Windows Explorer intensely slow when moving files--why?

[jsteph]

HI all,
I'm trying to do some file and folder cleanup/maintenance and every time I drag/move a file or delete one, Windows Explorer hangs with an hourglass for around 4 or 5 seconds. This is just insanity, I can't keep my files in order if I have to wait several seconds after each individual move.

This is Windows XP Pro SP2, and this issue appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon, I'm assuming after some security fix is when it started. I have disabled my McAffee AV and Trend-Micro antispyware during this task in case it was either of those, and there is no change. I have Indexing turned of on this drive.

This is the system drive (C and has been defragged.

When I look in Task Manager, I see the Explorer.exe jump to 40 or 50% for these few seconds. These happen to be mostly .mp3 files, they're generall from 3 to 5 meg, and I'm just moving to another folder within the same drive, so the actual file isn't even really moving at all.

I've tried setting the view to List, Details, Thumbnails, etc, and none seem to have any effect. I have shut down iTunes service and iPodHelper, in case one of these has some hook to track any movement of .mp3 files.

I'm going crazy trying to arrange these files and it's just impossible, I'm wondering if anyone's noticed this, if it's an Explorer bug, or some other program hook. Thanks anyone for any help or hints on this,
--Jim

 

[linney]

Do you see the same behavior from Safe Mode, or from Normal Mode, but as a different user?

What follows is rather old information but it may be worth checking out -



822430 - Windows Stops Responding When You Click a Large AVI File in Windows Explorer

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822430&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

There is a bug in XP in handling AVI files, where the file is corrupt or broken, causing explorer to read the whole file looking for index or property details.

It has been suggested to correct this misbehavior in Windows XP, remove the following registry key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}\InProcServer32

This will prevent Explorer from loading shmedia.dll in response to file property queries on these files.



Also try these.

A suggested workaround: Go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to
the key below and delete the default data (right pane).

For AVI's

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\
shellex\PropertyHandler

For MP3's

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.mp3\shellex\PropertyHandler

Note: Make a backup of each key before editing.


Have a look around these links.

http://www.winxptutor.com/sp2/divxcrash.htm

Select a file - windows stops.
Thread779-422825

 

[jsteph]

linney,
Thank you for the links, I'm looking them over. I was all set to record some metrics on how long the hourglass hangs and if it's afer the delete or after a folder change, etc, so that I could compare it with the same actions after the registry changes.

And all of a sudden the delay stopped when I went to time things. But later on it was doing it again but at that time I wasn't ready to record metrics. This is happening but it's making me crazier trying to pin it down. I'll have to check into it later,
--Jim

 

[BadBigBen]

Do you have indexing enabled on the drives in question?

How about turning it off, if you do... Double Click "My Computer" >> right click the drive >> properties >> then at the bottom of the Commons Tab look for a tick box...

then observe the behavior you mentioned...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[jsteph]

Ben,
As mentioned, indexing is off. I'm trying to see if there is any other common denomitator because I tried getting actual timings and the problem had gone away, then it later returned...this is even after reboots, turning off all anti-spyware/virus stuff, music programs & daemons, etc.
--Jim

 

[gbaughma]

You could try disabling your anti-virus, just to see if it is scanning each file when it's moving it.

Additionally, copying a file, then deleting the original has been (historically) faster.

You may want to make sure your drives are running optimally (defraged, dma mode, etc. etc.)



Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[jsteph]

Greg,
Yes, I have antivirus and antispyware off, as well as any daemon that appears to obviously hook into .mp3's, such as iTunes-related services, etc. I have heard that about copy-then-delete, but my assumption is that's only when a different drive is involved. In this case I'm moving on the same disk, so I have to think changing an ntfs pointer would be quicker than physically copying the file to a different folder location and then deleting the original.

I did check the fragmentation, there were zero fragmented files, although the disk is 94% full, so I'm wondering if that has an effect. The pagefile is on this disk, but it is hard-set to a maximum size.
--Jim

 

[BadBigBen]

Ok, it could be related to the 94% of the drive being full...

XP has a setting that at a certain point of a drive's size it checks to see if it is full...

RegEdit then navigate to the following key:

HKEY CURRENT USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

look for NoLowDiskSpaceChecks. If it exists and it is set to 0 (default value) then change the value (double-click) to 1 and click OK.

if the value does not exist then create it:
on the right side of the regedit window click on a free space, a menu should appear with one choice new then choose DWORD... this should create a place holder, which you double-click. Then you'll see the Edit DWORD Value screen give it the above name and a value of 1.

see if that changes anything... if it does not, there is no harm done, as you can revert the steps above, by simply entering a 0 as value and all is back to normal...

also:

Fix Windows Explorer Slowdowns

Sometimes Windows Explorer can slow down to a crawl, here are a couple of tips to reclaim your resources:

1. Possible WIA and USB device issues, here is the solution:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;819017

2. Media files causing slowdowns, such as large number, and/or corrupt AVI files. Any Explorer operaion can lead to very high CPU usage and a seeming lockup of your computer. To resolve the issue:
Start > Run > type: Regedit
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}
And delete this key:
InProcServer32
Then unload the dynamic library with the following:
Start > Run > type: regsvr32 /u shmedia.dll

If you're running XP, you might also want to check this:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822430

3. Reduce Shell Overhead:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;819101

4. Apply the LAN browsing tweak if you're on a network (and not using Netware):
Start > Run > type: Regedit
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace
Delete this key:
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

source: SpeedGuide.net

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[jsteph]

Ben,
Thanks for that reg key. That seems to hold the most promise, I'll try that this evening and see.

It would follow that the reason the problem seemed to go away at times was that as I cleaned files, the disk went below the threshold at which a check is made, and at other times as I add files it goes above that limit. I can easily temporarily copy a big media file to force it back over the threshold and test it.
--Jim

 

[linney]

The volume must have at least fifteen percent free space for Defrag to completely and adequately defragment it. Defrag uses this space as a sorting area for file fragments. If a volume has less than fifteen percent free space, Defrag only partially defragments it".

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_defrag.htm

See if some of the suggestions in these threads and the links from them can recover some free space. You could of course just get extra hard drive capacity by spending a few dollars.

Relocating Hard Drive Capacity and File Compression
thread779-939540

Hard Disk still full after deleting large files
thread779-1136701

Have you tried running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Select both boxes.

 

[csxkidd]

Have you run a good registry cleaner on your PC. Registry Mechanic is a good one, but it's not free. If you need a free one for XP, then you can go to

http://www.downloads.com

and look for "Abexo." It's a good free registry cleaner.

I had the same problem and wasn't even trying to fix it. When I run this program, it took care of it and now it's lightning fast.