External Hard Drives

[AxeMan]

Are there any XP Pro related settings that would effect the speed in
which an external hard drive is able to find the place to receive a moved
or copied file ??

Example;

WD 500GB external drive, USB 2.0. Two folders, one 135GB, 860
sub-folders and one 120GB, 770 sub-folders.

Starting in "C:\" and clicking one of the external's folders, It takes ten
seconds, or more, for this drive to "show" the contents.

Am I being unreasonable to expect maybe a two second delay ??

Is this a hardware problem or possibly some XP Pro settings that might
improve the response time.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Leonard Grey]

Yes. ("Am I being unreasonable to expect...") A USB 2.0 connection is
fast, but it's no match for a SATA or IDE connection.

 

[AxeMan]

One reason I asked was because I ran the same external off of a laptop, also
with XP Pro, and the response time was very fast so, I made the assumption
there must be a software related problem with my desktop. Any ideas along
the software line ??

 

[Leonard Grey]

Only one: Your third-party security program is scanning every file as it
arrives.

 

[CBoom]

10 seconds is too much a delay ...

and the OP also said that on another computer its faster...

 

[CBoom]

do you have the same antivirus on both machines?

try disabling the antivirus scanner for a moment and see if the speed
increases, then turn it back on


if its fast with the AV off then you know what is the cause

 

[AxeMan]

There is no anti-virus on either machine (Please, no lecture as I'm comfortable
scanning once a week for problems).
I have several XP "services" turned off, but "indexing" and "RCP" are loaded
automatically. Any others that might make a difference ??

do you have the same antivirus on both machines?

try disabling the antivirus scanner for a moment and see if the speed
increases, then turn it back on


if its fast with the AV off then you know what is the cause

One reason I asked was because I ran the same external off of a laptop,
also
with XP Pro, and the response time was very fast so, I made the assumption
there must be a software related problem with my desktop. Any ideas along
the software line ??

 

[Leonard Grey]

"There is no anti-virus on either machine."

Good luck to you. You need it.
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

There is no anti-virus on either machine (Please, no lecture as I'm comfortable
scanning once a week for problems).
I have several XP "services" turned off, but "indexing" and "RCP" are loaded
automatically. Any others that might make a difference ??

do you have the same antivirus on both machines?

try disabling the antivirus scanner for a moment and see if the speed
increases, then turn it back on


if its fast with the AV off then you know what is the cause

 

[CBoom]

I will not lecture you.. since that is how you like to work then its ok with
me...

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the USB ports are not working
in USB 2.0 mode. but in the much slower 1.1 mode.

Normally they work in USB 2.0 mode if in the device manager you see an item
under usb that says enhanced usb

see this page that have more info and an image

http://computerboom.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-do-i-know-if-my-usb-port-is-usb-10.html

if you don't have that.. then you need to install the drivers for your
motherboards CHIPSET

please post back...

"There is no anti-virus on either machine."

Good luck to you. You need it.

 

[AxeMan]

I went to the URL you posted, and yes, the "Standard Enhanced PCI To USB
Host Controller" is listed. I checked all the tabs and saw nothing that would
indicate a problem. I appreciate your time on this problem.

 

[CBoom]

1) are you using the same cables (USB) in both computers.. some cables are
not usb 2.0 compilant?

2) are you pluging the drive onto the usb ports on the motherboard (back
side) of the computer itself with no HUBS in between?

if not try pluggin it into the back directly on the usb ports of the
motherboard

 

[AxeMan]

I'm using the USB cables that came with the drives. Note that the same
cables were used with the laptop where I had no problem.
The desktop has two USB ports in the front of the case and these are the
ones I use.
Here's an example from this morning;
Moved a folder from G\Downloads to G\Albums G-M. After the "Move" box
came up, and I clicked "Albums G-M", it took 9 seconds to open "Albums G-M".
Granted it's a 500GB drive, but to me that's SLOW.
Any other thoughts either hardware or software ??

 

[Anna]

AxeMan:
As "CBoom" has indicated, yes, the 10-second delay in displaying the
contents of those folders does seem unreasonable. And, as you've indicated,
using the same USBEHD on another PC you haven't experienced that kind of a
delay.

When you say "Starting in "C:\" and clicking one of the external's
folders..." you're indicating you're accessing the contents of the USBEHD
via Windows Explorer in effect, right? More or less the typical way one
would access the contents of an external drive, right?

Setting aside that "ten second" delay, why don't you try this as a test re
data transfer rate...

Copy 1 GB of data (a reasonable variety of folders/files) from your boot
drive over to the USBEHD. Given your USB 2.0 interface it should take
(roughly) somewhere in the range of between 1min to 1min30 sec (approx. 700
MB/min to 1 GB/min). Obviously the data transfer speed will vary from system
to system because of the performance characteristics of the particular
components in use.

