Hi everyone. Sorry, I'm a noob. I have a SSD which has my OS. I have a WD Black 1 TB HDD to store all my files. I don't know why but whenever I open the Downloads folder on my HDD, there is a 1-2 second lag. That folder has less than 1 GB of data in there. Conversely, if I open my Pictures folder on the same HDD, it loads instantly. Any ideas why?
HDD slow in downloads folder
- Thread starter DBounlom
- Start date
Solution
In the window frame , is there a lot of columns open? I mean apart from date, size, type. If you have duration of media, and heaps of other options it can take a while to go though getting the properties of each file.
What will also add time is lots of or large zip files.
Id also like to hear more answers on this if other ways to reduce the time. I have an SSD for downloads and its 80% full but for first time, in past week, theres a 1-2 second lag before it sorts the folders. I only have size, date, type listed. I do have lots of different files but it didnt happen before.
What will also add time is lots of or large zip files.
Id also like to hear more answers on this if other ways to reduce the time. I have an SSD for downloads and its 80% full but for first time, in past week, theres a 1-2 second lag before it sorts the folders. I only have size, date, type listed. I do have lots of different files but it didnt happen before.
Boogieman_WD
Judicious
- Jul 31, 2014
- 6,050
- 2
- 35,960
Hi guys.
@DBounlom, what @fredfinks mentioned is a possible reason for that, although it might be something else. As you know mechanical drives have an arm which hovers over the platters and moves back and forth (basically scanning the drive for the right data). Depending on where the data is written on the platter it might take a second or two, for the arm to read the data and for you to be waiting a bit longer for some files/folders than others.
Do you have any other complains regarding this drive? If yes, I'd recommend that you backup your most important files, just to be on the safe side. If not, then this is completely normal. If you want just for your personal reassurance, you could test the drive out with DLG (Data Lifeguard): How to test a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows.
@fredfinks, this lag is not normal for an SSD. The technology is completely different and there are no mechanical parts to slow things down. In fact the SSD is praised for its lightning fast access time. Have you done any OS updates or anything else before this issue occurred? Do you have TRIM enabled?
I'd advise you to backup any valuable data which you might have on it, just in case. After that you could try it with a different SATA port and cables to see if the same thing happens. You could also download the manufacturer's diagnostic tool (or a 3rd party diagnostic tool if the manufacturer doesn't offer one) so that you can test it for errors.
Hope that helps. Please keep me updated.
Boogieman_WD
@DBounlom, what @fredfinks mentioned is a possible reason for that, although it might be something else. As you know mechanical drives have an arm which hovers over the platters and moves back and forth (basically scanning the drive for the right data). Depending on where the data is written on the platter it might take a second or two, for the arm to read the data and for you to be waiting a bit longer for some files/folders than others.
Do you have any other complains regarding this drive? If yes, I'd recommend that you backup your most important files, just to be on the safe side. If not, then this is completely normal. If you want just for your personal reassurance, you could test the drive out with DLG (Data Lifeguard): How to test a drive for problems using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows.
@fredfinks, this lag is not normal for an SSD. The technology is completely different and there are no mechanical parts to slow things down. In fact the SSD is praised for its lightning fast access time. Have you done any OS updates or anything else before this issue occurred? Do you have TRIM enabled?
I'd advise you to backup any valuable data which you might have on it, just in case. After that you could try it with a different SATA port and cables to see if the same thing happens. You could also download the manufacturer's diagnostic tool (or a 3rd party diagnostic tool if the manufacturer doesn't offer one) so that you can test it for errors.
Hope that helps. Please keep me updated.
Boogieman_WD
Thanks boogie.
Regarding OP's problem, specifically why a photo folder opens instantly yet a folder of miscellaneous files lags, wouldnt that be something related to software thats making it a more intensive read for the drive? Usually photo folders are slower to open if displaying thumbnails instead of 'details' list. What is creating the difference in speed of his folders?
Re my problem: I must have exaggerated, its more .25 a second. Its not real problem, just in file explorer, i flick between drives and i can see the contents of drive e: for a fraction of a second before they are sorted into the right designation (i sort by date).
Its not a slow roll up of sorting, its - flash open drive - flash sorted. Thing is, before is it would just be instant open/sorted like other SSDs. I cant do a direct comparison though because in my C: & D: SSDs they only have like 8 folders & very few files in the root.
Its an Intel 520 240gb. 195 folders, 2928 files. 176gb used, 46 free. No programs installed on drive, only loose files.
No antivirus running apart from Win defender (default options) and no recent system changes nor programs installed.
