My Lacie d2 Thunderbolt drive is running at 1/2 speed when connected to my iMac Pro thunderbold 3 port. My Mac OS is 13.6. is this the problem? Would updating to 14.1 fix this issue?
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Thunderbolt 3 External HD running at 1/2 speed
- Thread starter rjtiedeman
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Is this a new change? In other words, did it formerly run faster?
If it's new and you are looking at numbers on the box or in the marketing, advertised speeds and reality rarely match.
If it's new and you are looking at numbers on the box or in the marketing, advertised speeds and reality rarely match.
Status: Device connected
Link Status: 0x2
Speed: Up to 20 Gb/s x1
Current Link Width: 0x2
Receptacle: 2
Link Controller Firmware Version: 0.39.0
Checked with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test.
Not a new drive but a storage disk used for keeping old files. It's about 1/3 full. "What's new" - I recently updated to OS 13.6. I don't remember ever checking so it may have been bad.
That's Thunderbolt 2 speed. Do you have the Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3 version of the Lacie d2 Thunderbolt?
If it's Thunderbolt 3 Lacie d2, then you may need a new cable - or you can try connecting it to different ports or switching each USB-C connector upside down.
You didn't say what speed you were getting or what speed you where expecting.
Thunderbolt 2 is ≈ 1500 MB/s.
Thunderbolt 3 is ≈ 2700 MB/s.
It’s a Thunderbolt 3 d2 and i have switched ports and cables. I have requested help from Lacie but i has been some time and I suspect they are out to lunch. May be it needs a driver update. Mac Performance suggested that Hard Drives are slow and I should get a ssd fo backup but I don’t have spare $$$$ for that. I will spring for a new TB4 cable and test.
You still haven't said what speed you are getting or what speed you expect.
The Thunderbolt 3 d2 product page says the hard drive max speed is 240 MB/s which means you only need USB 3.0 speed to get full performance.
Maybe check the drive's SMART info with DriveDx.
Run some benchmarks using AmorphousDiskMark.app. Compare a USB connection with a Thunderbolt connection. Compare with different Macs and OS versions.
The fastest HD I have runs at ~250 MB/s or 2000 Mbs, 1/10th the theoretical max speed of thunderbolt 2.
I am getting 100-120 MB/s when tested with Blackmagic Disk Speed Test and also Disk Sensei. I have emailed Lacie and have not gotten an answer. Tried all the ports and the external ports on my Caldigit TS3 Plus. Lacie pass the drive test but is not fast. I have tried 2 cables but don't have any more to test so I will just use it for back up. Also it's about 1/4 full of data. Help from Lacie would be wonderful. A quick note or anything I am not expecting miracle just an answer.
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Different parts of a HDD can run at different speeds. The outer tracks are usually faster than the inner tracks.
With a blank hard drive, you can create multiple partitions and compare the speed of each partition. The fastest partition will probably be the one closest to the outer side of the disk. I don't know if the outside is twice as fast as the inside.
With a blank hard drive, you can create multiple partitions and compare the speed of each partition. The fastest partition will probably be the one closest to the outer side of the disk. I don't know if the outside is twice as fast as the inside.
It used to be that a 150 MB/s was considered to be fast. You may have reached the disks max transfer rate. Have you checked its technical specifications? Lacie is the first place to start. If you are lucky a program such as Drivedx will give you the drive information which you can then check on the manufacturers web site.
I Have a CalDigit TB3 connected to a trash can mac over TB2 with a TB2-3 converter and even for this the firmware version needs to be v44.1 and yes stated max throughput should be 40Gbps but it's very unstable, so I don't use the TB connector at all just the USB3 one which is supposed to top out at 20Gbps but in reality I get 220Mbps and SSD's won't even run through the TB port
Do you mean CalDigit TS3 Plus?
Are you using an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter?
A Thunderbolt 3 device connected to a Thunderbolt 2 host requires an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter and will only connect at 20 Gbps.
USB3 tops out at 5 Gbps. USB 3.1 gen 2 tops out at 10 Gbps. I think CalDigit TS3 Plus has USB 3.0 ports and one USB 3.1 gen 2 port (limited to ≈8 Gbps) and one downstream Thunderbolt 3 port (can do USB 3.1 gen 2 at 10 Gbps).
220 Mbps is only 27.5 MB/s. Do you mean 220 MB/s? That's still slow for an SSD, unless it's a SATA II SSD.
No reason an SSD can't work from the TB port - something must be broken. Do you have something else to test it with?
It may be helpful to list the exact models of everything you are connecting. Perhaps with screenshots from the PCI, SATA, Thunderbolt, and USB tabs of System Information.app.
Yes sorry it's a Cal Digit TS3Plus and my HDD's run at 220 MB/s, point still is that my NVMe 2 Blades will run at around 550 Mb/s over the same cable through the same device and are way more stable in as much as they never discount erratically. And yes it is an Apple TB2-3 converter on the end of an Apple TB2 1M cable
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220 MB/s is very respectable for a spinning hard disk.
NVMe shouldn't be less than 1400 MB/s. Different NVMe will have different behaviour. I guess you lucked out there. Choose a different model NVMe next time. What model NVMe so everyone here knows to avoid them?
Crucial NVMe's are fine, limiting factor is the 10Gb USB enclosure, need to get a TB3 40Gb enclosure for them, all speeds for the connected drives are as good as I'm likely to get with current setup, in fact LaCie TB3 drive runs slightly faster than old LaCie TB2 drive directly connected with TB2 cable. Will downgrade my HDD's in the long run to backup volumes and get either a 4 bay or two two bayTB3 SSD enclosures
10 Gb USB enclosure can do ≈1000 MB/s from a USB 3.1 gen 2 USB port including Thunderbolt 3 port. The 10 Gbps USB port of the CalDigit TS3+ is limited to ≈800 MB/s so you should use the downstream Thunderbolt port for that if it's available.
the downstream TB port on the CalDigit3Plus will not run the SSD's they just freeze, the TB port won't even run the HDD's without them becoming even more erratic and disconnecting every ten minutes, only port that seems to run is the USB3.2 port, by the way I have 2 CalDigit+ devices each connected with its own TB2 cable and adaptor, both have the latest firmware upgrade both are as unreliable in this respect, also I have two trash can Macs and have tried the setup with both and see no difference, Iv'e tried three different TB2 cables and seen no difference, I've tried tuning the the short TB3 cables that connect to the drives around and upside down and even tried alternate TB3 cables and still no improvement. The only thing left to consider is a Higher spec TB3 enclosure
I wonder if the problem is with just CalDigit TS3 Plus downstream Thunderbolt port, or any downstream Thunderbolt 3 port (from another dock or any Thunderbolt 3 device that has two Thunderbolt ports), or the Thunderbolt 3 enclosures. Which Thunderbolt 3 enclosures do you have? If you only have one kind, then the problem could be with that kind. If you have two different kinds with the same problem then the problem might be something else.