Today, a flash drive is the most popular, which is used by almost all business people, as well as the modern generation of youth. Every person who has even the slightest relation to computer technology has appreciated the convenience and practicality of a flash drive in comparison with other storage devices. It is not surprising that questions about its malfunction or incorrect operation are increasingly found on the World Wide Web.
There are several options for how to increase the speed of copying data to a USB flash drive.
In this article, we will tell you how to increase the speed of data transfer to a USB flash drive from computer equipment, since the slow speed of copying data to external media is very often annoying and knocks you out of the schedule.
Transferring the required information from one piece of computer equipment to another is one of the daily tasks of business people. And if a new recently purchased storage medium almost always works correctly, then a device that already has a decent service life creates trouble for its owner over time.
The reasons for this phenomenon can be of different origin. If the flash drive began to work slowly during its operation, then the source of the problem must be sought either in the drive itself or in the PC settings.
The most common and common factors that affect the data transfer rate are:
- inconsistency between the file systems of the PC and the drive;
- incorrect BIOS settings on the PC;
- incorrect operation of the USB port;
- wear of flash-drive chips;
- different standards of connecting channels of the drive and PC;
- virus infection of a computer or flash card.
If the low data transfer rate is due to the wear of the flash card, or rather, its chips, then further recommendations will have little effect on the quality of the device. The surest way to fix the problem is to replace the drive with a new good quality flash drive. It is not recommended to buy cheap drives from unknown manufacturers for constant and very frequent use, since their service life is estimated at several months, which will entail the need to purchase a new product in the near future.
In a situation where the flash drive slowly began to work, but it has decent quality and a short service life, it is worth trying to improve its performance according to further recommendations. Let's consider in detail how to increase the speed of a flash drive using elementary methods for setting up a drive and a PC.
Options for optimizing the speed of data transfer to a USB flash drive
During the operation of the drive, sometimes the user notices that the usual files of not very large volume, which could previously be thrown from the computer in a few seconds, began to be transferred much longer. The increase in data transfer time brings a lot of inconvenience to the consumer. There are several publicly available methods that anyone can do without help to optimize the functionality of a flash drive.
Checking for viruses and choosing the correct drive file system
If files are slowly transferred to a USB flash drive, the first thing to check is the presence of viruses on it or on the PC. Often they create problems of this kind.
To fix the problem, it is worth formatting the drive, after copying all the important materials on it, since after the procedure they will be destroyed and it will be impossible to restore them. And also in parallel, you need to check your computer for viruses through the use of antivirus programs.
Additionally, the performance of an external storage device can be affected by the choice of file system. The best option for Windows is the NTFS file system, which is considered the fastest configuration. If the user has a computer with Linux, then it is more practical to format the flash drive in the FAT32 system, which is more adapted to work with this operating system.
To format the drive, you must first synchronize it with a PC, go to "My Computer", right-click on the name of the flash drive and select "Format" in the drop-down menu. In the window that opens, select the file system that matches the operating system of your PC and click the "Start" button. After formatting is completed, the flash drive can be operated in normal mode, its performance will increase significantly.
USB storage setup
Often the reason that the flash drive is slow is the incorrect setting of its parameters. Most often, by default, the flash drive works in the "Quick removal" mode, which allows the user not to worry about safely removing the flash drive, but at the same time reduces the speed of its operation.
Consider how to increase the speed of copying files to a USB flash drive by changing the technical software characteristics of the drive. To do this, you need to go to "Disk devices" through the "Device Manager" and select the USB flash drive by double-clicking on its name with the left mouse button. In the open window, you will need to select the "Policy" tab, activate the "Optimal performance" option and save the changes. This procedure will significantly increase the speed of copying files, however, you must remember that after changing the settings, you will need to use the "Safely Remove Hardware" function every time before removing the device from the computer. Ignoring this rule may result in the loss of recorded data on the drive due to incorrect shutdown.
Changing BIOS settings
Very often, the reason for the low data transfer rate from a PC to a USB flash drive is outdated settings in the BIOS. The fact is that in the BIOS, the Legacy USB Support indicator was previously set by default, which allowed the PC to be synchronized with old-style flash drives. Today, for the majority of modern drives, it is not mandatory, and disabling it will affect the speed of external memory in a positive direction.
