--- title: Windows has been slowing down every USB drive you plug... description: Windows defaults removable USB drives to a 'Quick Removal' policy since 2018, which disables write caching so drives can be unplugged safely without ejecting,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-slowing-down-every-usb-drive-you-plug-in-for-8-years-and-one-setting-fixes-it-qnhpq5cti twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Windows has been slowing down every USB drive you plug in for 8 years, and one setting fixes it | daily.dev og:description: Windows defaults removable USB drives to a 'Quick Removal' policy since 2018, which disables write caching so drives can be unplugged safely without ejecting,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-slowing-down-every-usb-drive-you-plug-in-for-8-years-and-one-setting-fixes-it-qnhpq5cti og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/qnHPq5CtI.png og:image:alt: Windows has been slowing down every USB drive you plug in for 8 years, and one setting fixes it og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Windows has been slowing down every USB drive you plug in for 8 years, and one setting fixes it **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Windows defaults removable USB drives to a 'Quick Removal' policy since 2018, which disables write caching so drives can be unplugged safely without ejecting, but slows down file transfers. Switching to 'Better Performance' in the drive's Policies tab enables write caching for faster copies, though it requires safely ejecting the drive afterward. Testing with 6,000 small files on a USB 2.0 stick showed about a one-minute improvement (11:31 vs 10:31) when switching to Better Performance. The setting requires a reboot to fully apply and persists per USB port. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the difference between Quick Removal and Better Performance for USB drives in Windows? Quick Removal, the Windows default since 2018, disables write caching so a USB drive can be unplugged anytime without ejecting it first, prioritizing data safety. Better Performance enables write caching for faster transfers but requires safely ejecting the drive before removal. In a test copying 6,000 small files (760MB total) to a USB 2.0 stick, Better Performance finished in 10:31 versus 11:31 for Quick Removal. _Weighing speed against safe-eject habits for USB drives is the kind of practical tradeoff daily.dev surfaces for developers managing removable storage._ ### Where do I find the setting to change USB drive removal policy in Windows? The option is located under the Policies tab in a drive's Properties dialog, accessible by right-clicking the drive in File Explorer and selecting Properties, then Hardware, then Properties again, then Policies. After toggling between Quick Removal and Better Performance, a reboot is recommended for the change to fully take effect, and the setting persists per USB port on reconnection. _daily.dev helps developers keep track of small Windows configuration tweaks like this that affect daily storage workflows._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [That USB flash drive you rely on is slower and less safe than this alternative](https://daily.dev/posts/that-usb-flash-drive-you-rely-on-is-slower-and-less-safe-than-this-alternative-bgonwp6yx) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 1 comments - [Remember When Flash Drives Were Going To Make Your PC Faster?](https://daily.dev/posts/remember-when-flash-drives-were-going-to-make-your-pc-faster--avte6py4d) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 1 comments - [USB4 promises 40Gbps speeds, but one BIOS toggle quietly turned it into USB 3 without telling me](https://daily.dev/posts/usb4-promises-40gbps-speeds-but-one-bios-toggle-quietly-turned-it-into-usb-3-without-telling-me-buvh5zykw) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Windows has been quietly wearing out your SSD, and the fix takes one setting](https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-quietly-wearing-out-your-ssd-and-the-fix-takes-one-setting-hpn9bz5oi) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your PC's front USB ports might be worse than useless if your case was designed around old standards](https://daily.dev/posts/your-pc-s-front-usb-ports-might-be-worse-than-useless-if-your-case-was-designed-around-old-standards-7ndyzy4en) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#windows](https://daily.dev/tags/windows) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-slowing-down-every-usb-drive-you-plug-in-for-8-years-and-one-setting-fixes-it-qnhpq5cti) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Windows has been slowing down every USB drive you plug in for 8 years, and one setting fixes it","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-slowing-down-every-usb-drive-you-plug-in-for-8-years-and-one-setting-fixes-it-qnhpq5cti","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-slowing-down-every-usb-drive-you-plug-in-for-8-years-and-one-setting-fixes-it-qnhpq5cti"},"datePublished":"2026-10-03T17:32:28.978Z","dateModified":"2026-10-03T17:35:12.257Z","description":"Windows defaults removable USB drives to a 'Quick Removal' policy since 2018, which disables write caching so drives can be unplugged safely without ejecting,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bd2427cc9cba8320bbae42689ec0b231?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/bd2427cc9cba8320bbae42689ec0b231?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-slowing-down-every-usb-drive-you-plug-in-for-8-years-and-one-setting-fixes-it-qnhpq5cti","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"windows","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Windows has been slowing down every USB drive you plug in for 8 years, and one setting fixes it"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/windows-has-been-slowing-down-every-usb-drive-you-plug-in-for-8-years-and-one-setting-fixes-it-qnhpq5cti#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the difference between Quick Removal and Better Performance for USB drives in Windows?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Quick Removal, the Windows default since 2018, disables write caching so a USB drive can be unplugged anytime without ejecting it first, prioritizing data safety. 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