Impossibly slow USB 3.0..

Copying files of about 1MB each today (jpegs) from my laptop (an Asus X44H - has one USB 3.0 slot) to a Kingston USB 3.0 stick I am seeing rates of about 400kb/sec

I rebooted and things are a fraction faster, but still absurdly slow.

I spent a long time troubleshooting this a bout a year ago - going through various forum posts, installing drivers that were recommended.. uninstalling them (and using System Restore) when they didn't help or made things worse. I gave up. But I think it's time for another go. No idea really how to proceed differently this time. Can anyone advise?

I attach a screenshot of my Device Manager window,

Thanks,

Martin

Your device manager shows no USB 3.0 drivers.
You should see Renesas Electronics USB 3.0...
Get driver here: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download P6X58D-E

Sorry, that's the one for the Asus in your specs.

Notebook USB 3.0 driver is here: http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/X44H/#support

Description AsMedia USB3.0 Driver
File Size 3,51 MBytes

I tried Crystal Disk Mark on the USB stick. Read values were: 18.69;19.06; 2.88. Write values: 2.09; 2.32; 0.027. If I moved the stick to the USB2.0 port, there was little difference in the results.

I tried again with a WD USB3.0 external HDD: Read values were:67.13; 26.49; 0.322. Write values:67.06; 35.96; 0.888. Moving to the USB2.0 port, values were about 30% of USB3 for sequential, 50% for 512kb and about 80% for 4kb.

Thanks for the links. They are the same as I tried last year, in fact... I thought the ASMedia entry was the USB3. In any case, having installed the drivers, my Device Manager is exactly the same as before, as are speeds for the USB3 port.. I think I must have a USB3.0 driver or I wouldn't get a difference (with the WD HDD at least) between the USB3 & USB2 ports, no?

Results for Kingston DataTraveler 101 Gen 2 32GB USB Pen Drive:

USB3.0 Port:
Read: 18.69 (seq); 19.06 (512k); 2.88 (4k)
Write: 2.09 (seq); 2.329 (512k); 0.027 (4k)

USB2.0 Port:
Read: 17.29 (seq); 17.62 (512k); 2.408 (4k)
Write: 2.144 (seq); 2.329 (512k); 0.098 (4k)

Results for WD Elements 500GB Portable Hard Drive USB 3.0/2.0:

USB3.0 Port:
Read: 67.13 (seq); 26.49 (512k); 0.322 (4k)
Write: 67.06 (seq); 35.90 (512k); 0.098 (4k)

USB2.0 Port:
Read: 26.29 (seq); 16.55 (512k); 0.262 (4k)
Write: 20.63 (seq); 17.72 (512k); 0.502 (4k)

Two other bits of information. First, if I plug a USB3 device into a USB2 port, I don't get a message saying 'this device can perform faster in a USB3.0 port..." (I do on my PC).

Also, if I go into Device Manager and look at the Properties box for the three Generic USB Hub and three USB Root Hub entries there, none of them says 'Hub is operating at super-speed', which I understand is the indication for USB3.0. All but one (the first of three entries for 'USB Root Hub' - which has no 'Advanced' tab) say high-speed.

The ASMedia XHCI Controller shows as Working Properly. The driver details show asmtxhci.sys in the System32/Drivers folder. Isn't that the USB3 driver?? If I use the Properties box to update the driver, it starts an online search and then says my driver is up to date.

No, not wishful thinking (notwithstanding your sarcasm, I don't see that anything I wrote would lead you to conclude that I expect a USB2 drive to deliver the same speeds as a USB3 drive; would anybody?), just unfortunate misinformation.... Until recently I was living and working in Bangkok and bought the drive there. It says USB3.0 on it - I didn't check online (which I have done now). Clearly a fake (as so much of the stuff you buy there), though since it cost next to nothing for a 32GB USB2.0 drive, I am not too put out.

I don't have all that much else to test the USB3 port with, but from the WD drive it seems it must be working OK

M.