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Two similar computers -- One takes 5-6x longer to backup

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I have 2 similar HP computers about 2 years old.

Computer A:

  • Windows 10 Pro 22H2, updated.  Intel i5 CPU
  • 8 GB memory
  • C Drive: 633 GB of  930 GB free.
  • Backup to Seagate Backup Plus 4TB attached to USB 3.0 port.  503 GB of 3.63 TB free.

Computer B:

  • Windows 10 Pro 22H2, updated. Intel i5 CPU
  • 32 GB memory
  • C Drive: 515 GB of 930 GB free.
  • Backup to Seagate Backup Plus 4TB attached to USB 3.0 port.  1.56 TB GB of 4.54 TB free.

On each computer, I'm running a full backup followed by 6 incremental backups of the C drive.  Backups are run at 1AM when there shouldn't be any other (significant) processes running.  I have auto Windows updates turned off.

For Computer A, the full backup usually takes 3-4 hours which is acceptable (164 GB backed up).  Incremental backups take about 30-40 minutes (0.5 to 1.5 GB backed up).

For Computer B, the full backup takes about 12-18 hours which is NOT acceptable (196 GB backed up).  Incrementation backups take about 2-3 hours (1-3 GB backed up).

My question is:  Why does it take so long to backup Computer B?  I've run a chkdsk which doesn't show any problems. I've verified that Computer B's backup drive is connected to a USB 3.0 port.  I HAVE NOT tried a different USB drive yet.

Are there any suggestions I might try to get the Computer B's backups more in line with Computer A.  If you need more information, please let me know.

thanks, randy

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Randy, I was thinking you would say that Computer A was the slower of the two. The difference between 8 GB and 32 GB memory is big. But, you say it is Computer B which is slower.

Next area to check is the backup drives and the connections to them. Try do do a simple file copy of a large file to each drive and see if you see a difference.

You say both drives are Seagate Backup Plus 4TB, yet the size of the drives differs. One may be an older and slower version.

Although both ports are USB 3.0, perhaps the cable is a bottleneck. Or, consider that a port connected directly to the motherboard may behave differently from a port which is on a case front panel, or a USB hub.

Have you switched backup drives between the computers to see what happens?

Just some thoughts...

 

To test your cable try swapping the cables between computer A and computer B.  If A is then slower replace the cable.  I tend to buy good quality cables as I have found the cheaper versions pale in performance comparisons with high quality cables.  I have had very good success using Cable Matters cables found on Amazon.

All -- Thanks for the replies!

I'm doing some more testing, but it looks like I'll need to get a replacement USB drive.  I'll give a full report when I'm finished.

Thanks again -- Happy New Year!

randy

The quick version:  Moving to a new USB disk appears to have resolved this issue.

The long version:

First -- disk size differences: The Seagate disk on Computer A is formatted exFAT (the default out of the box).  The disk for Computer B is formatted NTFS.  Seagate says if you are running Windows, NTFS will give you better performance.  If you are on MacOS, stay with exFAT.  So, I reformatted the Computer B backup disk to NTFS before I started using it.

I have a 3rd computer with the same Seagate type disk (also NTFS), so I put it on Computer B and ran a backup.  It ran a full backup in 2:24:00 which is great.  I then put the original backup disk on Computer B, but swapped drive cables between Computers A and B.  Computer A did an incremental backup in 00:37:36 (no change from what I've been seeing), but Computer B's incremental backup took 03:36:00 (back to its old value).

I purchased a new Seagate USB drive (same model, but newer version), formatted it as NTFS, and ran a backup on Computer B.  A full backup took 02:22:00 which is what I want to see.  Last night's scheduled incremental backup took 01:32:00 which is a bit more than Computer A, but more than an hour less that what I've been seeing so I'm good for now.

I did order some better quality cables for all the computers.

Thanks all for your assistance!  I don't think I can pick both replies as solutions, but they both helped.

thanks, randy

 

Randy, glad you got it sorted out.

So if I read correctly, you have concluded that the Seagate drive that you had on Computer B is the source of the problem. I suggest running some diagnostics against the drive. Also, see if the Windows event logs are showing issues.

I'm just wondering if the drive is salvageable. Is it under warranty?

Yes -- when I replaced the old Seagate USB drive on Computer B, I got much better backup performance.

The old drive is still in great shape.  I ran Seagate's diagnostic tool and found no problems with any of the checks.  It was about 10% fragmented so I ran a defrag before I ran the final backup test (with the swapped cables) -- got it down to 3%.

I also checked the Windows logs and didn't find any warnings or errors that appeared related to this device.

Not sure why Acronis doesn't like that particular drive.  It's on the shelf in case I need any of the old backups.

thanks, randy