8 Solutions to Fix Slow Transfer Speed on WD External Hard Drive in 2024 [Updated]

Don't panic when your Seagate, Toshiba, or WD external hard drive suddenly slows down while transferring files. This page will use the example of a slow transfer rate on a WD external hard drive to demonstrate how to effectively resolve this issue and instantly boost your external hard drive's transfer speed.

"My WD USB 3.0 External Hard Drive has a Slow Transfer Speed, Assistance Needed"

"I have a 1TB Western Digital My Passport USB 3.0 external hard drive with approximately 400GB of data stored on it. Lately, I've noticed that the transfer speed of the external hard drive has significantly decreased. When I attempted to copy a single Word document to the drive, it took about 5 minutes to finish."

"The issue is that I still have over 500GB of free space on the disk. However, the drive has significantly slowed down when it comes to copying and transferring data. How could this happen, and what can I do to resolve it and boost the performance of my WD external hard drive? Any assistance would be appreciated."

External hard drive slowing down while copying or transferring data is no longer an uncommon issue. According to numerous users, your disk might encounter the following problems:

• File copying stuck
• Data transferring slow
• File loss
• Drive crashing or hanging
• Computer freezing, etc.

那么如何解决并摆脱这些问题呢？继续阅读，现在在这里找到解决方案。

Related Reading: Seagate External Hard Drive Slow

8 Solutions for 'WD External Hard Drive Low Data Transfer Rate' Error

When your external hard drive slows down or becomes stuck while copying files, immediately cease the current operation. Afterwards, attempt the following remedies to enhance the speed of your Western Digital (WD) external hard drive:

1. #1. Change USB Port
2. #2. Backup Files to Another Location, Like Cloud - Free Up Disk Space
3. #3. Clean Up Large & Useless Files - Free Up Disk Space
4. #4. Defrag Disk - Free Up Disk Space
5. #5. Update Disk Driver
6. #6. Check and Fix Disk Error
7. #7. Change File System - NTFS, Optimize Disk Performance
8. #8. Run Antivirus

Method 1: Change USB Port - Reconnect External Disk to a USB 3.0 Port

Note that if your USB 3.0 external hard drive is plugged in via a USB 2.0 port, it will become extremely slow when accessing the drive or copying files. Most contemporary computers come equipped with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports to cater to the needs of most users.

So how do you tell if your external hard drive is connected to the correct USB port? You can differentiate them by the colors of the USB ports:

You can also tell the difference between USB 2.0 and 3.0 by looking at the icons, as shown below:

Follow these steps to change the USB port and connect your external disk to the PC using a USB 3.0 port: 1. Disconnect the external hard drive from the current USB port on your PC. 2. Locate a USB 3.0 port on your computer. These ports are usually marked with a blue interior or the USB 3.0 logo (a "SS" symbol). 3. Ensure that your external hard drive is powered on (if it has a separate power supply) or connected to a power source. 4. Carefully insert the USB cable of your external hard drive into the USB 3.0 port on your PC. Make sure it fits securely. 5. Wait for your PC to recognize the external disk. This might take a few seconds. 6. Once recognized, you can access your external hard drive through File Explorer or the corresponding file management software on your operating system. By connecting your external disk to a USB 3.0 port, you should benefit from faster data transfer speeds compared to USB 2.0.

Step 1. Connect your WD external hard drive using its original USB 3.0 cable.

Step 2. Locate the USB 3.0 ports on your PC.

Step 3. Connect the external hard drive to your PC using the USB 3.0 cable and a USB 3.0 port.

Now, try to copy and transfer data between your computer and external hard drive again. If the speed is back to normal, congratulations – you're all set.

If the WD external hard drive still has a slow transfer rate, try the other fixes shown below.

Method 2: Compress and Backup Data to Another Location, Such as the Cloud

When your external hard drive is simply filled with data, it may become sluggish. The optimal solution is to free up disk space. If you have stored numerous important files on the drive, you can consider compressing or backing up that data to another location, such as a cloud storage service.

Here, we'd like to recommend you to try professional backup and recovery software – Todo Backup Home for help.

