External SSD finder load very slow after upgrade to Ventura

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Level 1

26 points

External SSD finder load very slow after upgrade to Ventura

My attached 2Tb SSD via USB-C is very slow after upgrading to Ventura 13.3.1. When I attempt to view directories/files in finder of the SSD, the system loads for 15+ seconds. It's as if my Mac is "re-building" the file structure every time I plug in the SSD. If I am to click on any single folder, I have to wait as well. However, if I navigate away and then back to the already-loaded folder, it shows up instantly. This is obviously not a good workflow if I have to go through every folder and wait for it to load.

This does not happen with same SSD on my iMac or other MacBook Pro. This process was nearly instant under MacOS 12.6.4. How do I resolve besides going back to 12. At least 38 other people are experiencing the same issue base on a previous closed post. I tried Disk Utility to fix any errors - there were none. I submitted a bug report already but looking for some solutions.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 13.3

Posted on May 25, 2023 09:31 AM

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Answer 1

cannedfresh Author

Level 1

26 points

May 25, 2023 09:51 AM in response to Old Toad

Hi there.

Macbook Pro M1 Max 16" 2021, 10-Core, 64GB, 1TB

The SSD is formatted as APFS Volume.

XPG GAMMIX 2TB S11 Pro 3D NAND PCIe NVMe Gen3x4 M.2 2280

I do not have any optimizing apps. I use a VPN but I tested with it turned off and the issue persists.

I also cannot eject the SSD drive or view it in Disk Utility until it finishes loading. Which for some reason is now taking 3 minutes longer.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

214,242 points

May 25, 2023 10:34 AM in response to cannedfresh

Here's some food for thought: unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's, school's or bank's servers, they provide false security from a privacy standpoint and just use up system resources. Read these two articles: Public VPN's are anything but private and Former Malware Distributor Kape Technologies Now Owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, Zenmate, and a Collection of VPN “Review” Websites.

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Answer 3

May 25, 2023 10:45 AM in response to cannedfresh

Two things to try:

1) Update to 13.4. There were some issues with external SSD in earlier versions of Ventura. I cannot say if this is the case at hand, but I did test some SSD with BlackMagic Disk Speed Test and they seem to be back at full speed.

2) Run Etrecheck and post its full report here. Maybe we can spot something.

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

214,242 points

May 25, 2023 09:38 AM in response to cannedfresh

How is the drive formatted?

what model and year is your MBP?

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

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External SSD finder load very slow after upgrade to Ventura

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