How to Speed up File Transfer to USB Flash Drive?

Any way to speed up files transfer between PC and USB?

“Help! How to speed up file transfer to USB flash drive? I already have 50-GB files including software, Apps, and personal files like phots, videos and music and when I tried to transfer them from the PC to the USB stick, I found the transfer was way too slow. So, I’m here to ask for an efficient way to make the data transfer between PC and USB faster.

Why is USB file transfer so slow?

A USB device usually refers to a portable storage device used to store various files. People just need to plug a USB device into their computer and then, they can transfer data from the PC to the USB device or conversely, from the USB device to the PC. However, sometimes, it can be pretty slow to transfer data from the PC to the USB device. For example, it could take tens of minutes to hours to get it done. Nobody wishes to encounter this issue especially when they need the data right now.

“Why is the transfer speed so slow?” you may ask. Generally speaking, it’s caused by some changes to your PCs or USB flash drives. For example, USB stick formatting or Windows 7/8 to Windows 10 upgrade.

How to speed up file transfer to USB flash drive?

To make it faster to transfer files from PCs to USB flash drives, the top 6 practical ways are given in the following paragraphs. Read on and make a decision based on your own requirements.

Way 1. Connect the USB flash drive to a rear port (Only for desktop)

Most computer users would love to connect their USB drive to a front port for file transfer and over time, the power supply of the port may become unstable and thus, the data transfer speed goes down. However, you can still improve the speed pretty much by plugging the USB stick into a rear port. The reason why the transfer speed is faster is because the rear port is soldered on the motherboard of your PC that provides a more stable power supply to your USB.

Way 2. Change file system

When it comes to the file system, many users prefer FAT32 for its better compatibility with third-party platoons like PS4 and Xbox One. However, as for the speed of file transfer to USB flash drive, NTFS is a better choice, especially when you try to transfer a file larger than 4GB. Here, let’s learn to use Windows built-in disk management to format FAT32 to NTFS.

1. Select “This PC” on your desktop and right-click on it.

2. Click on “Manage”.

3. Select “Disk Management” under “Storage”.

4. Right-click on the target partition and select “Format”.

5. Preset the file system as NTFS and click on “OK”.

Way 3. Optimize performance of the USB stick

How to speed up file transfer from PC to USB? By optimizing the performance of the USB flash drive, you may be able to commit a faster-transferring process between PC and the USB stick.

1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select “Device Manager”.

2. Double-click on “Disk Drives” to expand it, find the USB flash drive, select and right-click on and select “Properties”.

3. Go to the “Policies” tab, check the option “Better performance”, and then click on “OK” to confirm the operation.

After it’s done, reboot our machine and see whether the transfer is faster.

Way 4. Enable USB 3.0 drive in BIOS

Generally, the USB 3.0 port is enabled by default. However, if you have a USB 3.0 or 3.1 flash drive and the USB data transfer is rather slow, you might as well check whether the 3.0 port is enabled in BIOS.

1. Reboot your PC and hit F2 or Del to enter BIOS.

2. After getting into BIOS, use the left and right arrow keys to choose the “Advanced” tab.

3. Use the up and down arrows keys to choose “USB Configuration” and hit “ENTER”.

4. If the option “USB 3.0 (or 2.0) Support” is disabled, use the arrow keys to choose it and hit “ENTER”.

5. In the Options window, select “Enabled “and hit “ENTER”.

6. Hit F10 to save the changes and quit BIOS.

Wait for your PC to reboot and reconnect the USB stick to the PC. If the USB support option is previously disabled, turning it one can drastically speed up the USB transfer.

Way 5. Update the USB driver

How to speed up USB 2.0/3.0 file transfer? You may fix the slow USB data transfer issue simply by updating the USB driver. Here are how to get it done.

1. Press “Win+X” and select “Device Manager” in the popup list.

2. Expand “Disk Drives”, right-click on the USB drive and select “Update driver”.

3. Search for updated driver software automatically.

Way 6. Try third-party app mover

If the PC-USB data transfer is still too slow after trying all ways above, then, a third-party disk management software utility – AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional should be a good choice. With its embedded app mover, you can transfer data like Microsoft Office, games, OneDrive, and other third-party software from one drive to another at a fast speed in only a few clicks. Unlike copying files from one disk to another, the way of using the app mover is secure and lossless and you don’t need to worry about missing boot files. Apart from app moving, this AOMEI software also supports hard drive clone and partition clone when you want to move the entire data from one hard drive/partition to another.

Free download the demo of the most powerful app mover to speed up file transfer to USB flash drive with ease.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional on your PC. Then, click “Free up” on in the top toolbar, and choose “App Mover”.

Step 2. In the window of app mover, select the disk where the files you want to transfer are and hit “Next”.

Step 3.  Tick the files you want to transfer and select the destination drive. Then, hit “Move”.

Step 4. Hit “OK” to confirm the prompt and then, the program will start.

Step 5. After completed, hit “Finish”.

Now, navigate to the place where the moved files are and check whether they run normally.

Conclusion

How to speed up file transfer to USB flash drive? If you find USB data transfer is too slow and have no idea how to tackle it. This article could be your best help with the top 6 ways provided. As for me, I tried the last way – using AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It’s really amazing and I had never imagined everything was so fast – the data transfer was completed within only a few seconds. By the way, my PC is running on Windows, and if you want to use this software on Servers, you should try the Server edition.