If a hard drive is heavily fragmented, file read/write operations can take significantly longer, causing slow backup speeds. Defragmenting the drive organizes the data for more efficient access.
* Why Not A (Replace the hard drive's USB cable): A faulty cable would typically cause disconnections or errors, not just slower speeds.
* Why Not C (Update the storage drivers): This might help if the issue is with system drivers, but the described symptoms point to a fragmentation issue.
* Why Not D (Compress the files): Compression reduces file size but does not address the root cause of the slow backups.
CompTIA A+ Exam Reference: Core 2 (220-1102), Section 3.1, storage troubleshooting.