Sam3800

Thanks guys. I had no idea that MSE was such a baddie. I installed startisback shortly after upgrading to Windows 8 and just assumed the slow program icon problem was with startisback and not with a Microsoft antivirus protection product (that is suppose to well integrate with the operating system). I've never had any other problems with MSE but maybe it's time to look at alternatives like Avira.

I may try that temporarily just to see if Defender is the culprit but I will not disable Defender full-time as I want antivirus protection. Are you saying the slow icons occur whether or not startisback is installed?

No graphical glitches appear elsewhere in desktop/explorer. The only antivirus running is the standard Microsoft Windows Defender. If I can, I'll try to capture the screen next time it happens.

I like Startisback, and haven't had any problems except one: When I click on Start, and then on All Programs, sometimes about half of the program list lacks the folder icons (nothing is there, just a blank). I can't launch or expand any programs where the folder icon is missing. At first I thought this was just slowness due to using a netbook (Win8 32 Pro), but it also happens on my i7 desktop machine (Win8 64 Pro). This problems has occured enough times that it is making me consider alternatives to Startisback. Any comments/solutions? [sorry if this has been covered before, just point me to the right post.]