Explorer and Save As Dialog Boxes are extremely slow to perform

[Guest]

This problem started perhaps a month ago. My recollection is that occurred
about the same time that I installed some patches for an OfficeJet
All-in-One. However, after completely uninstalling the drivers and
associated software, the problem still remains.

This is the problem: when I first open Windows Explorer, it shows My
Documents, My Computer and My Network Places. When I click on the "+" to the
left of my computer, the PC spends about 30 - 60 seconds searching for the
drives and folders. (Of course, all our other computers respond virtually
immediately, and they are all hooked up to the same home network.) In
addition, when I try to attach a file in MS Outlook 2003, if the file is not
in the default directory, Outlook may spend as long as 60 seconds appearing
to do nothing until it finally gives me the list of drives from which I can
start drilling down to attach the appropriate file.

All my other programs are showing the same sort of performance (or lack
thereof) when I click on a Save As dialog box.

I have used the Windows Task Manager to monitor CPU use during the process
and though the computer overall seems very unresponsive during the 60 second
pause, CPU use barely gets above 15%.

This is not an underpowered PC. I am running 2 gigs of RAM on an Intel
E6600 Core 2 Duo CPU, on an Intel D975XBX2 motherboard. I routinely run
virus and spyware scans. No problems or suspicious activity noted. Our home
network operates behind a hardware firewall, and we have no kids in the
house, so we "feel" pretty secure. I have also run Norton Win Doctor to
repair any glitches in the Registry, but to no avail.

My sense is that some sort of "switch" in the registry has been tripped, but
for the life of me, I can not figure out what.

I have searched the internet looking for a solution to this problem, but
with no luck. There was a similar problem noted with the earliest version of
the security patch KB908531, but I uninstalled that, and the problem
remained. A reinstall did not help.

So, anyone have any good ideas that I have not tried yet?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Guest]

Hello Roger,
Sounds like to me the Windows Explorer program itself is corrupted either
thru a bad registry setting or thru the actual dll files themselves... My
recommendation is to go to set program access and defaults and uncheck
windows explorer and then reboot.. Second recommendation is to Install IE7
from microsofts site just before you remove windows explorer's access... Go
online and download a copy of IE7 then install it and use it...
I have seen a lot of people having problems on networks with windows
explorer crashing and freezing I tell ALL of them to Install IE7 and then
remove access to windows explorer...
From what you have described its not a hardware issue or a computer issue if
it was it would have done this from the very beginning...

P.S. Before you install the new IE7 and disable access to windows explorer
make sure you write down all your favorites addresses in the old explorer
then disable it..

Hope that helps you out roger...

 

[Guest]

SilentReaper:

Thanks for the advice. However, when I went into my program assess and
defaults, I realized that I must not have articulated things very well. My
problem is not with IE6 but Windows Explorer. Of course, in Program access
and Defaults in the Add/Remove Programs box, there is no box or line or
whatever for Windows Explorer.

I have been running IE7 for months now,and it works fine.

I agree that it is some sort of registry corruption, because late yesterday,
I was able to get Explorer and the Save As or Attach dialog boxes to perform
normally, during an attempted re-install of the software associated with the
OfficeJet 5510. However, that did not last too long. I spent most of the
rest of the day tracing down problems, including the total, unfixable absence
of a view of any devices in my Device Manager window (I have tried a
recommended fix by Microsoft and a Registry tweak suggested by another web
site. But no luck.

I am about to the point where I am going to do a Windows Repair install. If
that does not work, it is wipe the C drive clean and start from scratch. I
love it.

Roger