I am getting random long delays when opening folders

[heffalump]

Sometimes I get a long pause when navigating through folders! It is not happening all the time and not always the same folder. It seems to be random! Please help, I'm totally out of ideas how to fix it without doing a reformat and reinstall of Windows which I don't want to do! When it happens the folder it happens in pauses for a long time, but I can still move the mouse around and do other things. Then after some time the icons show up in that folder.

These are the things I have already done

- Checked for spyware: I used Spyware Blaster and Spybot Search & Destroy

- Checked for virus: NOD32 and also Pest Patrol

- Firewall working properly: Outpost

- Hard disks all defragged 100% with Perfect Disk

- Machine physically taken apart and put back together to make sure nothing is loose.

- Scan disk reports no errors.

- Windows XP is up to date. I updated it today as well so it is totally up to date with hotfixes.

- Indexing Service is OFF.

- Search for Network Drives is OFF.

- File and printer sharing is OFF.

- Video Preview is disabled via registry hack.

- Using Windows Classic display mode.

- No rogue processes or suspicious startup programs that I can tell.

- Autoupdate, Background Intelligent Transfers services OFF.

- Server service OFF.

- DCOMbobulated.

- I have also increased the Folder Cache Size via registry as follows to 8000

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell]

"BagMRU Size"=dword:00001f40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam]

"BagMRU Size"=dword:00001f40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]

"NoSaveSettings"=dword:00000000

This tweak I used before in previous installs with no problem.

Please help! It has taken me a while to get my system just how I like it and I have a backup image made so I want to avoid reinstalling Windows! Things like the dcombobulater from GRC.com and disabling autoupdates/server etc. I have done in previous installs without any problems. Something is eluding me why this might be happening now

This is Windows XP Professional with service pack 2 and IE6. I have 2gb RAM and 3Ghz intel CPU. No overclocks and no Windows Blinds or anything like that.

Edited March 22, 2008 by heffalump

[Mijzelf]

Sometimes my explorer starts using 100% processortime when I open a folder, without showing anything. I don't know if it will stop doing so when I wait long enough (too impatient). When it happens I use Process Explorer to kill the thread in Explorer which is consuming all time, and this solves the problem.

[Tripredacus]

The things that I have noticed that cause slow downs:

1. Explorer updates the volume info for the optical drives

2. The folder nears the FAT limit for individual files.

[cluberti]

It'd be useful to see a process monitor log of the lag, so it can be seen what's happening on disk and in the registry when the problem occurs.

[jetman]

You can try this in a cmd window, in the \WINDOWS sub-dir:

regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll

I was getting these annoying slowdowns while browsing in my downloads

sub-dir and it was due to the nbr of .ZIP archives and XP's feature to

treat them as sub-dirs !

HTH....Jet

[heffalump]

I decided to do a reformat and fresh install of XP in the end. I tried shexview program to disable non-microsoft shell extensions but that didn't help so I don't know what it might have been Well now I have a completely new install. No winzip or nero or anything else yet! So I'll add those one at a time and see if it comes back!

By the way it wasn't just in folders with zip files but any folder, at random! So I don't think it was due to lots of zip files. Well anyway let's see if it happens again with a new install But that is a handy tip, I add it anyway now thanks!

Edited March 26, 2008 by heffalump