Anyone know why it has suddenly started taking so long to transfer downloads from my desktop computer on to my external hard drive, I am talking about maybe at least three hours for transfering about 20 items.

5 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Anyone know why it has suddenly started taking so long to transfer downloads from my desktop computer on to my external hard drive, I am talking about maybe at least three hours for transfering about 20 items.

When was the last time you defragmented the HDD (assuming it is a magnetic drive, not an SSD). Write times can be severely affected if the drive is widely fragmented, as the drive heads need to move around a lot to find little portions of unused space to write to. This is even more noticeable if the drive is more than 90% full and fragmneted.

There are other reasons that could cause this, including physical damage due to heat, dust, humidity and age but the first that comes to mind before my second coffee - and the easiest to fix.

There are tools you can download - for free - that can do other things like clear caches and optimise your PC, remove junk files, and so on. If you want recommendations for a couple, reply below.

Good luck.

16 minutes ago, The Oracle said:

When was the last time you defragmented the HDD (assuming it is a magnetic drive, not an SSD). Write times can be severely affected if the drive is widely fragmented, as the drive heads need to move around a lot to find little portions of unused space to write to. This is even more noticeable if the drive is more than 90% full and fragmneted.

There are other reasons that could cause this, including physical damage due to heat, dust, humidity and age but the first that comes to mind before my second coffee - and the easiest to fix.

There are tools you can download - for free - that can do other things like clear caches and optimise your PC, remove junk files, and so on. If you want recommendations for a couple, reply below.

Good luck.

Yes I would like recommendations for any tool to download. I think my external hard drive is SSD although there is nothing on it that says either. Thanks.

2 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Yes I would like recommendations for any tool to download. I think my external hard drive is SSD although there is nothing on it that says either. Thanks.

Right. The first one I have used for about twenty years both the free and "pro"(paid) versions.
The User Interface is esy. All this really does is provide an easy interface to draw on functions that are already built into Windows. There are other (free) apps you can download from within it.
CAUTION!
When installing, it will try to install "bloatware"like screen recorders and other tools. So be sure you unclick these boxes or do not accept to subscribe to their newsletter.
https://www.iobit.com/en/advancedsystemcarefree.php

The second, CCleaner does less but is quick and its registry defragger is better. It's also minuscule. CAUTION! Double-check on the install that its not installing bloatware or some free version of anti-virus software.

https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/download

Iobit has a full suite of driver updateers and a particularly good uninstaller. All fro free although with limits. They all try to install additional apps during installation.

FINAL WORD

Whether you external HDD is Magnetic or Solid State, the degfragger/trim option in AdvancedSystemCare will fix it.
First, just do a full scan and click the "Auto Fix and Retsrt PC" button. That'll clear out junk files, leftover install files, cookies, registry errors and stuff first. Then, go back in after the restart and click on "Speedup"
"More Optimisation Tools" (The three dots)
Left hand side, near the botom
"Smart Defrag"
It WILL download an installer. Once again caution on bloatware. Run th free version by clicking the appropriate box. Wait. Go for a walk. Early lunch. If your external HDD is magentic, it could take a while, depending on fragmentation, size, and %age of capacity full.

Good luck!

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

Anyone know why it has suddenly started taking so long to transfer downloads from my desktop computer on to my external hard drive, I am talking about maybe at least three hours for transfering about 20 items.

Are you using a USB connection? Do you use the same USB port as used in previous copy operations? If not the same USB port, make sure you use a USB3 port (the inside of the connectors are blue not grey or white) and compatible cable. Do you have a lot of browser windows/tabs (can cause memory shortage) open during the copy?

Steps to take:

• see if you can delete unnecessary files from backup drive

• empty trash folders on both source and destination before copying files

• check the health of your backup and source drives ... free tool called CrystalDiskInfo available

• determine if you have solid state or magnetic backup drive... don't defragment any solid state device

21 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Are you using a USB connection? Do you use the same USB port as used in previous copy operations? If not the same USB port, make sure you use a USB3 port (the inside of the connectors are blue not grey or white) and compatible cable. Do you have a lot of browser windows/tabs (can cause memory shortage) open during the copy?

Steps to take:

• see if you can delete unnecessary files from backup drive

• empty trash folders on both source and destination before copying files

• check the health of your backup and source drives ... free tool called CrystalDiskInfo available

• determine if you have solid state or magnetic backup drive... don't defragment any solid state device

I have tried doing some of the things you suggested and it has speeded up a bit, I will keep trying though it is still a bit slow, thanks a lot for all your help, it is really appreciated.

Maybe a reboot and making sure Windows and your antivirus are fully up to date will help. Sometimes background updates can slow file transfers dramatically.

Three quick checks

1. Is the slowdown immediate, or does it start fast and then slow after 20–60 seconds?

2. What speed are you seeing? (e.g. 900 MB/s, 200 MB/s, 30 MB/s)

3. What portable SSD is it (Samsung T7, SanDisk Extreme, Crucial X9, etc.)?

Those three answers usually narrow it down very quickly.

45 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Three quick checks

1. Is the slowdown immediate, or does it start fast and then slow after 20–60 seconds?

2. What speed are you seeing? (e.g. 900 MB/s, 200 MB/s, 30 MB/s)

3. What portable SSD is it (Samsung T7, SanDisk Extreme, Crucial X9, etc.)?

Those three answers usually narrow it down very quickly.

??

2. (e.g. 900 MB/s, 200 MB/s, 30 MB/s)...If the OP were seeing any of those speeds, they wouldn't have started this thread 😊

3. Portable SSD? I think it has to be determined if they actually have such a thing in their possession.

Honestly, I think there is not much chance of the OP supplying any of the details requested. Experience gained from trying to help the OP on many occasions.

They have a tendency to buy things on the cheap against good advice. So it's quite possible they have a full drive or a dodgy drive reporting the wrong capacity.

Model numbers and descriptors rarely, if ever, appear.

I have similar problems now and then and it seems to be the USB connection. If I wiggle/remove/reinsert the USB connector and try again it usually goes back to normal transfer speed. Not sure what the issue is. Maybe dust or corrosion.

10 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

Not sure what the issue is

After repeated plug in/out I find some residue on the metal plug areas, wipe with a cloth and problem gone.

What does smart say? S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) tracks drive issues and will foretell failure in lots of cases. Should be lots of tools depending on your OS.