To change the settings, you must enter the BIOS menu by pressing the F12 or Delete key during the initial boot of the PC. In the menu that appears, find the Advanced item, in the next window that appears, select the Legacy USB Support option and disable it. After that, you need to press the F10 key to save the changes and restart the PC.
It is worth noting that after disabling the Legacy USB Support option, USB devices that have outdated specifications may stop synchronizing with the PC. Therefore, if any are available, you must either abandon this method of increasing the functionality of the flash drive or take care of purchasing the required devices of a new sample in advance.
- Buy flash drives only from well-known, trusted manufacturers that ensure their long service life. Only a quality product can ensure the safety of important materials.
- Check that the ports on the drive and PC match. Older computers are equipped with 1.1 ports, which have a low bandwidth. In this case, you can increase the download speed only by upgrading your computer.
- Do not use low-quality USB extension cables to connect a flash drive. Their quality and length can significantly affect the operation of devices that connect with them.
Summing up
The question of how to increase the speed of copying files to a USB flash drive is of interest to most PC users who value their time and do not want to wait indefinitely while the necessary materials are downloaded from a computer to an external drive.
Greetings! Today I will tell you how to speed up a flash drive. Do you still remember the DVD or CD? Yes, their age was not long. On the one hand, this was to be expected, because a USB flash drive has surpassed disks (blanks) many times over in terms of capacity, compactness, write and read speed. This is if you do not take into account HDD hard drives and especially SDD. Well, technology does not stand still and rightly so.
By the way, did you know that the longer and more often they are used, the slower and more buggy they work and this is quite normal!? And some, including me, do not always run to the store or the nearest radio market for a new one, but try to increase the speed of writing and reading a flash drive. Of course, if she is not completely "killed" 😉
How to increase flash drive speed
I will give a few examples, which one is more to your liking - you decide, for me they are all good 😉
NTFS formatting
I know users who “disdain” to apply internal Windows system utilities to the formatting process, this is in vain. In both cases the result is the same.
Optimization
After we figured out the point above, let's move on ...
We go to My (This) Computer (depending on who has which version of the operating system is installed), point the mouse at the flash drive icon, press the right mouse button. In the context menu, click "Properties", go to the "Hardware" tab, select our media and click on the "Properties" button.
In the newly opened window at the bottom, click the "Change settings" button, go to the "Policy" tab, check the box (dot) opposite "Optimal performance". We save the changes we have made.
Attention! By changing the default setting, remember that this disables the "Safely Remove" feature.
An example for more experienced users.
Here we will use the motherboard controller, or to be more precise, the acceleration of its work. And due to it, increase the speed of writing to a flash drive and reading it.
Our actions:
- We go to the BIOS;
- We find the section "USB Configuration";
- Next, in USB 2.0 Controller Mode, set the value full speed or HiSpeed;
- Save changes (F10);
- We restart the computer.
I'll finish with this. Which of the proposed options do you use, or maybe you have your own, alternative? Write in the comments!
May 26, 2018 Tags: , 2567
Discussion: 7 comments
- Kingston and Transcend flash drives? Yes, they still have problems. Try to solve the problem with the program D-Soft-Flash Doctor.rus. Formatting must be done at the lowest level! Yes, and NTFS, most radio tape recorders do not understand this standard!
THANKS! Good tip.
Transferring data from a computer hard drive to an external drive and vice versa is perhaps one of the most common tasks that every PC user performs on a regular basis. Photos, videos, music, documents, data backups and other important files - we copy all this back and forth almost every day, sometimes even several times a day.
I am sure that each of you knows firsthand how annoying a low data transfer rate is. None of you will look with delight at how several gigabytes of information are copied within 10 minutes, and at the same time you are late somewhere. To our delight, there are some easy ways to increase your transfer speeds.
Enable the "Optimum Performance" policy for your USB drive
For all USB drives, the Windows operating system uses the "Quick Erase" policy by default. This mode disables write caching, which slows down the data transfer rate, but allows you to remove the device without using the Safely Remove Hardware feature.
