Poll of the Day > Why does copying multiple files at a time to a USB take longer?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have two files, one is 10GB and the other is 3GB.

I'm copying the first one and its gonna take 5 mins, okay cool.

I figure let me copy the second one at the same time, boom first one goes up to 18 mins and the second comes in at 7 mins.

Surely if the first one is gonna take 5 mins, it'll take 5 mins whether something else is being copied to the USB or not?

Is there some basic computer maths that I'm missing here?

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are they all a single file, or are they multiple smaller files that equal those sizes

because that makes a gigantic difference.

either way, copying two different files at the same time will take longer, because you're taking the full allocated processing power, and then cutting it in half.

if the question is why does a single file not take as long as several files at once, is because when doing a transfer of multiple files at once, like when moving a folder, every time one thing is transferred, the computer then has to create a new directory listing for a new file, and then transfer it

so when transferring folders, it's best to archive it into one single file first.

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Yeah they're each individual movie files.

we're talking about the allocated processing power of what, my CPU? Or my hard drive and the USB?

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for cpu, not so much

if you have a platter hdd, it's best to not try and do things at the same time, anyways, because the platter and head have to physically move to read the sectors. so for platter drives, in windows, moving two separate files, windows will usually pause one or stagger them. so it'll start transferring one file, then switch to the second, then switch to the first one, ect.

this is why ssd's are so much faster, they don't have to do that

for the usb, you're just saturating the bandwidth of the port, either on the computer or whatever you have plugged into it, but this is the more rarer of the two

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generally copying multiple files simultaneously (as in concurrently) should be faster. I suspect there are issues with the Windows 10 copy window. though my first guess would be it's just the estimate that was off, and if you measured the actual time it wouldn't be that much worse.

also, it sounds like you're probably using a USB 2.0 port. try using a USB 3.0 port if you have one instead (even if it's on the back of the computer). they will usually be the blue colored USB ports, and have way higher bandwidth.


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That's seems like a bandwidth issue. USB file transfer rates aren't that great. Transferring more than one large file is not ideal.

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Well thanks, it was actually usb 3. But yeah Ive got an SSD and a platter HDD so I think I was transferring from the HDD not the SSD so that might have been part of it

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SunWuKung420 posted...

That's seems like a bandwidth issue. USB file transfer rates aren't that great. Transferring more than one large file is not ideal.

Yeah it uses a lot of internet speed to copy files offline.
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Revelation34 posted...

Yeah it uses a lot of internet speed to copy files offline.

uh...

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Revelation34 posted...

Yeah it uses a lot of internet speed to copy files offline.

Bandwidth refers to any data transfer, bud.
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Rev wrecked himself, classic.

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I guess @Revelation34 won't be coming back to this topic.

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Sarcasthma posted...

I guess @Revelation34 won't be coming back to this topic.

Citation needed.
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And now, for the final act, he'll admit that he was wrong!

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Sarcasthma posted...

And now, for the final act, he'll admit that he was wrong!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NIgfiSzCy1o
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The feels when someone tries to belittle you but belittles themselves instead.

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Revelation34 posted...

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NIgfiSzCy1o

Yeah, you're right.

There's no way you'd ever do that.

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