261MB, located in 3 places: ReadyNAS NV+ (1 GB RAM), & 2 identical external USB connected Rosewill enclosures.  All 3 were populated with the same WD 2TB hard disks (4 of these in the NAS - X-RAID).  The folder consisted of many subfolders and different file types, definitely a lot of image files, none larger than ~1MB; still ... the SAME exact folder.  The folder originated on a PC was copied to the NAS and 2 externals via SyncBack Pro program, so fragmentation I would assume wouldn't be an issue.  Also the 2 externals are mirrors of the NAS.  As far as I remember, the 3 disks have the same firmware.the results:

    [Win7x86, Core2Duo @2GHz, 2GB RAM] - deleted from NAS over wireless G - :28

    [Win7x64,CoreI3 530 @2.93GHz, 4GB RAM] - deleted from USB connection - 1:39

    [WinXPx86, PentiumM @1.73GHz, 2GB RAM] (for the fun of it) - deleted from USB connection pretty much INSTANTLY

    Yes, I could have been much more thorough in comparisons with all of this, but just wanted to test it out quickly and I think the interest with the amount of views speaks for itself.

    SO, What is going on here?

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-11-16T20:32:13+00:00

    Hi,

    We updated our network to Windows 7 and Server 2008R264 at the end of last year. Deleting files is pathetic on both systems. In fact, if I am doing any form of major deletion I connect to the network share with a Linux box and delete files, The process is instant. I have no idea what sort of clever things MS is trying to do but it simply isn't required. i want to delete a file so just delete it.

    Don't get me me started on the subject of folder redirection, group policies,user profiles,  licensing or Windows 7 deployment.Sure it all looks pretty but I would rather it works.

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  5. Anonymous
    2010-11-04T05:22:07+00:00

    I'd would like to also say: it seems like Kumar's solution is to separate directories prior to deletion? are you kidding me?!

    I hope I read it wrong: "It is taking a huge amount of time to delete files." " A). When deleting a file, the calculation time depends on not only the file size but the file number of its folder. It is recommended to separate to multiple sub-folders if you have a large number of video/music files.", when you have a large number of video/music files...what? for deletion, for moving, for playing, I assume you mean for deletion, recommed to separate to multiple sub-folders, that's the recommendation

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