To enable the Best Performance policy, open Device Manager, expand the Disk Drives tree, and then locate your USB drive (it must be connected to your PC). Now double-click on it with the left mouse button and in the window that appears, go to the “Policy” tab. Next, select the "Optimum performance" option, and then click the "OK" button.
Remember, if you enable this policy, you will have to use the Safely Remove Hardware feature every time you disconnect the USB drive from your computer. Failure to do so may result in data loss. To make this process easier, you can create a desktop shortcut that will allow you to instantly open the Safely Remove Hardware menu.
To do this, right-click on the desktop and create a new shortcut, and as the location of the object, specify the following line:
%windir%\System32\control.exe hotplug.dll
Change the file system
The file system used for the drive can also affect performance.
If you have Windows, use the NTFS file system for your drive with a 64 KB allocation unit. This is the fastest configuration for a modern Windows PC. If you are using a USB flash drive on Mac OS X or Linux computers, FAT32 with a 64 KB allocation unit is the correct choice.
Formatting a drive from Windows is very easy. Open the "My Computer" window (or "This PC" if you have Windows 8), in the list of devices, right-click on your USB drive and select "Format" in the context menu. This will open a menu where you can change the file system and allocation unit size. Choose what you need and click "Start". Remember that formatting will destroy all files stored on the drive, so before you start, make sure there is nothing important on it.
Disable Legacy Mode in BIOS
Extremely slow transfer rates can sometimes be caused by a BIOS feature called USB Legacy Mode. This feature is intended to provide compatibility with older USB devices that would otherwise not work, but USB Legacy Mode may also limit the transfer rate.
The procedure for disabling Legacy Mode will depend on your motherboard, but I can still give a few recommendations. First, you need to enter the BIOS, which on most computers is done by pressing the F12 or Del button when the computer starts up. Once you get into the BIOS, go to the "Advanced" (or "Drives") section and then look for the "Legacy USB Support" option. It will either be disabled or enabled; if it is enabled, disable it. Next, save your settings and restart your computer. For more detailed instructions, you can refer to the technical support site of the company that produced your motherboard.
Please note that disabling this setting may cause some older devices, such as keyboards and mice, to not work.
Upgrade to USB 3.0
The latest USB standard, USB 3.0, was introduced a few years ago, but many people still use 2.0 devices. The reason for this has a lot to do with the fact that USB 3.0 drives tend to be more expensive, and many stores offer a large selection of 2.0 drives because they are more affordable and, as a result, more popular.
However, the transition to USB 3.0 requires much more than just purchasing a drive with the appropriate interface. The computer must also have a USB 3.0 port. Desktop users can buy a new motherboard and laptop users can upgrade using ExpressCard, however many laptops don't support this feature so you may have no choice but to buy a brand new system.
Replace the old disk with a new one
USB sticks get slower over time as repeated read/write cycles wear out the memory cells. So if your flash drive is very slow and typical solutions do not help, just try to buy another one.
That's all. I hope all these tips are helpful to you.
Hi all!!! I continue to experiment on my old flash drive. The year before last, we determined the speed of our flash drive. Today's article will be about how you can speed up a slow flash drive.
To date, portable flash drives have practically replaced optical discs from use, surpassing them in all respects: compactness, capacity, and most importantly, read / write speed. But still, they are not as fast as hard HDD or SSD drives.
In addition, the longer a flash drive is used, the slower it becomes. This is natural for flash drives, however, you can try to speed up the read / write speed of such a drive using these simple tips.
Formatting to NTFS:
If your flash drive has a FAT32 file system, format it with the more "progressive" NTFS file system with a medium cluster size.
If the flash drive is used to write large files, the cluster size can be set to the maximum. You can format the device both by means of the system and with the help of programs for working with disks. In both cases, the formatting should be complete.
Performance Optimization:
Make sure the drive properties are set to best performance. To do this, in the properties window, switch to the "Hardware" tab, select the flash drive from the list of devices and click the "Properties" button.
In the window that opens, switch to the "Policy" tab and activate the "Optimum performance" button.
Note: By default, you should have the "Quick Erase" setting set, which provides the ability to "hot" remove the USB flash drive from the USB port without the risk of losing data in open files.
After changing the settings in favor of better performance, it will be possible to safely remove the drive only by closing all files and directories on it.
