Most users who prefer to use flash drives to quickly transfer data from one computer device to another encounter a clear slowdown, sooner or later, not to mention similar situations when using outdated drives 10-15 years ago. Moreover, even the smallest files are copied for a very long time, although this may not have been observed before. Let's try to figure out how to speed up the flash drive, focusing on the simplest and most accessible methods and solutions for any user.
Causes of performance degradation in flash drives
Before undertaking any optimization actions, we should briefly dwell on some aspects related to the reasons for the slowdown of the drive. Naturally, there can be a lot of them, however, among the most basic and most common situations, the following can be distinguished:
- infection with dangerous viruses;
- Incorrect file structure
- incorrectly set operating system settings;
- Using unnecessary BIOS parameters
- damage to firmware and controllers;
- physical wear of the drive.
We will not consider the last point, since each user must understand that it is much easier to buy a new flash drive than repair damaged or outdated ones. Fortunately, now new USB-drives of even very large volumes are quite inexpensive. But such cases have been noticed when working with modern or just purchased media! How to speed up the flash drive in this case?
Virus scan
First of all, be sure to pay attention to the possible presence of viruses on the USB flash drive, because it’s no secret that it is on removable drives that threats “like” to settle most often. To get started, simply check the media with some portable scanner (if a standard anti-virus does not detect anything). In addition, viruses can often be present on a USB flash drive in the form of Autorun.inf autorun files that are hidden. They can be removed manually, but only using unlocking utilities like Unlocker.
How to speed up copying to a USB flash drive: preferences in choosing a file system and USB interface
Often, the difference in the file systems used on the USB flash drive and computer also affects the slowdown in copying the necessary information.
It is believed that for removable devices in all the latest versions of Windows, NTFS is best used to achieve optimal data transfer speeds (you can change the file structure type even when performing fast formatting using Windows). But for Linux it is better to leave FAT32.
Often, the wrong choice of the port to which the removable device is connected can also cause a slowdown (sometimes even the OS itself issues notifications that the connected drive can work faster). Most often this is due to the fact that the user connects a USB flash drive, designed to work with a high-speed USB 3.0 interface, to port 2.0.
Therefore, you can speed up the transfer of copied files to a USB flash drive by choosing a different interface. But you should make sure that the drive itself supports its use. If the flash drive is not designed for such a standard, it will not “jump” above the set limit for read / transfer speed, no matter how hard you try.
Windows Drive Optimization
In the operating systems of all the latest generations themselves, the settings used for removable devices are often by default set far from the best. Considering the issues related to how to speed up the flash drive, you can recommend changing some options. To do this, through the properties of the USB flash drive (disk) in the "Explorer", go to the hardware tab, and then use the properties button (the same can be done in the "Device Manager").
Now go to the policy tab, activate the optimal performance item and save the installed options. In theory, the increase in speed when copying files will be noticeable immediately.
How to speed up a flash drive via BIOS?
Finally, another rather serious problem is that outdated primary BIOS I / O systems are configured by default so that the Legacy USB Support item is Enabled. The use of this option was needed earlier, but with regard to modern flash drives, its activation only slows down the operation of removable drives.
To optimize, simply disable this parameter by setting it to Disabled, and then save the changes on exit (F10 + Y).
Formatting and restoring firmware
Finally, let's see how to speed up a flash drive, say, an old model or one on which fatal errors may occur.
As one of the most powerful tools, you can recommend low-level formatting (for example, using the HDD LLFT program). Also, using special utilities from the manufacturers themselves, you can try to restore the original factory firmware. For manual recovery, you will need to identify special VIDs and PIDs (for example, in the ChipGenius application), then search them for the most appropriate firmware, download it to your computer, and install it yourself.