huge delay when doing right click properties, or opening folders

[Red Squirrel]

When I right click on a file that is on my desktop to go properties, there is a huge delay, like at least 10 seconds,

Also when browsing in folders, when opening a folder or hitting back, there is a 1-2 sec delay.

Anyone know what would cause this? This is a rather fresh install so its not a virus or anything. I'm thinking it may be a certain service that does something which I can disable.

Could an AV cause this? I use AVG.

 

[mentalcrisis00]

It could be AVG causing the problems depending on your system configuration. Sometimes older hardware with newer software will cause things to slow down (DUH I just stated the obvious). But if the hardware is new than I'd say it might be a driver problem, either graphics or mouse driver. Try reinstalling them and see if that helps.

You could also try F-Secure, it's a really nice free online virus scanner. My computer was running slow awhile back and it seems I had 3 pieces of malware running in the background! BTW you have to open that link in internet explorer and it will ask you to install active x controllers, accept it. Scan usually runs for half an hour depending on how many files you have.

You could also go into the task manager and see if there are any bloatware programs running in the background. Usually the easiest ones to identify are helper.exe services, which come bundled with nvidia and creative drivers, and iTunes. They aren't usually needed and can cause load spikes, such as when you open something. To stop those from running on startup type msconfig in Run... then click startup tab, look for processes that aren't needed by searching for them on google. Then if they don't seem to be necessary just uncheck the box next to them, click accept and windows will prompt you to restart, do it. Windows will tell you in the toolbar that it has stopped windows processes from starting, left click this and click the checkbox that says not to prompt you about windows startup programs.

I must urge you, if you do this you should definitely search for all programs you want to diable on google to find out what it does. If you stop something crucial from running on startup then it may stop software you use from running or could bag your windows install. I'd make a restore point or back your data up before attempting anything like this.

hope that helps

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah I checked all of that, and of course rebooted (I work at a helpdesk, that fixes 99% of issues, reboot is your friend! ) It's a rather fresh image so no spyware or anything of that sort. Did a scan anyway to double check. I also disabled indexing service, thinking it may be that. Whenever I double click a folder explorer cpu usage spikes to like 30% so something with explorer is going screwy.

 

[mentalcrisis00]

eh mine spikes to 15%, but I'm also running vista so CPU usage usually jumps around while it does it's post rendering thing to make everything look smooth. I'm sort of stumped, I know that when dragging an explorer box across the screen it ripples and does weird graphical things in XP by nature. My windows xp systems sometimes lag a bit as well, I generally do a virus scan and then defrag. Try Aus Logics Defragmenter, it's free and has no pop up ads. It's also a lot better and quicker than windows defragment utility, has a nice graphical representation of the disc files too.

You could also try Process Explorer, it's a program from Mark Russinovich and the download is hosted by microsoft so theres no need to worry about virus's or malware. It's a nice program that tells you absolutely everything running on your computer and gives detailed information on where it's running from.

Beyond that I am stumped, good luck.

 

[Schadenfroh]

If you have not set Windows XP to performance mode (I assume you are using XP), then try this: (might work in Vista as well)

Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced (tab) > Performance Settings > Adjust For Best Performance > Apply > Ok

 

[inverse]

Had this problem on an XP machine. Turned out to be the Nvidia control panel context menu for me.

 

[nordloewelabs]

setting up the PC for "Best Performance" is a very good tip. i always try to disable as much fanciness as i can. however, based upon the description of your situation, i guess you are having problems with "PropertyHandlers". the bad news is that they are difficult to be addressed without a good understanding of the Registry. i used to have a speed problem when hovering or selecting AVI files. i fixed the issue by editing the Registry like this: i navigated to the bold key below, double-clicked the "Default" REG_SZ string, then deleted the "Value Data" inside the textbox (leaving it blank). you might need to reboot for changes to take effect.

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\PropertyHandler]


i'm not saying that AVIs are the specific source of your problem -- although they might be -- however, i do believe that some PropertyHandler is bogging your folder navigation down. if the lethargy happens in all folders, with any type of files, it is hard to pinpoint the culprit. on the other hand, if only some folders are being affected, you can figure out which file type is most likely causing the problem. i really dont think AVG is the culprit there.... i have it running on 2 slow PCs (a P3-700Mhz and a Celeron-900Mhz) with maxed out security settings. trust me, folder navigation is fast in both machines.

here's another Registry tweak you can try: disable the "LastAccessUpdate" feature of XP's File System. if you dont have the DWORD value "NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate" in the Registry key below, create it and set it to "1". again, you might need to reboot your PC.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]


as stated before, there's a good chance you're infected with some kind of virus or spyware. you should also re-install your video drivers, just in case. only mess with the Registry as a last resort....and backup any key you plan on modifying.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ahh I do have an nvidia card, it may be the control panel then, I'll play around with stuff when I get the chance. Also in this case its not videos trying to display on the side (though thanks for that tip, as I've always found that "feature" very bothersome)

And yes its XP.

 

[nordloewelabs]

the slow down caused by the AVI PropertyHandler happens regardless of the Commom Tasks bar (the sidebar on the left of the folder windows) being enabled or not. opening the AVI's "Property" dialog-box or merely hovering the AVI with the mouse could cause the system to slow down. again, not saying that this has to be the problem with your PC....

 

[imported_lovespicyfood]

I'm having the same problem running Windows Ultimate on a quad core Intel w/ 4gb of ram. I have AGV installed and an Nvidia card.

Should I uninstall the nvidia control panel?

Sucks having a new desktop that seems slow when it shouldn't be!

 

[pwurso]

I have found a solution to the right-click delay (for me and I'm sure many of you).

1. Start the Windows Registry Editor by going to Start>Run and typing "Regedit" (without quotes).

2. In the Registry Editor, go to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

3. Delete the 'ACE' entry (and any other ATI-related entries) by right-clicking on its folder and selecting Delete to remove the entire folder and its contents.

You can now check the effects of this immediately by going back to your desktop and right-clicking to check the context menu. The ATI Catalyst Control Center entry will be gone, but note that this cannot be "undone", so either backup using System Restore if you're not sure about this modification, or simply reinstall the ATI Catalysts and the entry will be recreated.