Why is my Windows file transfer so slow?
I'm using Windows file sharing to transfer a large file from one computer to another. I have 100 megabit ethernet and obviously both laptops are on the same wired LAN. They're both fast laptops, but when I transfer the file it only goes a couple of megabits per second. I can download off the internet a lot faster than that. What might be making the transfer so slow?
Answers:
While other answers correctly suggest things like personal firewalls and virus scanners, these might produce a slightly noticeable slowdown. If your slowdown is severe, then it's likely something more...
One very common reason I have seen where each machine on its own seems OK but file transfers between them is seriously slow... is a duplex mismatch. Check to make sure that they are 100Mbps full duplex connections, on BOTH the switch/router and on the PC itself. Ethernet auto-negotiation (for a time) was a rather poorly implemented standard, and sometimes even hooking together a switch and a router from the SAME vendor resulted in a duplex mismatch! Anyway, depending on your equipment, you might have lights right on your switch/router and network interface cards that readily indicate the speed and duplex. If not you will need to get into the switch/router and tell from there. On the windows side, you can generally right click My Network Places, select properties, then right click your LAN connection and select properties, then click the Configure button and select the Advanced tab. There is often a setting for speed and duplex.
Now here are some issues... if you want to use 100/full then you should manually set this on both ends of each physical link. Do NOT just lock one side, like the PCs only to 100/full without also locking the switch/router ports. Because 100/full disables autonegotiation, and the other end (in the absence of auto-neg) will default to 100/half. Then you have a duplex mismatch and will have tons of collisions. This could be the situation you have now and it just kills the file transfers. Another issue is that sometimes you need to kick the tires by forcing things to 100/full or 100/half and then back to auto/auto and sometimes they'll correctly settle back up on 100/full.
Other answers:
dependings on the user that you share..i think thats not your problem..perhaps..
bad connection? Insight Customer???
Since the file you are transferring is known to you to be good, turn off anti virus and your firewall on both pc's. They can slow things down. In fact, if you start both pc's in SAFE mode W/Networking, and then do it, you will notice a big improvement.
Mayby u could have too many anti virus or anti spyware running
simultaneously and these will slow down the transfer of files
as they need to scan for virus or spyware during transfer.
Manualy off any of these scan software and try...
Also if your files contains alot of picture then it will be slow as the anti virus or anti spyware scanning.
so turn off the software for vitrus & spyware & try..
If you are operating over a wired LAN, that does not use the Internet. You're slowest component will limit the transfer rate, as well as how much else is using the CPU on each of the computers. To get the fast rate, make sure that you are dedicating as much of each system's usage to the transfer.