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TL;DR
Unzipping feels slow mostly when there are many small files, the drive is
reading and writing at the same time, antivirus scans every file, or drag and
drop makes an extra copy. Use the Extract button, try a faster drive or tool
like 7-Zip, and limit background scanning to speed it up.
Mental picture: unzipping is like unpacking hundreds or thousands of tiny boxes. For every box you open, you also write a short note about where it went. Opening one big box is quick. Opening ten thousand tiny boxes and writing ten thousand notes takes time.
The most common reason: many small files
When an archive has a lot of small files, your system creates each file, updates the folder list, then writes the data. That extra work adds up. It can feel slow even on a fast SSD. One big 1 GB file usually extracts faster than 10,000 files that total 1 GB. This is normal.
Storage devices also have a limit on how many small tasks they can finish each second. So even if the speed on paper looks high in MB/s, extraction can still feel slow when there are thousands of little files.
Where you extract from and to matters
Reading and writing on the same drive can slow things down. The drive keeps switching between reading the archive and writing new files. This creates a bottleneck. Extracting to a different physical drive is often faster. External drives, USB flash drives, and network folders can also be slower, especially with many small files.
Drag and drop can double the work
Dragging files out of an archive window to a folder may first put them in a temporary location, then copy them to your target. That means two rounds of work for the drive. Using the archive tool’s own [Extract] button usually writes directly to the destination.
Your antivirus may scan every new file
Real time protection tools often check each file when it appears. This is good for safety, but it can slow extraction when the archive contains a large number of files. For a trusted archive, you can pause protection or exclude the extraction folder. Turn protection back on right after the job finishes.
The tool you use also matters
Windows Explorer can open zips and it is convenient. It can be slower with large sets of small files. Third party archivers like 7-Zip or WinRAR are often faster, but results can change based on the archive format and settings.
Windows 11 added more archive support, speed still varies
Windows 11 added built in support for more archive types like RAR and 7z. You may not need extra software just to open them. Extraction speed still depends on file count, archive format, destination drive, and scanning by security tools.
CPU and drive limits you might notice
Even with a fast SSD, the CPU can be the limit if the decompressor does not use multiple cores for that archive type. You may also notice that drives start fast and then slow down after a short time. This is normal when a short term speed boost runs out.
Practical ways to make it faster
- Use the Extract button, not drag and drop. This often avoids the two step process.
- Extract to a different physical drive than the archive. If you cannot, move the archive to a fast local SSD first, then extract.
- Try a dedicated archiver like 7-Zip or WinRAR. They often handle large archives with many files better than the built in tool.
- Reduce the number of small files. If you control the archive, put files into one larger container file, like a tar, before compressing. Extracting one stream is usually faster than creating thousands of separate files.
- Adjust real time protection carefully. For trusted archives, temporarily exclude the extraction folder or pause scanning, then turn it back on when done.
- Avoid slow storage paths. Prefer a local SSD over a network folder, old hard drive, or slow external drive.
- Check free space and drive health. Very full drives and fragmented HDDs can slow extraction.
Quick answers
Why does unzip speed not match my SSD’s MB/s?
Extraction creates many small files and updates the system for each one. The
limit is how many small tasks the device can finish per second, not only the
raw MB/s number.
Is Windows Explorer bad at zips?
It is fine for simple jobs. It can be slower with many small files and with
drag and drop because it may use a temporary folder first. Dedicated tools
often avoid this and may use more CPU cores.
Do I need third party tools on Windows 11?
Not always. Windows 11 can open more archive types now. If speed is important,
a dedicated archiver may still give better results.
In short,
Slow unzips usually come from many small files, reading and writing on the same drive, extra copies from drag and drop, and antivirus scans. Fix these first. These small changes often give the biggest speedup.