How fast the USB data is transferred between the computer and the external device

Transferring data between a computer and an external device is a common task, with photos, videos, important files, and data backups, which are often transmitted back and forth many times.

That's why transmission speeds are unpleasant. If you need to take a few gigabytes of data to a meeting right away, no one wants to wait 10 minutes to copy the data and will be late. Fortunately, there are several simple ways to improve the speed of data transfer.

Improve USB drive Performance
Windows ' default USB drive uses the fast remove data transfer policy, which turns off write caching and slows data transfer. But it allows the user to unplug the USB device without having to wait for the "secure removal hardware" prompt.

To turn off write caching, search for Device Manager (Device Manager) in Windows and open it. Expand disk drive (diskette drives), double-click the USB drive you need to speed up (the device must first be plugged into the computer), a window opens, and clicks the "policy (Policy)" tab. Click on the "Better Performance (Better performance)" Radio box, and then check the "Enable write cache on device (enabled write caching on the device)" (the device may not have this check, but it doesn't matter) and click " Ok. "

Remember, if you turn on the write cache, you must see the "secure Remove Hardware" Prompt before unplugging the USB device, which may result in data loss. To make this easier, you can right-click on the desktop, create a new shortcut, and enter in the "Object Location" entry box:

The code is as follows	Copy Code
C%windir%\system32\control.exe Hotplug.dll 1%windir%\system32\control.exe Hotplug.dll

Double-click the shortcut to open the Secure Remove Hardware menu directly.

Change the file system
The file system you use to format a USB device has a certain impact on performance. The factory settings for many devices allocate data to smaller units, which maximizes the capacity of the device. By increasing the capacity of these units, the performance of the equipment can be improved.

If you are using Windows, it is recommended that you use the NTFS file system, 64KB allocation unit. This is the fastest setting on the modern Windows computer. If the device is also used on Dos,mac OS x,linux or TV, FAT32 is recommended, and this format can also use 64KB allocation units.

It's easy to format on a Windows system, turn on my computer, right-click the device that needs to be formatted, click Format, and a window opens in which you can change the file system and allocation unit size. Click "Start" after setting. Keep in mind that all data in a USB device is completely removed, whether it is formatted with any of the settings, and you must confirm that there is no important data in the U disk before formatting.

Disabling BIOS legacy mode (Legacy mode)
A BIOS feature called USB legacy mode can also cause slow transfer speeds. This feature is used to accommodate some old USB devices, but will limit the speed of transmission.

The specific steps to disable traditional mode depend on the motherboard model of your machine, but here are some tips. First you need to enter the BIOS setup, most of the time on the boot when the F12 or del key (when you see the Windows loading interface, it is too late, reboot and try again).

When you see the BIOS interface, look for "Advanced" or "Devices", and then look for the "Legacy USB Support" setting, which is either enable or disable. If it is enable, set to disable. Then save the settings and reboot. You can contact your motherboard manufacturer's customer service homepage for more guidance. If you are using a branded computer, contact the computer manufacturer.

Note that if you use only traditional mode, some older USB devices, especially the keyboard and mouse, may be causing the operation.

Upgrade to USB3.0
The latest USB standard, USB3.0, came out a few years ago, but a lot of people are still using 2.0 of the equipment. Because 3.0 of the equipment is generally expensive, and has not been popular. Many stores also have a large inventory of 2.0 of devices, which are cheaper and more popular.

Why to upgrade, speed! or the speed! We tested 3.0 of the performance and used two 3.0 devices to compete with the currently popular 2.0 device, Kingston DataTraveler G3. The 3.0 device transmits 2.11GB files at 5 times times the speed of 2.0 (2.0 devices use 10 minutes 23 seconds, two 3.0 devices with 1 minutes and 16 seconds), completely crushing the opponent.

Migrating to 3.0 not only requires a 3.0 device, but also requires your computer to have a USB3.0 interface. Desktop users may consider buying a new motherboard. If the current motherboard is still able to meet your needs, you can purchase a USB3.0 PCIE card for installation. Laptop users can upgrade by using ExpressCard. However, many laptops do not support this feature, you can only buy a new computer, there is no choice.

Switch to a new USB device
Solid-state drives tend to slow down over time, which is irreversible because the memory unit is aged by repeated reads and writes. The device driver has a compensation mechanism to counteract this aging phenomenon, but doing so consumes time and slows the transmission. Eventually aging to a certain extent, the equipment is broken.

This is not a big problem for random storage of solid-state drives, but the flash drive is not as much about reading and writing life as built-in memory, in pursuit of low cost. Most users lose or damage the device before it is significantly aged, but a small number of professional users will use the device for aging.

If your device slows down, the general means will not work, you can only change one.

Conclusion
These tips can help your USB device improve speed, and sometimes these improvements are significant. Upgrading from an old, inefficient USB2.0 to an advanced, efficient USB3.0 can save a lot of time for users. Tell us in the comments how much time you saved with the skills we provided.