Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag

Shard413 · 01-05-2008, 12:08 PM

Quick Stats:
Athlon 64 3000+
1GB DDR RAM
Windows XP Pro (up to date on patches as far as I know)
Seagate Ultra ATA/100 80 GB (using NTFS)

The Drive in question:
Seagate Ultra ATA/100 250 GB (using NTFS) in a generic CompUSA USB 2.0 3.5" External Hard Drive Enclosure

I put this drive together myself about 9 months ago, primarily as a storage dump for the media cluttering my internal drive. I shifted over 40 GBs to it the first day flawlessly at high speeds (50-100 MBPS), and didn't think much of it. More files have accumulated over time; music, video, photos, etc., and there now is about 100 GB on it. Only recently did I start storing some larger video files (~150 MB each) on it, when I began to notice a problem. When accessing either the larger video files or lengthy playlists (using Media Player Classic and WinAmp, respectively), I would get choppy/skipping playback. Additionally, I was recently given a iPod Shuffle, and when attempting to load files to it, the process was extremely slow (~1 MBPS). I quickly found that taking any file from the external back to my internal drive also went slowly, but I was still able to load files onto the external drive, either from the internal drive or internet downloads, at the usual high speeds. The only solution I've come up with was possible interference from my active virus protection (avast! Home Edition), but disabling it had no effect. As a possible added quirk, the drive has always been listed as a "local" drive by windows, not "removable storage" like every USB flash drive I've used on this PC (maybe that's normal, just struck me as odd).

Any advice/help/guesses would very welcome, thanks in advance.

Shard413 · 01-08-2008, 05:14 PM

bump!

Shard413 · 01-15-2008, 03:55 AM

Still haven't figured it out, any help would be appreciated.

**Deleted090308** · 01-15-2008, 08:07 AM

Hi, welcome to TSF.

Sorry about the delay.
It sounds a bit odd. Some external drives get "registered" as local - probably because of the IDE > USB interface in the enclosure.
Even if the drive was badly fragmented you shouldn't see such a big difference between down- and up-load.
Do you have a "Safely remove" icon next to the clock when the drive is connected?

Try running a benchmark in PcWizard (link in my signature).

Shard413 · 01-17-2008, 07:30 PM

Thanks for the reply.

I do have the "Safely Remove" icon, and I do try to use it when applicable, should I be using it before I shut down or restart the system? It's rare for me to turn the drive off otherwise.

I ran a PCWizard Benchmark and got these results:

Sequential Writing : 30.31 MB/s (Cpu usage : 56%)
Buffered Writing : 27.82 MB/s (Cpu usage : 49%)
Random Reading : 10 MB/s (Cpu usage : 42%)

There were no results for Sequential Reading or Buffered Reading, I'm not sure why. I hope that helps or hints at something.

**Deleted090308** · 01-18-2008, 01:13 AM

Does your computer support USB2.0?
If so try another USB cable.

And:
Click the "Safely remove" icon and disconnect the drive (remove the USB plug).
Remove the power plug from the enclosure.
Restart the computer.
Start the external drive - then connect the USB plug.

Shard413 · 01-31-2008, 08:13 AM

After trying the aforementioned procedure, things have not improved. Additionally, I now occasionally get an error message of a "delayed write failure" to the external drive that pops up as a message bubble off of the task bar. I'm seriously considering moving the drive to the one remaining 3.5" internal slot, just to avoid the headache.

**Deleted090308** · 01-31-2008, 08:36 AM

Yes, sounds like a good idea - or another enclosure.

01-05-2008, 12:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
Shard413 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 5 OS: XP Pro	Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag Quick Stats: Athlon 64 3000+ 1GB DDR RAM Windows XP Pro (up to date on patches as far as I know) Seagate Ultra ATA/100 80 GB (using NTFS) The Drive in question: Seagate Ultra ATA/100 250 GB (using NTFS) in a generic CompUSA USB 2.0 3.5" External Hard Drive Enclosure I put this drive together myself about 9 months ago, primarily as a storage dump for the media cluttering my internal drive. I shifted over 40 GBs to it the first day flawlessly at high speeds (50-100 MBPS), and didn't think much of it. More files have accumulated over time; music, video, photos, etc., and there now is about 100 GB on it. Only recently did I start storing some larger video files (~150 MB each) on it, when I began to notice a problem. When accessing either the larger video files or lengthy playlists (using Media Player Classic and WinAmp, respectively), I would get choppy/skipping playback. Additionally, I was recently given a iPod Shuffle, and when attempting to load files to it, the process was extremely slow (~1 MBPS). I quickly found that taking any file from the external back to my internal drive also went slowly, but I was still able to load files onto the external drive, either from the internal drive or internet downloads, at the usual high speeds. The only solution I've come up with was possible interference from my active virus protection (avast! Home Edition), but disabling it had no effect. As a possible added quirk, the drive has always been listed as a "local" drive by windows, not "removable storage" like every USB flash drive I've used on this PC (maybe that's normal, just struck me as odd). Any advice/help/guesses would very welcome, thanks in advance. Last edited by Shard413; 01-05-2008 at 12:10 PM.

01-08-2008, 05:14 PM	#2 (permalink)
Shard413 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 5 OS: XP Pro	Re: Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag bump!

01-15-2008, 03:55 AM	#3 (permalink)
Shard413 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 5 OS: XP Pro	Re: Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag Still haven't figured it out, any help would be appreciated.

01-15-2008, 08:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag Hi, welcome to TSF. Sorry about the delay. It sounds a bit odd. Some external drives get "registered" as local - probably because of the IDE > USB interface in the enclosure. Even if the drive was badly fragmented you shouldn't see such a big difference between down- and up-load. Do you have a "Safely remove" icon next to the clock when the drive is connected? Try running a benchmark in PcWizard (link in my signature).

01-17-2008, 07:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
Shard413 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 5 OS: XP Pro	Re: Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag Thanks for the reply. I do have the "Safely Remove" icon, and I do try to use it when applicable, should I be using it before I shut down or restart the system? It's rare for me to turn the drive off otherwise. I ran a PCWizard Benchmark and got these results: Sequential Writing : 30.31 MB/s (Cpu usage : 56%) Buffered Writing : 27.82 MB/s (Cpu usage : 49%) Random Reading : 10 MB/s (Cpu usage : 42%) There were no results for Sequential Reading or Buffered Reading, I'm not sure why. I hope that helps or hints at something.

01-18-2008, 01:13 AM	#6 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag Does your computer support USB2.0? If so try another USB cable. And: Click the "Safely remove" icon and disconnect the drive (remove the USB plug). Remove the power plug from the enclosure. Restart the computer. Start the external drive - then connect the USB plug.

01-31-2008, 08:13 AM	#7 (permalink)
Shard413 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 5 OS: XP Pro	Re: Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag After trying the aforementioned procedure, things have not improved. Additionally, I now occasionally get an error message of a "delayed write failure" to the external drive that pops up as a message bubble off of the task bar. I'm seriously considering moving the drive to the one remaining 3.5" internal slot, just to avoid the headache.

01-31-2008, 08:36 AM	#8 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: Hard Drive in External USB 2.0 Enclosure Download Lag Yes, sounds like a good idea - or another enclosure.