Incidentally, we're assuming the USBEHD is a PATA HDD, not a SATA HDD. We've
generally (but not always) found a slightly better data transfer speed when
using the latter type of HDD even when it's connected via a USB interface.

Anyway if you get data transfer rates along the lines of the above I would
think there's nothing amiss with your USB 2.0 connectivity. But of course
that wouldn't solve that "10-second" access delay re that specific PC.
Anna

 

[AxeMan]

AxeMan:
As "CBoom" has indicated, yes, the 10-second delay in displaying the
contents of those folders does seem unreasonable. And, as you've indicated,
using the same USBEHD on another PC you haven't experienced that kind of a
delay.

When you say "Starting in "C:\" and clicking one of the external's
folders..." you're indicating you're accessing the contents of the USBEHD
via Windows Explorer in effect, right? More or less the typical way one
would access the contents of an external drive, right?

Setting aside that "ten second" delay, why don't you try this as a test re
data transfer rate...

Copy 1 GB of data (a reasonable variety of folders/files) from your boot
drive over to the USBEHD. Given your USB 2.0 interface it should take
(roughly) somewhere in the range of between 1min to 1min30 sec (approx. 700
MB/min to 1 GB/min). Obviously the data transfer speed will vary from system
to system because of the performance characteristics of the particular
components in use.

Incidentally, we're assuming the USBEHD is a PATA HDD, not a SATA HDD. We've
generally (but not always) found a slightly better data transfer speed when
using the latter type of HDD even when it's connected via a USB interface.

Anyway if you get data transfer rates along the lines of the above I would
think there's nothing amiss with your USB 2.0 connectivity. But of course
that wouldn't solve that "10-second" access delay re that specific PC.
Anna

Anna - Please see my last post for an example of the problem. Welcome to the
fray. Any, and all, help is appreciated.

 

[CBoom]

I go about problems in a very scientific matter, one by one ruling out the
most reasonable causes and then looking into the less possible ones.


try using the usb ports in the back of the case..

there must be some there...

can you try downloading this free explorer replacements and viewing your
files with that instead of windows explorer...

the last freeware version of xyplorer can be found here
http://my.opera.com/Tamil/homes/Softwares/XYplorerFree.zip

to learn about xyplorer go here www.xyplorer.com

there might be another problem here that is not related to the drive itself.
I am thinking about codecs, filters that are trying to take hold of the
drive or WINDOWS EXPLORER SHELL EXTENSIONS

so if indeed its very fast with xyplorer post back and I will tell you what
to do...

 

[AxeMan]

Hooked up the USBs to the back of the case. No improvement. Downloaded
XYplore, put a folder and shortcut on the desktop. Very, Very fast !!!
However, I'm beginning to think this is a glitch somewhere.
Using XYplore, I clicked on the (+) sign next to a folder with 860 sub-folders,
and it took several seconds to show the contents. However, when I clicked
another folder with 810 sub-folders using the folder name, and not the (+) sign,
the contents show immediately. Appreciate your help.

I go about problems in a very scientific matter, one by one ruling out the
most reasonable causes and then looking into the less possible ones.


try using the usb ports in the back of the case..

there must be some there...

can you try downloading this free explorer replacements and viewing your
files with that instead of windows explorer...

the last freeware version of xyplorer can be found here
http://my.opera.com/Tamil/homes/Softwares/XYplorerFree.zip

to learn about xyplorer go here www.xyplorer.com

there might be another problem here that is not related to the drive itself.
I am thinking about codecs, filters that are trying to take hold of the
drive or WINDOWS EXPLORER SHELL EXTENSIONS

so if indeed its very fast with xyplorer post back and I will tell you what
to do...

I'm using the USB cables that came with the drives. Note that the same
cables were used with the laptop where I had no problem.
The desktop has two USB ports in the front of the case and these are the
ones I use.
Here's an example from this morning;
Moved a folder from G\Downloads to G\Albums G-M. After the "Move" box
came up, and I clicked "Albums G-M", it took 9 seconds to open "Albums
G-M".
Granted it's a 500GB drive, but to me that's SLOW.
Any other thoughts either hardware or software ??

1) are you using the same cables (USB) in both computers.. some cables are
not usb 2.0 compilant?

2) are you pluging the drive onto the usb ports on the motherboard (back
side) of the computer itself with no HUBS in between?

if not try pluggin it into the back directly on the usb ports of the
motherboard

I went to the URL you posted, and yes, the "Standard Enhanced PCI To USB
Host Controller" is listed. I checked all the tabs and saw nothing
that
would
indicate a problem. I appreciate your time on this problem.