Motherboard controller acceleration:
Experienced users can speed up the speed of the motherboard controller and thereby increase the speed of the connected flash drive.
To do this, you need to find the USB Configuration section, in it - USB 2.0 Controller Mode, and then set the value to HiSpeed or FullSpeed.
Good to know:
All modern computers have USB ports designed to connect flash drives of the new 3.0 format, which are characterized by a higher read / write speed.
The acquisition of such a flash drive can solve all your problems with speed. Just keep in mind that in terms of reliability, “fast” flash drives are no better than drives with a 2.0 interface, besides, the first ones are an order of magnitude more expensive, and the read / write speed in different models of such flash drives may differ.
Flash drives connected via other USB devices are slightly slower than those connected directly to the motherboard. How to protect a flash drive from viruses read.
Over time, the speed of flash drives decreases. If the flash drive is old or very actively used, then it is better to replace it with a new one, since in the process of long and active operation, not only the read / write speed decreases, but also the reliability of its flash memory.
These are the things, and this is where I end my post, subscribe to blog updates, all the success and fast flash drives.
Respectfully,
Today, flash drives are the most common storage medium: memory capacity up to 256GB and high transfer speed, which depends on the USB port. Older computers and laptops may have a low-speed USB 1.0 or 1.1 port. The most common connector is usb 2.0 with a high data transfer rate. The usb 3.0 port is the fastest.
How to increase the speed of a flash drive - various ways
Method 1. The easiest and fastest
What do we need
- Computer, flash drive.
Instruction
To increase the speed of a flash drive or any other device, you need to connect to a faster port.
note
The Windows operating system will display a message if the device can be connected to a faster port.
In earlier articles, we overclocked/boosted/boosted the following:
- How to increase the power of the subwoofer
- How to increase the power of wi-fi
- How to increase the signal of a 3G modem
- How to increase the speed of the Internet (3G) modem
Method 2 Changing the speed through the BIOS
What do we need
- Computer, minimal knowledge of the BIOS, in some cases the password to access the BIOS.
Instruction
1. To enter the bios menu when the computer boots up, press the button on the keyboard “delete”, “F2” or “F10”
2. Go to the menu “Advanced Chipset Features” 
3. Find the item “USB Configuration”
4. Select the “USB 2.0 Controller Mode” option and press Enter
5. In the menu that opens, set the value HiSpeed (480Mbps).
6. After the done operations, press F10 and Esc.
7. After that, the computer will restart and the USB port speed should increase.
Advice
The bios password can be obtained from the motherboard manual or from your system administrator.
note
Each BIOS manufacturer (American Megatrends, Award Software, Phoenix Technologies) has a different main menu, but the names of the main parameters are similar. Items and visual design may also differ slightly from its version.
Method 3: Checking the operating system
What do we need
- Computer, minimal knowledge of WINDOWS OS.
Instruction
1. Check the operating system for virus infection:
a. Antivirus;
b. by connecting the hard drive to another computer;
2. Look in the task manager which of the processes is loading the system, and terminate it. 
3. You should also check the version of the drivers by going to the device manager. 
Advice
End processes in task manager only if completely confident in their actions. You can update the drivers on the official website of your motherboard manufacturer.
note
The speed of writing and reading a flash drive directly depends on the overall performance of the operating system. Viruses, other malicious software, and resource-intensive processes can slow down your computer. In some cases, only a complete reinstallation of the system can help.
Method 4. Problems with the flash drive itself
What do we need
- Computer, flash drive, minimal knowledge of WINDOWS OS.
Instruction
1. Search for possible defects in the flash drive file system.
a. Open "My Computer"
b. Find the flash drive icon there, hover over it and press the right mouse button
c. In the menu that opens, select "Properties"
d. Go to tab "Service"
e. Push button "Perform verification..."
f. Tick the available items in the box that opens.
g. Push button "Launch"
2. Also try to format the flash drive in standard mode by right-clicking on it and selecting the appropriate menu item.
Advice
When formatting, increase the cluster size - the larger it is, the higher the write / read speed when working with flash memory. Change the file system to NTFS - the most reliable and fault-tolerant today.
note
Formatting will destroy all data stored on the flash drive, so save it on your computer before formatting.
