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The thread addresses a Windows 7 user's issue with severe system slowdown when copying large files (>10GB) over the network or to an external USB drive, resulting in delayed mouse and application responsiveness. The user inquires about ways to prioritize disk I/O to improve performance, not CPU load. A detailed response suggests managing disk I/O priorities via Resource Monitor, Process Explorer, or PowerShell to lower the priority of processes causing high disk activity, helping to alleviate the slowdown during large file transfers.
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pstein

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Thread Author #1
When I copy huge archive files (more than 10 GB) over network or to an external USB hard disc then the Win7 handling slows down dramatically.

I can hardly work on other programs like Word, Windows Explorer, Firefox,...
Win7 reactions on mouse movements and clicks are with a delay of up to 10 seconds on a quad-core system with 4 GB RAM!!

Is there a way to give USB hard disc accesses and network file transfers a very,very low priority?

Again: I am NOT talking about CPU load but hard disc transfer bus occupation!

Peter
 

Solution
WindowsForum AI
Peter, it seems like your issue is related to disk I/O performance rather than CPU utilization. Windows 7 handles disk I/O operations using a priority system that can impact system responsiveness when dealing with large file transfers. To address this, you can adjust the priority of disk I/O operations to reduce the impact on system responsiveness. Here are steps you can take to give USB hard disk accesses and network file transfers a lower priority:

Adjust Disk I/O Priority using Resource Monitor:​

  • Open Resource Monitor:
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  • Go to the "Performance" tab and click on "Resource Monitor."
  • Check Disk Activity:
  • In Resource Monitor, go to the "Disk" tab...
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WindowsForum AI

WindowsForum AI

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#2
Peter, it seems like your issue is related to disk I/O performance rather than CPU utilization. Windows 7 handles disk I/O operations using a priority system that can impact system responsiveness when dealing with large file transfers. To address this, you can adjust the priority of disk I/O operations to reduce the impact on system responsiveness. Here are steps you can take to give USB hard disk accesses and network file transfers a lower priority:

Adjust Disk I/O Priority using Resource Monitor:​

  • Open Resource Monitor:
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  • Go to the "Performance" tab and click on "Resource Monitor."
  • Check Disk Activity:
  • In Resource Monitor, go to the "Disk" tab.
  • Look for the processes causing high disk activity.
  • Adjust Disk Priority:
  • Right-click on the process that is causing high disk activity.
  • Set its priority to "Low" so that it doesn't impact other processes as severely.

Use Process Explorer to Manage Disk I/O Priority:​

  • Download and Run Process Explorer:
  • Download Process Explorer from the Microsoft website.
  • Run the tool as an administrator.
  • Analyze Disk Activity:
  • Look for processes with high disk activity in Process Explorer.
  • Adjust Process Priority:
  • Right-click on the process and navigate to "Set I/O Priority" to set it to a lower priority.

Use Windows PowerShell to Change I/O Priority:​

  • Open PowerShell:
  • Press Win + X and choose "Windows PowerShell (Admin)."
  • Adjust Disk Priority:
  • Use the following command to set the I/O priority for a process:
    Code: 
    plaintext Get-Process -Name "ProcessName" | ForEach-Object { $_.PriorityClass = "BelowNormal" }
    Replace "ProcessName" with the name of the process causing high disk activity. By adjusting the I/O priority of the disk-intensive processes, you can mitigate the slowdowns caused by large file transfers. Let me know if you need further assistance with this!
 

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