60 sec wait to open file in Windows Explorer

  • Thread starter Thread starter Barry
  • Start date Start date
B

Barry

I frequently have to wait a full minute before a file (on
the local hard drive) even begins to open when I double-
click in Windows Explorer. Any idea what the cause may
be? This does seem to only happen when I'm networked, but
I can't imagine what it's looking for. Seems to me that
it has to wait for something to timeout since the wait
time is consistent and it's not doing anything else
during this time (no HD activity, etc).

This happens with any operation within Win Explorer
(open, delete, properties, etc), even when I open the
file, close it, and immediately re-open it. It does not
happen when I open the file within another application
(such as using the "file/open" within Excel.

This is a new Dell Inspiron 300m with up-to-date Win XP
Pro.
 
I have the same problem. Any solutions appreciated. Please email me

(e-mail address removed)
 
(e-mail address removed) (Jim W) wrote in message
I also have a 300m, and my suspicion is that it's a problem with:

(a) the number of programs running in the background, or
(b) flat out, the amount of RAM you have.

XP is a pretty speedy OS providing you have enough RAM free. Close and
disable any useless system tray and start up programs. Also, hit
Ctrl-Alt-Delete and shut off any processes that look like they aren't
needed. Granted, you'll want to be REALLY CAREFULL not to close
anything you need, but registration programs and the like just sit
there eating up RAM. Also, virus scanning programs that detect viruses
in realtime while you work will eat up RAM. If you feel comfortable
doing so, disable these. You might also consider upping your amount of
virtual memory, but that's a topic for another day.

Also, I think you just might need more RAM. I'm a law student, so when
I'm doing research, I typically have about 10 explorer windows and
half a dozen wordperfect docs open at once. Since I have over 600MB of
RAM, though, this is no problem. Conversely, the less physical RAM you
have, the more slowdown you're going to get. There's really no perfect
fix for this, but it's something you should know.

Finally, it might be good to defragment your hard drive. Without
knowing how diligently you maintain your computer, this is a good
suggestion, regardless. If you've no idea how to do these things,
there are pretty good help topics in Windows, itself, and there are
tutorials all over the internet.

Good luck and regards,
Kevin
 
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