wd my passport ultra 5tb mounts, reads, but glacially slow

Troubleshooting Slow Data Transfer on WD My Passport Ultra 5TB External Drive

External hard drives, such as the WD My Passport Ultra 5TB, are essential tools for data storage and backup. However, users may occasionally encounter issues like sluggish reading and writing speeds, which can hinder productivity and data management. If you’re facing a similar situation where your drive mounts and reads data but operates at a glacial pace—say, copying files at roughly 1 GB over four hours—it’s worth investigating potential causes and solutions.

Understanding the Symptoms

In this scenario, the external drive:

• Mounts correctly and is readable
• Reads data without errors
• Exhibits exceedingly slow write speeds (~1 GB per 4 hours)
• Shows no unusual noises during operation
• Is embedded with a non-removable, hard-soldered USB-C port (not a typical SATA connection)

Additionally, attempts to troubleshoot—such as switching USB cables, hubs, or port types—have not improved performance.

Potential Causes of Slow Performance

Several factors could contribute to the observed slowdown:

1. Drive Health and Internal Errors
   Despite the lack of error messages or noises, internal faults—such as bad sectors or failing memory chips—may cause read/write bottlenecks.

2. Firmware or Controller Issues
   External drives rely on internal controllers to manage data transfer. Any firmware glitch or controller failure can drastically reduce performance.

3. Connection and Interface Problems
   Although cable, port, and hub changes didn’t help, issues with the USB-C interface itself might still be at play, especially given the hard-soldered port design.

4. Firmware or PCB Faults
   For drives with dedicated circuit boards, faults in the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) can cause slowdowns, even without obvious physical damage.

Diagnosis and Troubleshooting Approaches

• Verify Drive Health: Use SMART diagnostics tools compatible with external drives to assess the internal health status.
• Test on Multiple Systems: Attempt to connect the drive to different computers to rule out system-specific issues.
• Update Firmware and Drivers: Ensure that your system’s USB controllers and external drive firmware are up to date.
• Attempt Data Recovery Mode: Use data recovery software to see if the drive can perform faster operations in a different environment.

Advanced Solutions

Given the persistent slowness and the fact that the drive’s PCB is not user