Foo - Why is my file transfer so slow?

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View Full Version : Why is my file transfer so slow?

phantomcow2
12-11-09, 02:52 PM
Scenario: I have an underpowered laptop with windows Vista and a lot of media on it. I want to transfer these files to my much more powerful desktop PC with windows XP pro on it. I can't find my flash drive, plus I have some 20gigs of DVD rips to send over (iso images). I figured the best way to do this was simply connect a patch cat5e cable to each machine. Both machines "see" each other and it says my connection speed is 1GB/s. Yet here I am, trying to transfer a 2GB folder now, and it looks like It will take me 1.5 hours!

Why is this so slow? That means data is being transfered at .38MB/s. I know I can only write to my hard drive so fast, but a flash drive would be a lot quicker than this. Can I do anything to make this faster? My roommates will scream if I use the ethernet cable for too long; they need it to play XBOX 360 :p

jsharr
12-11-09, 02:57 PM
maybe your cable is clogged. Trying running hot water through it...........
StupidlyBrave
12-11-09, 03:11 PM
^^Actually TP stands for "Twisted Pair", not "Toilet Paper".

On the other hand, there is no harm in trying ...

no1mad
12-11-09, 05:47 PM
I'm in no way a CS/IT person, but perhaps it has something to do with OS compatibility?

Vista recognizes XP (the whole legacy thing), but can XP run Vista?
waldowales
12-11-09, 06:09 PM
I'd check the adapter settings on both machines, to be sure they are set to the fastest transfer rate and full duplex. A null cable between parallel ports is faster than what you report. If you do run hot water through your cable, be sure to blow it out with compressed air afterward.
StupidlyBrave
12-11-09, 07:14 PM
... be sure to blow it out with compressed air afterward.

What if you've used distilled water? Still necessary? I never do.
DannoXYZ
12-12-09, 03:07 AM
Couple of tips:

1. use cat-6 crossover cable
2. disable firewall on both computers
3. disable anti-virus software on both computers
4. SMB sharing has high packet overhead, you can get 20-30% faster throughput with FTP

At one point, I was stuck with pitiful transfer speeds like you.
Doing the above got me to transfers up 80% of a full gigabit interface, about 80 MBps, or about 200x faster. That 20gb of DVD rips would take about 4 and a half minutes.
iamlucky13
12-12-09, 03:12 AM
4. SMB sharing has high packet overhead, you can get 20-30% faster throughput with FTP

20-30% sounds conservative. I've always been boggled by how slow Samba is. Of course, it's so easy it doesn't matter when you're sharing reports and pictures, but for big files or directory browsing, it's not so hot.