How to Increase Read Write Speed of your Pendrive

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Most people use at least one technical device, either TV, phone, PC, console, or some other device. And there is no doubt that these have improved a lot in the last few years. One common device we can use on all these devices is Pendrive. Yes, I am talking about affordable and portable storage devices. If you have a Pendrive then this is the guide you don’t want to miss. Here you will know how to increase Pendrive Read and Write Speed.

These days external SSD and HDD are also available in smaller sizes (not storage). And for many reasons, their use has also increased. But we know that these external storage devices cannot replace PenDrive and it has its own advantages. Pendrive has saved me many times from losing my homework, and office work. I know this must have happened to many others as well.

There is a point where users get frustrated using Pendrive which is the slow transfer of data. Well, it depends on many things like which port you are using, which pen drive model you have, and some other points. But there is always a way to improve the current performance of your flash drive, albeit on a small scale.

Increase Pendrive Transfer Speed

If your pen drive is running slow and you are not able to do your work because of that then you should try to find the problem and solution. Well if you are here then you are doing just that and so here we bring you some methods which you can use to increase the read and write speed of your Pendrive.

Purchase High Speed Pendrive

Improve Pendrive Transfer Speed

This is not a method but instead a tip if you havenโ€™t purchased the PenDrive yet. Or if you already purchased it then you can check this tip for your next Pendrive.

There are many Pendrive that offer different transfer rates. You will find USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB 3.1, USB 3.2, and various generations like Gen 1, and Gen 2. Remember the higher is better. So at present, you should avoid USB 2.0 at any cost and go for at least USB 3.0 if your budget is tight.

Use High Speed Port

Increase Pendrive Speed

Now if you have already purchased a PenDrive and want to use it for the best read and write speed then you have to use the fastest port as well.

If the PenDrive is a USB 3.0 then you can use it on the USB port but remember it will give maximum speed only in USB 3.0 or higher port. It means if you use it on a USB 2.0 port you will be disappointed.

Donโ€™t expect better speed by inserting a USB 2.0 pen drive on a USB 3.0 port. Some PenDrive comes with Type C and Type A both also called 2 in 1 Pendrive. So in that case try both ports and check which gives better read and write speed.

So make sure you know the type of your PenDrive and use it accordingly. It will be mentioned on the cover on which PenDrive is placed.

Format your Pendrive in NTFS system

By default, most PenDrive is set to the FAT32 file system which doesnโ€™t allow copying more than 4GB (it gives the error: The File is too Large for the Destination File System) and its transfer rate is slow if there are too many files. You can check the current file system of your PenDrive by right clicking the drive and opening Properties. You can also use various disk format tools for this purpose.

If it is FAT32 under the file system then proceed with the steps given below or if it’s NTFS then jump to the next method.

  1. Assuming the Pendrive is attached to the correct port.
  2. Right-click on the drive and click Format.
    Increase Read Write Speed of Pendrive
  3. Now click on the drop-down menu under File System and select NTFS.
    Increase Read Write Speed of Pendrive
  4. Leave all other options as it is.
  5. Click on Start to begin the format. You will get a message when the formatting is done.

You can now copy files of more than 4GB to your Pen Drive. And also it will increase the flash drive read and write speed or at least it will keep the speed steady.

Set High Performance Mode

By default when you use the Pendrive its performance mode is set to general. But there is another option you can pick which is a better performance mode. This setting is hidden so letโ€™s see how to switch the performance mode.

  1. Insert your PenDrive on the correct port.
  2. Now right click on the flash drive/Pendrive and select properties.
  3. Switch to the Hardware section which will be next to Tools.
  4. Select your Pendrive drive from the list and click on Properties.
    Increase Read Write Speed of Pendrive
  5. Then click Change Settings and switch to the Policies tab.
    Improve Pendrive Transfer Speed
  6. You will see a Better Performance mode, select it and click OK.

Remember to Safely eject the drive before removing it from the port. You can do that by right clicking on Drive or from the taskbar (In show hidden icons).

Update USB Drivers

Yes, using the latest driver for your USB will definitely speed up the transfer rate of your Pendrive. For eg. If you are using a USB 3.0 for your PenDrive and if the USB 3.0 driver is not installed on your PC then the PenDrive will not perform as expected. So make sure to update the USB driver. Follow the steps mentioned below.

  1. Insert your Pendrive on the correct port.
  2. Click on the Windows icon (Start Menu) on your PC.
  3. Search for Device Manager and open it.
  4. Look for the USB (Universal Series Bus) driver option and expand it.
  5. Now right click on the driver you want to update and click on Update Driver.
    Improve Pendrive Transfer Speed
  6. Select โ€˜Browse my computer for driverโ€™ > โ€˜let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computerโ€™.
  7. Make sure โ€˜show compatible hardwareโ€™ is checked.
  8. Now select the latest driver and click on Next and it will install the driver.
  9. You can also try โ€˜Search automatically for driversโ€™ in Step 6.

Similarly, update the driver available under Disk Drives. You will see your PenDrive listed there when it is attached to your PC.

Check for Drive Errors

Flash drive may not perform at its best if there are errors in the disk. So you need to make sure there are no errors. Here are the steps to check errors on Pendrive.

  1. Insert PenDrive on your PC.
  2. Right click on the PenDrive and open Properties.
  3. Now switch to the Tools tab.
  4. In Tools, click on Check > Scan and repair drive.
    Improve Pendrive Transfer Speed
  5. It will scan the drive and if there are any errors it will show and fix them.

If it doesnโ€™t show any errors then your drive is in good health. And it should perform well given you are following all other conditions.

Make sure PC performance is also set to High

The Pendrive performance also depends on the performance of the connected PC. So make sure your PC is set to High performance. You can change the modes in the battery plan in the control panel.

Note: Pendrive at higher temperature can throttle. So avoid buying a Pendrive that heats up quickly. Because even though it has the capacity to transfer files at a faster rate, these speeds will decline once the device heats up.

So these are the few methods that you can follow to increase the transfer rate of your Pendrive. You can follow these methods to improve the performance but it will not be significant. For that, you must choose the high-speed flash drive and avoid older drives. Let us know which method is found to be effective in your case.

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AUTHOR.

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Ashutosh singh

Computer Science graduate and tech enthusiast. Love testing new tech gadgets ever since my first windows phone from Samsung. Working as a technical writer for more than five years, and I believe I have also developed good SEO skills. In my spare time, I like watching movies, and playing games.

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