You can even back up those files to cloud storage, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. Refer to Back Files to OneDrive for assistance.

Once the backup process is complete, you can delete these files to free up more space on your WD external hard drive and enhance its transfer speed.

Method 3: Clean Up Large Unnecessary Files on WD External Hard Drive

When a hard drive or an external hard disk becomes cluttered with numerous large unnecessary files, it can impact the disk's performance, resulting in slower transfer rates. To rectify this, you can utilize a cleanup software to eliminate these junk files.

Step 1. DOWNLOAD and install tools Partition Master for free and launch it on your Windows PC.

On the suite, hover your mouse over "PC Cleaner", click the Download icon to install and launch CleanGenius.

Step 2. On CleanGenius, select "Cleanup" on the main screen, and click "Scan" to initiate scanning.

Step 3. When the scan is over, choose the unnecessary large files and click "Clean" to get rid of the large files.

Translation: "Large File Cleanup - 2"

Step 4. When CleanGenius finishes cleaning the selected files, click "Done" to complete the process.

Translation:

Method 4: Defragment and Clean Up Fragments on External Hard Drive

If your external hard drive has been in use for an extended period, it might contain numerous fragments, occupying a significant amount of space on the drive. The ideal solution is to clean up the existing fragments on the external hard drive:

Step 1. Connect the WD external hard drive to your PC and open File Explorer.

Step 2. Right-click the external disk and select "Properties."

Step 3. Go to the Tools tab, and click "Optimize" under Optimize and defragment drive.

Step 4. Select "Remove customized settings".

Step 5. Select your disk and click "Optimize" to finish.

Method 5: Update External Disk Driver

When the external hard drive's driver is outdated, it may not perform optimally. To enhance its transfer speed, updating the disk driver is recommended. A useful tool to assist you with this is DriverHandy. This tool offers a user-friendly interface for swift driver updates. Download it now and refer to the instructions below to update your external disk driver: 1. Install and launch DriverHandy. 2. Upon opening, the software will automatically scan your system for outdated drivers. 3. Locate the external hard drive driver in the list of detected drivers. 4. Click on "Update" next to the external disk driver to initiate the update process. 5. Follow any on-screen prompts during the update. 6. Once the driver is updated, restart your computer for the changes to take effect. By following these steps, you should be able to update your external hard drive driver and potentially improve its performance.

Step 1. Open the tool DriverHandy and select "Scan."

Step 2. Locate your external disk drive and click "Update."

Method 6: Check and Repair Corrupted File System/Bad Sectors on WD External Hard Drive

When the external hard drive has a corrupted file system or bad sectors, you might be unable to access or transfer files through it. Here are the steps to fix the corrupted file system and bad sectors: 1. **Connect the External Drive**: Connect your external disk to a Windows or macOS computer. 2. **Check Disk Utility (Windows)**: For Windows users, open File Explorer, right-click on the external drive, and select "Properties." In the Properties window, go to the "Tools" tab, and click "Check" under the Error Checking section. Follow the prompts to repair any errors. 3. **Disk Utility (macOS)**: On a Mac, open "Disk Utility" from the Utilities folder within Applications. Select your external drive from the list on the left, then click the "First Aid" tab and click "Run." This will scan for and repair any issues. 4. **Command Prompt (Windows)**: If the previous step doesn't work, open Command Prompt as an administrator. Type `chkdsk /f /r X:` where 'X' is the drive letter of your external disk. This command will attempt to fix file system errors and recover readable data from bad sectors. 5. **Reformatting (Caution)**: If all else fails, you might need to reformat the external drive. Be aware that this will erase all data, so ensure you have backups. In Windows, right-click the drive in File Explorer and choose "Format." In macOS, Disk Utility offers a "Format" option. Choose a file system like NTFS (Windows) or APFS/FAT32 (macOS/Windows compatible). 6. **Scan for Viruses/Malware**: It's also a good idea to scan the drive for viruses or malware, as they can cause corruption. Use a reliable antivirus software for this purpose. 7. **Contact Support**: If the issue persists, consider contacting the drive manufacturer's technical support for further assistance. Remember that prevention is key. Regularly back up important data and keep your drive well-maintained to avoid such issues in the future.

