Top 7 Data Transfer Speed Slowdowns – Internal SSD

Why you need this article

Many users are migrating from HDDs to SSDs, the reason is simple – SSDs start up a computer quickly, are faster for everyday use, and are considerably more reliable. But slow SSD read/write speed problems are very real. If your device contains a Solid-State Drive, you may have noticed its performance decline over time. Opening applications and copying files might take longer than usual, and sometimes this will also cause freezing issues making your device tougher to use.

SSD is the short-form for a solid-state drive; it is a storage device that has gained immense popularity in recent years. Yet, several reasons can be responsible for slower SSD read or write speeds on Windows 10 or other operating systems:

• Low space
• TRIM command is disabled
• Drive is no longer optimized
• Incorrect power plan
• Firmware is outdated
• Folder nesting
• Onboard VGA is enabled

How to check read and write speeds

1. Open the Microsoft Store

2. Search for CrystalDiskMark then click the Get button

3. Once it has finished installing, select Start

4. Search for CrystalDiskMark and select the top result to open the app

5. Using the first drop-down menu on the left, select the number of runs. (If the default is 5, you can change it to 3, which is enough to get more accurate results.)

6. Using the second drop-down menu, select the file size that the app will use to benchmark the drive. (The default selection is more than enough in most cases.)

7. Using the third drop-down menu on the right, select the drive (HDD or SSD) that you want to test

8. Click the All button

When using the All option, the tool will run all the available tests, including the sequential reads and writes and three different 4KiB random tests. If you only want to run a single test, you can click the green button on the left.

Once you’ve completed the steps, the performance tests will run on the disk for several minutes depending on the drive, and after they have been completed, you’ll see the benchmark result in megabytes/second. You can hover over the result to see the IOPS results for the tests.

Common Slowdown Culprits

All Full UP

The less space on your SSD, the slower it will perform. In our experience, if your SSD is at 85% capacity or higher, and you notice some performance issues, you should first try and clear up some space. The most obvious thing that you can try is to start deleting unnecessary files and folders from SSD that may be occupying the space.

Another idea that works is to disable hibernation, as this could free up a lot of disk space for you. Follow these steps:

1. Select Start and type Cmd

2. Right-click on the top search result and choose Run as Administrator

3. Type the following command

powercfg -h off

4. Hit ‘Enter’

Once you followed the steps mentioned above to clear off some space in your SSD. Check if there have been any improvements in the SSD read/write speed.

Trim

The TRIM command is absolutely necessary for stable performance of an SSD. Make sure the SSD supports TRIM and is enabled.

1. Click Start and type cmd

2. Right-click Command Prompt and select Open as Administrator

3. Enter the following command:

fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify

4. Press Enter

Now, if you get 0 as the result, it means TRIM is enabled and if you get 1 it means it is currently disabled. Move on to the next step if you get 1 in the result.

5. Enter the following command:

fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0

6. Hit Enter

This will enable TRIM command on your system. Samsung Magician also has the ability to enable TRIM if supported.

Optimize

As you use an SSD more and more, especially after installing numerous applications, it is recommended to optimize the SSD. There is no reason to Defrag an SSD but the optimization is useful in improving overall performance. Windows will also intelligently identify whether you are trying to defrag/optimize a HDD or SSD and will perform the defrag or optimization correctly based on the device. 

1. Select Start and type Defrag

2. Select Defragment and Optimize Drive

3. Select the SSD drive and click Optimize

Optimizing it from time to time helps bring it back to its original state.

The Samsung Magician software also has the ability to Optimize

Power plan

This is a quick potential fix. Try changing to the Power high-performance mode by following the steps below:

1. Select Start and type Power & Sleep settings. Select the top result

2. On the right-side, select Additional power settings under Related settings

3. In the Power Options window click on High performanc

In Balanced Power Plan, your SSD may not receive the full power it needs to run at its best capacity, on the other hand, the High-performance plan favors performance at the expense of using less wattage and not allowing devices to sleep.

Firmware

Just like other hardware, SSD manufacturers release patches and updates periodically for SSDs too. The firmware of SSDs is essential for running them smoothly and efficiently, so remember to keep checking for a firmware update. To update your SSD, follow these steps:

1. Select Start and type Device Manager and select the top result

2. In the Device Manager windows locate Disk drives and click on the arrow and expand it

3. Right-click on the SSD and click Update Drivers

4. You will be prompted for options on How do you want to search for drivers? Click on Search automatically for drivers

Once again, Samsung Magician is great at helping you through this process.

Windows will now search for any new updates available for your SSD and install them. Once the process is completed. Check if your issue is resolved.

Nesting

Folder quantity can occasionally have a significant impact on data transfer speeds. Specifically, multiple nested folders within folders (foldception) is often to blame for slow data transfers. The issue is related to indexing but unfortunately disabling Indexing doesn’t always resolve the issue as the damage is already done. It’s better to clean up a folders structure before attempting to transfer data.

Onboard VGA (Unverified)

This one is not something we were able to reproduce but a surprising number of users have reported that the painfully slow performance of the SSD simply vanished once they disabled the onboard VGA feature of their computer. If you are using a dedicated GPU then disabling the onboard is a safe troubleshooting step. Most of our systems that use a dedicated GPU will already have onboard disabled but it’s worth checking.

1. Reboot your computer and open BIOS.

2. Navigate to the Advanced BIOS section.

3. Search for Onboard VGA.

4. Now select the Disable option.