h/d question

[trevelynzx]

i'm having a problem. when i open a folder, the contents take LONG to load up on-screen. the more contents in a folder, the longer it takes to load. it's getting rediculous. i can hardly open up "my computer" without waiting 20 seconds for it to load. without giving my system specs, let me say it's blazing fast and there's no reason for this. i have an x1900xtx and that is working fine in all other applications, so i figure it's not that.

i was wondering if the RAID settings on my mobo are messing it up. i'm only using one hard drive -- WD RAPTOR 150gb -- but i'm using the Crossfire Advantage mobo. i've tried playing with the BIOS settings with no luck. i really am at a loss. please help!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Quinton McLeod]

No. Actually it's Windows it self. Windows keeps a file handy for the content located in each directory. It then reads that file each time you go into a folder.

If it's moving slow, then that means a program is slowing it down. I read somewhere of ways to speed up the process. Can't remember where

 

[trevelynzx]

well, i don't know if that's my problem because i have very few programs running. i keep a vigilant watch on what's going on in the background. also, it's been doing that since i built this computer, with a fresh copy of XP installed.

any other suggestions?

 

[Quinton McLeod]

It's not a program loaded in the background per se. It's a program loaded in the GUI. For example, if you have an antivirus program, then each time you open a folder, it'll scan the contents inside. That program is built into the GUI. Or another example is when you right click on a file and you see a new option to zip or extract with Winzip.

 

[pkme2]

Have you checked your RAM? Most users keep adding programs and have only 256MB to start with, and XP recommends 512MB. I believe 1GB is best.

Have you checked your virus definitions and when did you run a scan for malware?

Usually, in most cases, the lack of enough RAM is the reason.

 

[Quinton McLeod]

Originally posted by: pkme2
Have you checked your RAM? Most users keep adding programs and have only 256MB to start with, and XP recommends 512MB. I believe 1GB is best.

Have you checked your virus definitions and when did you run a scan for malware?

Usually, in most cases, the lack of enough RAM is the reason.

Usually, but not in this case. It isn't that his PC is running slow. Windows is delaying when displaying the contents in his folders.

 

[spikespiegal]

File indexing enabled will cause some system over-head, but not that much.

Whenever I hear problems like this on a windows box my first action is to run a scandisk. If that checks out clean, I check for spyware behavior.

Hardware issues are thrid on my list.

 

[wpshooter]

You probably have some type of disk access problem.

To illustrate, let me tell you about a problem I was having at work last week.

I was formatting some CD-RW's using Roxio software. Well on this one CD in the batch that I was formatting, when I would put that CD in the drive and then try to go to mycomputer to do the format, like you say, it would take forever (and in this case it would not ever open) because as it turned out that particular SONY CD was defective. I don't care what I did the machine would NOT open mycomputer while that CD was in the drive. I could put any of the other CDs I was formatting in the drive and I could access mycomputer almost instantly.

So, something is messing up your computers ability to acess the drive. This could be a number of things. Might take a bit more info to discover the root cause.

 

[trevelynzx]

to answer the above, i'm running 2gb's of ram. here are my specs:

- Thermaltake XASER Armor series case
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ dual core Toledo
- Sapphire Crossfire Advantage motherboard
- ATI Radeon x1900xtx 512mb
- 2 GB Corsair XMS DDR 400 (1 GB x2)
- Western Digital Raptor GB 10k rpm
- Creative X-Fi "Fatal1ty"
- Coolermaster RealPower 550w
- LITE ON DVD-r/rw/ram
- Dual Dell 2005FPW 20.1" flat panels
- Saitek Eclipse keyboard
- Logitech z-5500 SS system

now, please ASK AWAY. i really want to get this annoying problem fixed. the computer is scorchingly fast, except when i'm trying to open files! ugh!!

thanks so much for all the help this far. please ask away and i'll answer any questions i can. to get it started, i'll check the AV program i have (symantec corporate) but on my laptop i've got the same version running and it's got no problems. all the settings are the same. i've also completed lots of virus/spyware checks using symantec, ad-aware, and spybot.

 

[trevelynzx]

also, maybe a little clue to help you guys out:

when i restart windows, the problem is significantly improved. as i continue working, however, it gets worse until it's almost unbearable. it doesn't get bad really quickly, though, it takes about two days to really get awful. but still, it's bad. when i open the "open file" dialog box in a program it takes about 30 seconds to 2 minutes to load up the contents. VERY annoying.

 

[dawza]

I experienced something like this once when I was using a USB DVD burner. When I turned the power to the burner off, Windows somehow did not realize that the drive had been powered down. Then, whenever I clicked on My Computer, Windows would take forever to search for the now-unavailable drive. Unlike your problem, though, files would open just fine after I got past the My Comptuer screen.

The problem was solved by powering the burner on again, and then going through the "safely remove hardware" process before turning it off.

Not sure if this is directly applicable to your situation, but it suggests that your problem may lie in Windows' ability to recognize/access some piece of hardware, and not a hardware problem per se.

What was the last thing you did before you noticed this issue?

 

[trevelynzx]

lol... the last thing i did was build the computer. which i think is part of the problem ;op (my first build).

anyway, here's a list of the usb devices i have plugged in:

permanent items:
USB hub
- usb keyboard
- usb mouse
- usb printer (not usually on)
- usb cord for the two ports on my 1st monitor
USB hard drive (300gb segate external)
USB cord for my 2nd monitor's 2 usb ports

semi-permanent items:
- apple ipod (i plug this into the port on my 2nd monitor)
- lexar 1gb flash drive (not usually plugged in unless i'm using it)
- epson USB scanner (not plugged in unless i'm using it)

now, i know what you're saying about the problem with my external drive; sometimes i have to wait for folders and files to load while the computer accesses that (it shuts off after about 10 minutes i guess). but i always hear the external hard drive powering up and it's always consistent. this problem i'm having is really independent of the USB devices (unless it's directly related to the usb ports on my monitors, which would make no sense). i've also had all of these devices (minus the monitors) plugged into my old laptop in the same configuration with the same software running with no problems.

 

[trevelynzx]

help please!

 

[trevelynzx]

c'mon, i know there's some helpful people out there. where are you?!?

 

[trevelynzx]

i'm gonna keep bumping til somebody helps me out!!!!!!!!

 

[ta8689]

ok, try unplugging everything you dont need. ie your external, floppys, cd drives etc. disable all virus protection etc. see if it changes. basically, check to see if its your basic hardware (mobo, processor, internal main hdd, ram) Then go from there. If it stays the same, not good. if it gets better, plug everything in one by one and see what it was. if it gets worse, im glad im not in your shoes. Also... get diskeeper 10 pro. modify your mtf. i think thats what it is. maybe you have a fragmentation problem. by how you say it gets worse and worse...