Step 1. Connect the WD external hard drive to your PC.

Step 2. Press the Windows + R keys, type cmd, and press Enter.

Step 3. Click "Yes" when prompted to run Command Prompt as an Administrator.

Step 4. Type chkdsk E: /f /r /x and press "Enter".

Replace "E" with the drive letter of your WD external hard drive.

Method 7: Alter File System, Convert WD Drive to NTFS, and Enhance Its Performance

大多是时候，当您的驱动器没有设置正确的文件系统时，也可能会影响磁盘性能。为了优化其性能，您可以按照以下两个教程来修复WD外部硬盘传输速率慢的错误：

#1. Convert WD External Hard Drive to NTFS To convert a Western Digital (WD) external hard drive to the NTFS file system, follow these steps: 1. **Backup Data**: Before making any changes, ensure you have backed up all important data from the WD external hard drive to prevent potential data loss. 2. **Connect the Drive**: Connect the WD external hard drive to your computer using a USB cable. 3. **Check the Current File System**: Open "File Explorer" on Windows or "Finder" on macOS. Locate the WD external hard drive in the list of drives and right-click on it. Select "Get Info" on macOS or "Properties" on Windows to view the current file system. 4. **Windows Conversion**: If you're using Windows: - Click on the "Start" button, type "cmd" in the search bar, and run Command Prompt as an administrator. - In the Command Prompt, type `convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs`, replacing "drive_letter" with the actual letter assigned to your WD external hard drive (e.g., `convert G: /fs:ntfs`). - Press Enter and follow the prompts. The conversion process may take some time depending on the size of the drive. 5. **macOS Conversion**: If you're using macOS: - Since macOS doesn't have a built-in feature to directly convert to NTFS, you'll need third-party software like Paragon NTFS for Mac or Tuxera NTFS. Install the software of your choice and follow its instructions to format the drive to NTFS. 6. **Format Warning**: Formatting or converting the drive will erase all data. Make sure you've completed the backup before proceeding. 7. **Verify NTFS Format**: After the conversion, check the file system again using the same method as in step 3 to confirm that it's now NTFS. Once converted, your WD external hard drive should be compatible with both Windows and macOS systems for seamless data transfer.

通常，NTFS更适合用于大型存储设备，包括内部和外部硬盘驱动器，以应用和保存数据。因此，如果你的设备是FAT32或exFAT，可以按照以下提示将WD外部硬盘转换为NTFS：

Step 1. Connect the WD external hard drive to your PC.

Step 2. Right-click on the Start button and select "Command Prompt (Admin)".

Step 3. Sign in with your Administrator account if prompted.

Step 4. Type convert G: /fs:ntfs and press "Enter."

Replace G: with the drive letter of your WD drive.

#2. Optimize External Hard Disk Performance

Step 1. Connect the slow WD external hard drive to your PC.

Step 2. Right-click on the Windows icon and select "Device Manager".

Step 3. Expand "Disk Drives," right-click on your WD external hard drive, and select "Properties."

Step 4. Go to the "Policies" tab, select "Better performance", and click "OK" to confirm.

After this, you can get a faster WD external hard drive, and you can use it to transfer and save files at a high transfer rate again.

Method 8: Run Antivirus Software

Occasionally, viruses or malware infections can also lead to the slow transfer rate issue with your drive. To resolve this, you need to run antivirus software to scan and clean the affected disk.

Step 1. Connect the slow external hard drive to your PC.

Step 2. Run antivirus software or tool.

Step 3. Select to scan both your PC and the external hard drive.

Step 4. Remove all detected viruses and malware.

Step 5. Restart your PC and reconnect the external drive to it.

After this, you can use the external hard drive to copy and transfer data again.

Conclusion

Please note that if your hard drive or external hard drive suddenly slows down while copying or transferring files, do not worry. You can directly apply the solutions on this page to resolve this issue from your disk.

To prevent unintentional data loss, remember to create an additional backup of crucial files from your external disk to another device or even a Cloud storage service. Tools like Todo Backup can assist you with this process.

