Hey all -

Anyone ever run into this problem with XP? When I go into explorer & try to expand "My Computer" (to see the c: and d:, etc drives) it's very slow! Sometimes it's a few seconds, sometimes it takes minutes. I also see the problem in some browse/dialog boxes (eg Word) where you have a drop down to select a drive.

I've recently defragged, and when I go to a dos cmd prompt, I can c: or d: without any lag at all...

Any thoughts on what could be causing the slowdown? I can see a lag when it initially mounts the drives while booting, but everytime I go in there???

Thx!

Also, I should mention that it does this sporadically - sometimes it's quick, but mostly it's not.

These are the drives I have listed in My Computer:

A: (local)
C: (local)
D: (local)
E: (cdrw)
F: (dvd)
H: (network)
X: (network)
Z: (network)
Control Panel
Shared Documents
User1's Documents
User2's Documents
User3's Documents

Yes, I've experienced the same thing, even on my own machine. I've also experienced Windows Explorer just completely disappearing and the desktop going blank without error messages. Then the screen immediately starts to refresh and all is normal.

I don't think it's due to a virus.

Haven't researched this issue yet as it happens very sporadically. I attributed it to a fragmented file system and felt it was better than getting a BSOD :lol: Time to solve this puppy

my completely uneducated unresearched guess is its a network thing

my somewhat educated-but-not-on-this-topic unresearched guess is that ivanchu's right .

My guess would be that it's redetermining which drives are actually valid so that it doesn't show ones which aren't. This thing happens to me ANYTIME I click on My Computer... I'd either guess it's trying to reconfirm the network drives. One thing I notice is that if my optical drives aren't spinning, they start up immediately when I click on My Computer. As it takes time for them to start and read what's in the drive, it'll take time for My Computer to expand. Now, I haven't run into minute-long delays with expansion, but then again, I don't have network drives shortcutted .

You might try unmounting those network drives and testing out that theory. If you still get the minute-long waits, then you might have a problem... If not, then you attribute it to XP trying to determine what drives you have access to, and the network (or computer to which the network drive is linked) being slow as molasses.

F

Odd, I get the same problem, even after defragging. I also have another problem with Quicklaunch. It does the identical thing when expanding out beyond what can be viewed. I tried taking things out of quicklaunch but it didn't solve anything (8 items total in it). None of the items are network oriented so that shouldn't be an issue with me as you said Frank.

Wait, is it taking minutes to expand? Seconds I can understand as it takes time to start up the optical drives and read what's in it.

F

I'll try dismounting the network drives... is there a way to set it up so that either the networked drives aren't made part of "my computer", or so that they aren't polled unless actually selected/clicked-upon?

Thx for all the input... looks like it's an issue with many!

The problem is as sporadic as using explorer and it coming up very slowly. Sometimes it shows the contents in a second or two, sometimes I can actually say it is over a minute. Now, with explorer I can see that happening for networks and drives, but quicklaunch?

Hmmmm, that definitely seems to be a problem. What exactly is this quicklaunch folder?

BTW, I've never encountered minute-long waits for explorer on XP. I vaguely recall running into that on W2K on another machine, but I can't remember the reason for why that was occurring... (It stopped doing it, but I can't for the life me remember what I changed .)

F

I did some research and this is what I was able to come up with:
NOTE: these items may or may not pertain to you.

1) There may problems with the file system.
Corrective Action: Run chkdsk /f from a command prompt.

2) Some of the XP system files may be damaged.
Corrective Action: Repair the XP installation or perform a clean install.

3) There may be read errors due to bad blocks on the hard disk(s).
Corrective Action: bad blocks on a hard drive are an indication of the drive starting to fail. Best action is to backup data and replace the drive.

I did find alot of people complaining of similar issues, but couldn't find too much information on the exact cause.

Good question of what is the Quicklaunch folder and where is it located. Probably in System32 but I wouldn't have any idea as to which it is. This pertains to the Quicklaunch on the taskbar residing next to Start. I use it to quickjump to get easily to tasks I use all day long over and over. Both drives are new or only a couple months old at best, which really doesn't rule out a bad drive. I appreciate your research Alan, and will do chkdsk to be sure it isn't hardware. I'll chalk it up to MS (again ), andjust thought I could find an answer to this problem after seeing ajf3's question which was so similar. Thanks guys.

If all else fails:
Try disconnecting each HARDWARE (Local ) drive One at a time. & check all your ribbon cables for tightness.

any time I have exoerianced this it has been a drive issue w/ either an optical drive or a HD.

Of course if it is the BOOT drive (Unlikely) you should be seeing extended boot times.

just another suggestion from the Penut Gallery!