Fix for the file-copy operation takes much longer than expected in Win Server 2003

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You are copying a file on a Windows Server 2003-based computer.The source file and the file-copy destination are located on the same physical hard disk.The hard disk does not support hardware write-caching. Or, hardware write-caching is disabled.In this scenario, it takes much longer than expected to copy the file.

In certain file-copy situations, Windows Server 2003 may alternate between 64-kilobyte reads for the source file and 64-kilobyte writes to the destination file. If both the source file and the destination file are on the same physical disk, and there is no hardware write-caching enabled on the disk, lots of head thrashing is generated. In turn, this causes slow copy performance.

Solution

If hardware write-caching is disabled, work around this problem by enabling the Enable write caching on the disk option. To do this, follow these steps

• Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.

• Click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.

• Right-click the drive on which the file-copy operation will occur, and then click Properties.

• Click the Policies tab, click to select the Enable write caching on the disk check box, and then click OK.

• On the File menu, click Exit.

Note:- When you use some disk controller hardware, this option may be unavailable (appear dimmed). In this situation, you may have to adjust the write-caching settings by using the proprietary software of the disk controller hardware manufacturer.