Written 6 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

When the house share is slow

The folder opens and copies work, but photos crawl. Check Wi-Fi vs a cable, link speed, disk room, then the laptop. You don't need a 10G switch.

Haven't set up a share yet? Start with a file share. Folder won't open at all? That is when the house share won't open. Opens but every write fails? when you can open the house share but can't write. This note is the middle case: open works, tiny files land, and a big photo dump still crawls.

Skip until copies actually work

If Finder, File Explorer, or the phone never shows the share, stop here: when the house share won't open. If a small text file won't save, that is write, not speed: when you can open the house share but can't write. Don't buy a 10G switch because one phone dump felt slow. Don't open SMB to the internet to "test" speed.

What this is

Slow and broken are different jobs. A one-megabyte text file can finish in a blink while a camera-roll folder takes forever. Common causes: Wi-Fi on the old PC (or the laptop doing the copy), a cable stuck at 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet, a nearly full or dying disk, Windows Defender scanning every SMB write, or a phone far from the access point. Cheap checks first. You do not need a new switch tonight.

1. Confirm it is slow, not broken

From the laptop or phone on the house network, copy one tiny text file into the share. It should finish quickly. Then try a folder of photos (or one large video). If the tiny file fails, leave this page: when you can open the house share but can't write. If the folder never opens, use when the house share won't open. If the tiny file is fine and the photo dump crawls, keep going.

2. Same house Wi-Fi — not guest, VPN, or cellular

The phone or laptop must be on the same house Wi-Fi as the old PC. Guest Wi-Fi often isolates devices so the share never appears, or it crawls through a captive path. Turn off VPN for this test. Cellular will not reach the computer. Open walks if you need them: from a laptop, from a phone.

3. Prefer ethernet on the old PC

Wi-Fi is fine for browsing. For big photo dumps, plug a cable into the old PC if it has a port. Fewer drops overnight. If you are timing a copy from a laptop, plug that laptop too when you can. A short Cat5e from the drawer is enough. Don't buy Cat6 or a new switch for this test.

4. Check link speed on the computer

SSH in (or sit at the keyboard), then:

ip -br link

Skip lo. Point at the ethernet line that is UP (often a name that starts with en, or eth0). Ask for the speed (swap NAME):

cat /sys/class/net/NAME/speed

One number comes back in megabits per second. 1000 is gigabit — fine for a house PC. 100 is Fast Ethernet: photo dumps feel like a crawl. Try another cable from the drawer and another LAN port on the router, then ask again. If ethtool is already installed:

ethtool NAME

Read the Speed line. Or check the router's client list for the same number. Don't buy a 10G switch on day one. A fuller look is see the cable speed. When you actually need a faster switch later: a faster switch for a first home lab.

5. Disk nearly full or dying

A packed disk can make writes crawl before they fail. Print human sizes:

df -h /

Point at the line that ends in /. If Use% is high, free room: when the computer's disk is full. Quieter look: see if the computer still has room. If the house folder lives on a stay-in USB, check that mount too:

df -h /srv/share

Swap the path if yours differs. Old Marketplace disks sometimes crawl while dying. A quick SMART look: see if the old disk is dying.

6. Antivirus scanning every write on the laptop

On Windows, Defender (or another antivirus) can scan every file as it lands on a mapped share. That turns a photo dump into molasses. For a short test only: exclude the mapped drive letter (or the \\address\share path) from real-time scanning, then copy again. Or compare: copy the same folder from a Mac or phone on house Wi-Fi. If those are fast and Windows is slow, the scanner is the clue. Turn the exclusion off after the test if you prefer. Map a drive letter: map the house share as a drive.

7. Phone over weak Wi-Fi

Phones far from the access point drop rate and retry. Move closer to the AP (or the router) and try one album again. Stay on house Wi-Fi, not guest. The dump walk itself: save phone photos to the house share. Huge dumps are often happier from a laptop on a cable: open the house share from a laptop.

What this is not

This is not a reason to buy a 10G switch, a NAS, or a new mesh kit tonight. It is not opening SMB past the house network. It is not the "folder won't open" page (when the house share won't open) or the "can't write" page (when you can open the house share but can't write). It is not turning off antivirus forever.

What next

Cable speed look: see the cable speed. Disk room: when the computer's disk is full. Phone dump: save phone photos to the house share. Second copy of the house folder: a backup of the house folder. When you outgrow gigabit on purpose: a faster switch for a first home lab.

Optional: note that photo dumps crawled (and whether you were on Wi-Fi or a cable) in Lab plan — username + passkey, no email. Skip if you just want to keep reading.

Skip

• Skip a 10G switch because one photo dump felt slow.
• Skip buying Cat6 when Cat5e from the drawer is fine for this test.
• Skip opening SMB to the internet.
• Skip leaving antivirus off after a one-time exclusion test.
• Skip this page if the folder never opens — use when the house share won't open.
• Skip this page if tiny writes fail — use when you can open the house share but can't write.