Slow USB Transfer Speed | Tips to Improve it

Transfer speed is the time it takes to transfer data from one place to another using a command prompt. Many times transfer speed gets slow and we need to know the reason that is slowing the transfer. In this article, we will discuss different ways to increase the transfer speed of a USB.

What is a USB?

USB is Universal Serial Bus. It is the most common term used now to denote the new peripheral connection system. The ports are used to connect modems, printers, keyboards, mice, flash drives, etc. to the computer. They are more commonly used to connect peripherals like flash drives to computers.

Update USB Drivers

Yes, I think updating drivers is always the first thing to do. Drivers are software that enables your computer to interact with hardware components. Just like how updates are available for applications, you should also update your drivers regularly.

In order to update drivers for USB, first, go to device manager and select the USB device for which you want to update drivers. Then right-click over the device and select Update Driver Software.

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Use Rear USB Port

Note: This is only for desktop users

It is true that the front USB ports on the computer are used for devices such as mice, webcams, and card/ flash drives. On the other hand, the rear USB ports are used for connecting the device such as printers and speakers.

Rear USB ports are directly attached to the motherboard. Whereas front ports are connected through wires to the motherboard. It has been tested that USB transfer speeds are higher when connected to the rear side.

Use command prompt to copy

Command prompt has its own unique ways of copying files. This is really useful when you are experiencing slow speed through a graphical interface to transfer data. Since the command prompt does not have GUI thus it consumes fewer resources. Hence it increases the copying speed by a slight margin. Here's how to copy files via the command prompt.

Tweak performance of the external drive

In the Properties window, select the Policies tab and you will get two options. Generally if you are experiencing slow speeds, it is set to the default option Quick removal.

Check the Better Performance option

It may ask you to restart. If it happens then do accordingly and then use it.

Use USB 3.0

USB 2.0 is the previous generation of USB conventional serial bus technology. USB 3.0 is the latest USB technology. USB 3.0 is designed to be backward compatible with USB 2.0, so that most USB 2.0 devices can plug into USB 3.0 ports. So the answer to the question is that the speed of transfer through USB 3.0 is 10 times faster than USB 2.0.

Conclusion

There are plenty of external hard drives on the market today. With many of them being exactly the same, it can be difficult to know which one is the best for you. However, if you are looking to get the most out of your external hard drive, there are some things you can do to make sure that it is working at its best. We hope that this blog post has been able to help you with your USB transfer speed concerns.