Transfer speed too slow

[webgenius]

It takes 6 minutes to transfer a 4GB file from my portable HDD to a local drive in my PC.
The same transfer takes only 3 minutes in my friend's PC.

I have a much better processor and more RAM than him. But still, why it takes double the time for file transfer?

[sakumar79]

Possibility No.1: Your system may have accumulated more "junk" over the years compared to your friends PC causing your system to be generally slower... You can check this up by performing regular activities in both and comparing speed...

Possibility No.2: This could be a random situation where your system might have been using CPU for other items too, etc... You can try at a random different time to check this...

Possibility No.3: Your system is using USB 1.1 technology to transfer data instead of USB 2.0... You can check the drivers installed for your motherboard to check if this is the case....

I guess there are other possibilities, but these three popped in my head immediately...

Arun

[webgenius]

Originally Posted by sakumar79

Possibility No.1: Your system may have accumulated more "junk" over the years compared to your friends PC causing your system to be generally slower... You can check this up by performing regular activities in both and comparing speed...

Possibility No.2: This could be a random situation where your system might have been using CPU for other items too, etc... You can try at a random different time to check this...

Possibility No.3: Your system is using USB 1.1 technology to transfer data instead of USB 2.0... You can check the drivers installed for your motherboard to check if this is the case....

I guess there are other possibilities, but these three popped in my head immediately...

Arun

Possibilites No. 1 & 2 ruled out. Possibility 3 looks intersting. How exactly can I check if my PC has USB 1.1 or 2.0?

[sakumar79]

Check http://www.usbman.com/Guides/checking_for_usb_2.htm

Also, if I remember correctly, sometimes cabinets have rear 2.0 ports and front 1.1 ports...

Arun

[abhijangda]

try clearing your temp directory and also try to scan your pc with av or as

[webgenius]

Originally Posted by sakumar79

Check http://www.usbman.com/Guides/checking_for_usb_2.htm

Also, if I remember correctly, sometimes cabinets have rear 2.0 ports and front 1.1 ports...

Arun

Thanks for the link. I have USB 2 ports. Checked the webpage you suggested, and got it confirmed. Also I connect my portable HDD to the rear USB ports only. Why do I get such slow transfer speeds?

[Cool Buddy]

how old is your HDD & mobo? Your friend might be using a SATA HDD while yours might be IDE. HDDs may also become slower as they get old, however I'm not sure of this.

AFAIK processor & RAM do not have much to do while transferring data, so that doesn't matter much.

[webgenius]

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

how old is your HDD & mobo? Your friend might be using a SATA HDD while yours might be IDE. HDDs may also become slower as they get old, however I'm not sure of this.

AFAIK processor & RAM do not have much to do while transferring data, so that doesn't matter much.

HDD is rather a new one. Bought a Seagate SATA2 250GB HDD two years back. Bought Mobo also during the same time. It's a Biostar mobo.

[Cool Buddy]

Then may be your USB is fauty. check it any other device if the performance difference is simlar. i had once experienced a similar problem only to find out that the USB port I was using was faulty and there was no problem with other ports.