[WarFlail]

Hello!

I am getting strangely slow response times within Windows Explorer or any other window that browses my computer.

Say in Windows Explorer, for instance, if I click on a file or folder, it takes about 3 (agonisingly long) seconds for that object to actually highlight. Similarly, double-clicking the file or folder seems to lead to a delayed response before launching.

I have no slow-response problems actually within applications, or even on the Desktop. Clicking on the Start button has an instant response, although hovering over the All Programs for the first time in a session causes a blank rectangle to appear for 5 seconds or so as the system seems to think about what to do before actually populating that rectangle with all the start menu items.

The system I have is from a clean install. Response time was instant for a couple of days, but then this started to happen. I have tried reformatting and reinstalling everything three times, and the delayed response problem doesn't seem to show any correlation with a specific program install (at first I thought it was something to do with Photoshop 6.1 or Acrobat 5.0, but that doesn't seem to be the cause).

What could be causing this slow response, and how do I resolve it?

Thanks,

-=W=-

[shuki]

I assume you have deleted all temp internet files right?

[WarFlail]

No I hadn't, but seeing as you mentioned it, I cleared that, and emptied (as much as possible) the Temp file and Recycle Bin and rebooted. No change.

I thought that perhaps having a disc in my CD-RW was also a factor, but taking the CD out hasn't sped things up.

I haven't messed with anything in Administrative tools - everything is default. I have tried enabling and disabling Indexing Service and Automatic Updates, but they haven't made any difference. Enabling and disabling Fast Write hasn't had any effect either (actually, disabling it seemed to make the system a bit unstable).

I do notice in Windows Task Manager whenever I click on an object in My Computer or Windows Explorer that CPU Usage always leaps to 50% for a moment before subsiding to 0-5%, at which point the object gets highlighted or launched. The increased CPU usage is attributable to EXPLORER.EXE. Is this normal???

I do have hyperthreading enabled - could this be an issue? A mate of mine has a near similar setup to mine but doesn't experience the delayed response.

Regards,

-=W=-

[fornicatarachnid]

Have you got any memory managing programs installed ?

I saw some similar symptoms recently and that was the cause.

Everything went back to normal as soon as it was

uninstalled

[WarFlail]

Just to see what would happen, I disabled HT in the BIOS and tried clicking on objects in Windows Explorer, etc. Same delayed response, except now with only one CPU showing, the CPU Usage smacks into the ceiling at 100% instead of 50%. Is this normal behaviour???

-=W=-

[WarFlail]

AHA! Found the problem!

The problem was being caused by my antivirus monitor (Antiviral Toolkit Pro - AVP Monitor). When I unloaded that, everything highlights and launches instantly, taking up only around 20% CPU Usage.

Whew!

Thanks for your assistance!

-=W=-

[UberLord]

Originally posted by WarFlail
Same delayed response, except now with only one CPU showing, the CPU Usage smacks into the ceiling at 100% instead of 50%. Is this normal behaviour???

That's normal behaviour for a high processor usage thread.
HT isn't causing this problem you're experiencing.

[fornicatarachnid]

Glad you got it sorted