I'll do a diag on drive but i think itll come up with no probs. Its an older drive from previous builds thats just acting as a download drive for torrents and chrome downloads (and recent media playback). Maybe its just because ive never had the drive filled so much before. Am i expecting too much? Indexing doesnt make a diff does it? Its on anyway
With my WD black HDDs i sometimes get a slow filling in of dates in the date column. They are insta sorted upon opening though.
Regarding OP's problem, specifically why a photo folder opens instantly yet a folder of miscellaneous files lags, wouldnt that be something related to software thats making it a more intensive read for the drive? Usually photo folders are slower to open if displaying thumbnails instead of 'details' list. What is creating the difference in speed of his folders?
Re my problem: I must have exaggerated, its more .25 a second. Its not real problem, just in file explorer, i flick between drives and i can see the contents of drive e: for a fraction of a second before they are sorted into the right designation (i sort by date).
Its not a slow roll up of sorting, its - flash open drive - flash sorted. Thing is, before is it would just be instant open/sorted like other SSDs. I cant do a direct comparison though because in my C: & D: SSDs they only have like 8 folders & very few files in the root.
Its an Intel 520 240gb. 195 folders, 2928 files. 176gb used, 46 free. No programs installed on drive, only loose files.
No antivirus running apart from Win defender (default options) and no recent system changes nor programs installed.
I'll do a diag on drive but i think itll come up with no probs. Its an older drive from previous builds thats just acting as a download drive for torrents and chrome downloads (and recent media playback). Maybe its just because ive never had the drive filled so much before. Am i expecting too much? Indexing doesnt make a diff does it? Its on anyway
With my WD black HDDs i sometimes get a slow filling in of dates in the date column. They are insta sorted upon opening though.
Boogieman_WD
Judicious
- Jul 31, 2014
- 6,050
- 2
- 35,960
Well about @DBounlom's issue - It is possible indeed. As you've mentioned depending on the files in the folders (such as videos and photos) and the view that's been set for the folder (thumbnail wise) it could slow up things a bit when being opened if there are hundreds or thousands of files.
About your situation - it doesn't sounds thus bad when you put it this way, as 1-2 seconds was a completely different story. Other than that you don't need disk indexing for SSDs. This helps with the response time of HDDs, but since the SSD has such a low response rate, it should not affect it at all. On the contrary it makes unnecessary writes on the SSD.
It might have something to do with the drive's storage capacity getting filled up if you haven't enabled the TRIM function. Other than that you could check for a firmware update for the SSD, it might prove useful.
Please keep me update.
About your situation - it doesn't sounds thus bad when you put it this way, as 1-2 seconds was a completely different story. Other than that you don't need disk indexing for SSDs. This helps with the response time of HDDs, but since the SSD has such a low response rate, it should not affect it at all. On the contrary it makes unnecessary writes on the SSD.
It might have something to do with the drive's storage capacity getting filled up if you haven't enabled the TRIM function. Other than that you could check for a firmware update for the SSD, it might prove useful.
Please keep me update.
Hey guys. Sorry for the late response. Personal reasons.
Anyway, my downloads folder only has 27 files totaling 1.04 GB. Conversely, my pictures folder has 261 GB and loads instantly. Granted it is segmented into folders within folders, but even if I open one random folder that has individual pictures in it (1,144 pictures totaling 18.7 GB), the folder still loads instantly. I'm still confused as to why the downloads folder takes a few seconds to load whereas the pictures folder is instantly. They're on the same HDD.
@fredfinks - Both folders are in the "Details" orientation. It's not in thumbnail mode or anything. I don't think the view is anything that should cause the slowness, but I could be wrong.
@Boogieman_WD - My HDD works great other than this weird slowness on the downloads folder. I guess I'll try the DLG as you suggested and let you know how that turns out.
Thanks for all the help.
Anyway, my downloads folder only has 27 files totaling 1.04 GB. Conversely, my pictures folder has 261 GB and loads instantly. Granted it is segmented into folders within folders, but even if I open one random folder that has individual pictures in it (1,144 pictures totaling 18.7 GB), the folder still loads instantly. I'm still confused as to why the downloads folder takes a few seconds to load whereas the pictures folder is instantly. They're on the same HDD.
@fredfinks - Both folders are in the "Details" orientation. It's not in thumbnail mode or anything. I don't think the view is anything that should cause the slowness, but I could be wrong.
@Boogieman_WD - My HDD works great other than this weird slowness on the downloads folder. I guess I'll try the DLG as you suggested and let you know how that turns out.
Thanks for all the help.
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