 

[CBoom]

ok listen to what you have to do>>>

go to my blog on this page and scroll down to where I say SOLUTION

http://computerboom.blogspot.com/2008/12/windows-explorer-crashes-in-several.html

download that application (nirsoft shellext) and follow the instructions to
disable the shell extensions TEMPORARILY

restart and see if this makes the drive access faster...

please report back

Hooked up the USBs to the back of the case. No improvement. Downloaded
XYplore, put a folder and shortcut on the desktop. Very, Very fast !!!
However, I'm beginning to think this is a glitch somewhere.
Using XYplore, I clicked on the (+) sign next to a folder with 860
sub-folders,
and it took several seconds to show the contents. However, when I clicked
another folder with 810 sub-folders using the folder name, and not the
(+) sign,
the contents show immediately. Appreciate your help.

I go about problems in a very scientific matter, one by one ruling out the
most reasonable causes and then looking into the less possible ones.


try using the usb ports in the back of the case..

there must be some there...

can you try downloading this free explorer replacements and viewing your
files with that instead of windows explorer...

the last freeware version of xyplorer can be found here
http://my.opera.com/Tamil/homes/Softwares/XYplorerFree.zip

to learn about xyplorer go here www.xyplorer.com

there might be another problem here that is not related to the drive
itself.
I am thinking about codecs, filters that are trying to take hold of the
drive or WINDOWS EXPLORER SHELL EXTENSIONS

so if indeed its very fast with xyplorer post back and I will tell you
what
to do...

 

[AxeMan]

I'll keep the URL, but at this moment, I'm happy with the performace of XYplore.
I want to spend a couple of days playing with it.
Thanks for all your help.

ok listen to what you have to do>>>

go to my blog on this page and scroll down to where I say SOLUTION

http://computerboom.blogspot.com/2008/12/windows-explorer-crashes-in-sev eral.htm
l

download that application (nirsoft shellext) and follow the instructions to
disable the shell extensions TEMPORARILY

restart and see if this makes the drive access faster...

please report back

 

[CBoom]

no problem, glad that I helped

just so you know, its probably a shell extension that I describe how to get
rid of in the blog I posted earlier..

have fun!

 

[AxeMan]

Curiosity got the best of me, so I installed the shellex program. What a neat
little goodie. So small, yet gives tons of information.
There were only five programs NOT meeting the criteria of Microsoft only.
Actually, eight, but since I have NVIDIA everything I went ahead and left their
three in tact. Only one was an "unknown" and it had to do with Internet
Explorer (which I don't use). I didn't see any boost in speed opening the drive
trees with the non-Microsoft shellexs gone. so be it.
One item that bothers me is when the externals sit idle for an hour or so, they
seem to be asleep and that's when the problem really comes around.
I checked the "Power Options" and all are set to "Never". I don't hibernate
anything. Anyway, thanks for your help and the two great programs you
suggested.

no problem, glad that I helped

just so you know, its probably a shell extension that I describe how to get
rid of in the blog I posted earlier..

have fun!

I'll keep the URL, but at this moment, I'm happy with the performace of
XYplore.
I want to spend a couple of days playing with it.
Thanks for all your help.

ok listen to what you have to do>>>

go to my blog on this page and scroll down to where I say SOLUTION

http://computerboom.blogspot.com/2008/12/windows-explorer-crashes-in-

sev
eral.htm

l

download that application (nirsoft shellext) and follow the instructions
to
disable the shell extensions TEMPORARILY

restart and see if this makes the drive access faster...

please report back


Hooked up the USBs to the back of the case. No improvement. Downloaded
XYplore, put a folder and shortcut on the desktop. Very, Very fast !!!
However, I'm beginning to think this is a glitch somewhere.
Using XYplore, I clicked on the (+) sign next to a folder with 860
sub-folders,
and it took several seconds to show the contents. However, when I
clicked
another folder with 810 sub-folders using the folder name, and not the
(+) sign,
the contents show immediately. Appreciate your help.

says...
I go about problems in a very scientific matter, one by one ruling out
the
most reasonable causes and then looking into the less possible ones.


try using the usb ports in the back of the case..

there must be some there...

can you try downloading this free explorer replacements and viewing your
files with that instead of windows explorer...

the last freeware version of xyplorer can be found here
http://my.opera.com/Tamil/homes/Softwares/XYplorerFree.zip

to learn about xyplorer go here www.xyplorer.com

there might be another problem here that is not related to the drive
itself.
I am thinking about codecs, filters that are trying to take hold of the
drive or WINDOWS EXPLORER SHELL EXTENSIONS

so if indeed its very fast with xyplorer post back and I will tell you
what
to do...





I'm using the USB cables that came with the drives. Note that the
same
cables were used with the laptop where I had no problem.
The desktop has two USB ports in the front of the case and these are
the
ones I use.
Here's an example from this morning;
Moved a folder from G\Downloads to G\Albums G-M. After the "Move" box
came up, and I clicked "Albums G-M", it took 9 seconds to open "Albums
G-M".
Granted it's a 500GB drive, but to me that's SLOW.
Any other thoughts either hardware or software ??