If you still have questions about resolving the slow external hard drive issue, review the frequently asked questions and answers below. Hopefully, these responses will assist you.

People Also Ask about External Hard Drive Being Slow

1. Why is my external hard drive transferring files so slowly?

Accordingly, the following errors are the primary reasons behind your external drive's slow performance issue:

1. Low storage space: The storage device has run out of available space. 2. Large unnecessary files occupy the device. 3. Corrupted system files or bad sectors on the storage device. 4. Incorrect or invalid file system set on the external hard drive. 5. External hard drive connectivity issue, not connected through a USB 3.0 port. 6. Outdated disk driver. 7. The disk has excessive fragmentation.

2. How fast do external hard drives transfer data?

Mostly, the transfer speed of an external or internal hard drive heavily relies on the performance of the USB device. Here's a list of the maximum performance for various interfaces on an external hard drive: 1. USB 2.0: Maximum theoretical transfer speed is around 60 MB/s (480 Mbps). However, real-world speeds are often lower due to overhead and other factors. 2. USB 3.0: Theoretical maximum transfer speed is approximately 625 MB/s (5 Gbps), but actual speeds can vary depending on the drive's quality and the specific implementation. 3. USB 3.1 Gen 1: Also known as USB 3.0, it has the same theoretical maximum transfer speed as USB 3.0. 4. USB 3.1 Gen 2: Offers a higher theoretical transfer speed of about 1,250 MB/s (10 Gbps). 5. USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2): This version doubles the bandwidth of USB 3.1 Gen 2, providing a maximum theoretical transfer speed of up to 2,000 MB/s (20 Gbps). 6. Thunderbolt 3: With a maximum transfer speed of 40 Gbps, it can reach approximately 3,125 MB/s, which is significantly faster than USB connections. 7. Thunderbolt 4: Similar to Thunderbolt 3, it supports a maximum transfer speed of 40 Gbps. It's important to note that these are the maximum speeds achievable under ideal conditions, and actual performance may be affected by factors such as the hard drive's RPM, the type of data being transferred, and cable quality.

• USB 3.0 - Up to 4.8 GB/sec
• USB 2.0 - Up to 480 MB/sec
• USB 1.1 - Up to 12 MB/sec

3. Why is my computer suddenly so slow?

There could be numerous reasons behind your computer suddenly slowing down. Here are some primary causes: 1. **Resource Overload**: If you have multiple applications running simultaneously, it can consume a significant amount of your computer's processing power, causing it to slow down. 2. **Insufficient RAM**: If your computer's Random Access Memory (RAM) is full or inadequate for the tasks you're performing, it can lead to sluggish performance. 3. **Malware or Viruses**: Malicious software can significantly slow down your computer by consuming resources and disrupting normal system functions. 4. **Outdated Hardware**: If your computer's hardware, such as the processor or hard drive, is outdated, it might struggle to handle modern software demands. 5. **Too Many Startup Programs**: When your computer boots up, several programs may start automatically, eating up valuable resources and slowing down the startup process. 6. **Fragmented Hard Drive**: Over time, data on your hard drive can become scattered, making it take longer for your computer to access information. 7. **Operating System Issues**: Software updates or bugs in your operating system can cause performance issues. 8. **Overheating**: Continuous use without proper ventilation can cause your computer to overheat, forcing it to slow down to prevent damage. 9. **Driver Issues**: Outdated or incompatible device drivers can cause conflicts and affect your computer's performance. 10. **Inadequate Maintenance**: Regular cleaning of temporary files, cache, and performing disk checks can help maintain optimal performance. Lack of maintenance can contribute to a slowdown. To improve your computer's speed, you can try closing unnecessary programs, updating your software and drivers, running a virus scan, and optimizing your startup programs. If issues persist, consider upgrading your hardware or seeking professional assistance.

• Many apps are running in the background
• High CPU or high RAM usage
• The hard drive has no free space
• Virus or malware infection
• Windows is not up to date
• Hard drive driver is outdated
• Hard drive failure
• ...

How to resolve this issue? Seek assistance from Windows 10 Suddenly Slow.