Macbook Slow to read NTFS external hdd.

Hi there phoenix140,

​Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities. We understand you're having some issues accessing contents on your external hard drive, and we'd like to see if we can help out.

Which macOS version are you using under Apple menu () > About This Mac?

Also, NTFS is a format typically used with Windows computers. Are you using any third-party software along with this particular drive? Do you have any external drives available that are formatted in Apple File System or macOS Extended Journaled? Knowing how those drives work would help in narrow this down. Here's more about File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac.

Best wishes.

NTFS is a format developed by Microsoft. Macs have never been able to even write to it without 3rd party software. Reformat the drive to exFAT, and you can use it with a Mac and a PC. Or if you only use it with Macs nowadays, format it do Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (HFS+) (reason being, is AFPS is slower on HDDs than HFS+ is).