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USB data transfer speed

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  • 12-08-2009 4:03pm
    #1
    podge3
    Registered Users Posts: 1,743 ✭✭✭


    I'm copying 1 Gb media drives at the moment. All the drives have USB 2.0 connectors and I'm copying a one drive to another connected through the computer, which is also USB 2.0.

    My transfer speed is only at USB1.1 speeds however i.e. 12 Mb. Its taking forever to do the first drive and I have 5 more to go.

    Am I doing something incredibly stupid that I only have a 12Mb transfer rate?


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    #2
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,467 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Have you got the relevant chipset drivers installed for the USB hardware on your PC?


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    #3
    podge3
    Registered Users Posts: 1,743 ✭✭✭podge3


    Alun wrote: »
    Have you got the relevant chipset drivers installed for the USB hardware on your PC?
    In the device manager, I have a USB2 enhanced host controller so I assume all is OK?

    All all USB cables the same? I am using oldish cables.


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    #4
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,467 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    podge3 wrote: »
    In the device manager, I have a USB2 enhanced host controller so I assume all is OK?
    Yes, that should be OK. Try double checking though under Device Manger in 'View > Devices by connection' mode that both disks are actually connected to USB2 controllers, and that there isn't a 1.1 controller, or a 2.0 controller without drivers, sneaking in there somehow. Occasionally you'll find that some of the machine's USB ports are provided by the main chipset, but additional ones by a physically different controller, you never know.
    All all USB cables the same? I am using oldish cables.
    As far as I know, yes.

    Also try copying from the PC's HD to each USB disk in turn to see if it's both disks, or just one of them that's causing the bottleneck. that might give you some additional clues as to where to look.


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    #5
    podge3
    Registered Users Posts: 1,743 ✭✭✭podge3


    Thanks for the tips, Alun.

    However it seems that all is not as it should be with USB 2.0 :mad:. I have been reading up on the subject and apparently:

    "USB 2.0 has a maximum transfer rate of 480 Mbit/s for the High Speed mode, i.e. 40x faster than USB 1.1. However, some USB 2.0 is certified Full Speed (12 Mbit/s) or Low Speed (1.5 Mbit/s), and so with these ones, we're really back to the same slow USB 1.1 transfer rates."

    Seems like the whole USB 2.0 480 Mb rate is a con? My drives just say "USB 2.0".


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    #6
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,467 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    podge3 wrote: »
    However it seems that all is not as it should be with USB 2.0 :mad:. I have been reading up on the subject and apparently:

    "USB 2.0 has a maximum transfer rate of 480 Mbit/s for the High Speed mode, i.e. 40x faster than USB 1.1. However, some USB 2.0 is certified Full Speed (12 Mbit/s) or Low Speed (1.5 Mbit/s), and so with these ones, we're really back to the same slow USB 1.1 transfer rates."

    Seems like the whole USB 2.0 480 Mb rate is a con? My drives just say "USB 2.0".
    Yes, I knew about that ... USB 2.0 is effectively backwards compatible with the USB 1.1 standard, so strictly speaking "USB 2.0" doesn't really mean a thing speed wise. It's quite legal, but a bit sneaky, to sell a USB 2.0 device that only does 'full speed', i.e. 12Mbit/s.

    In practice, however, especially if the drives are recent enough, the chance that they're not capable of 480Mbit/s is pretty low.

    How old are the drives you have and what are the specs?


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    #7
    ttm
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭ttm


    Does it make any difference how you connect the devices?

    Like are both devices on separate controllers or on the same controller but different physical connections?


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    #8
    podge3
    Registered Users Posts: 1,743 ✭✭✭podge3


    Thanks for all the advice lads.

    The drives are Iomega Screenplay 1 Tb media drives. Both are plugged into onboard USB connectors on the back of the PC.

    Once the current drive is copied I might try the ethernet connections.


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    #9
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,467 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    podge3 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the advice lads.

    The drives are Iomega Screenplay 1 Tb media drives. Both are plugged into onboard USB connectors on the back of the PC.

    Once the current drive is copied I might try the ethernet connections.
    Those drives would definitely be Hi-Speed.

    As ttm said above you could try moving one of the drives so that it's on a different controller. Depending on your chipset, one controller could be managing more than one connector which would be a bit of a bottleneck. I wouldn't have thought that it would have that much of an effect, but it's certainly worth a try.

    On my system (Intel ICH10 chipset) each controller controls two physical connections, and these are physically next to each other, so try two connectors that are far apart, say one on the back of the PC and the other on the front panel (if any) for example.

    You'd be able to see in Device Manager if they're on different controllers or the same one, so just keep trying different USB connections until you succeed.


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    #10
    ttm
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭ttm


    podge3 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the advice lads.

    The drives are Iomega Screenplay 1 Tb media drives. Both are plugged into onboard USB connectors on the back of the PC.

    Once the current drive is copied I might try the ethernet connections.

    Think it might be the drives? I regularly copy movies from a mate who has one of those drive and while I haven't checked the speed it always seems very slow copying direct to my HDD. As far as Iomega are concerned as long as it moves data fast enough to play the movie then they're sorted.


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