Possible fixes for Explorer slowness copying/moving files.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Adam Albright
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Adam Albright

Earlier today the ususal fanboy monkeys jumped up and down and made
their usual noise throwing feces around. Lost in that orignal thread
was a link to a possible fix of a long discussed problem. While the
monkeys jumped and danced, I did a little research and read through
the entire 100 plus post thread and summerize the results below.

If you're interested in more of the discussion, find it here:

http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1138289&SiteID=17

In summary:

As some have discovered, copying and moving files in Vista seems way
slower then in prior versions of Windows. This is discussed at length
in the Microsoft TechNet thread linked above. What may be a total
shock to the fan boys club here though I'm sure they will pretend they
knew all about it, is Microsoft ADMITS this is a bug. More on that
later. Read some comments from that thread first, then I'll get to the
fixes.

Selected comments from posters over at Microsfot TechNet:

"God NO KIDDING! I've never experienced a message box with a
"calculating remaining time" message that then stays on the screen for
20 or 30 seconds when I am just attempting to delete a desktop
shortcut!" --prowlerdog

While Rick hit a homerun saying this about the problem:

"Not to beat a dead horse, but I am having the same problem, and agree
with the previous posts about programmer speak. I am a loyal MS
customer but this is ridiculous. If this isn't fixed shortly I will
definetely change the OS to XP, and NEVER recommend Vista to anyone.
This is so basic; how did this ever get out of Beta?"

A very good question to ask. Well Vista Boys, since many of your boast
you were Vista Beta testers, how did this bow wow of a bug even slip
past you?

A poster called Steve added:

I concur here. I am having the same problems. I believe the last time
I tried to move about 800k bytes to my SATA 150 RAID 0 setup, it took
over 60 seconds."

"I have recommended to everyone I know that Vista is a bad idea,
especially to my co-workers and supervisors at my workplace. Sounds
like this should be high priority for patch Tuesday. To get the big
guns out I'd say: "Well, in the Gnome/Ubuntu Linux GUI I can transfer
a file instantaneously--how long does it take in Windoze?"

The fact that users have reported command-line file transfers do not
have the same problem highlights an interface issue, and not an
underlying API problem. This should be a quick fix for the big
machine that is Microsoft

Should be, but hasn't been. Yet. Understand kiddies? No, you dummies
NEVER understand, you just go on faking you know what you're talking
about. Makes me laugh. Really."

Contra said it best:

"Within an Operating System's file system, there are 4 simple file
control functions. Yes there are others, but they are built upon
these. Copy, Delete, Load (with a specified program), and Save (from a
specified program). Move is simply a combination of copy and then
delete.

These functions were written and perfected in the 70's-80's, yet
somehow, not so much in Vista. To do so is not missing a simple bug as
you seem to think, rather it is a massive display of incompetence.

If what some say here is true, that it takes longer to copy files from
one hard disk to another than it takes to download said files from the
Internet, than this is a massive disservice to the community that
Microsoft is trying to serve."

................................................................................

Ok, enough of that. Over a 100 similar comments if you care to read
them on the forum I linked to above. I read them all because buried in
the noise is a fix. Actually, a couple,maybe three.

Usual cautions apply. This may not resolve the problem for everybody.
If one fix doesn't work, try the second one or try both. Just set
Restore points first it case they mess up your system. I did try the
first, and it worked so well I decided to share it here. Your mileage
may varry. Everybody's system is different, another fact the fan boy
crowd never seems to learn, so nobody can guarantee results, but worth
a try, the process is simple and fast.

First a bit of history. From time to time Microsoft releases what have
come to be called hotfixes. While they write a Knowledgebase article
on it, they may require you "prove" you need the fix and may not let
you simply download it directly, often you have to call them like for
this one. This of course can be highly annoying to have a possible
fix, and then get told what it is, then they don't make it available
and worse in some cases make you call and beg while pleading your
case. Typical Microsoft arrogance.

Luckly, others think like I do and think that policy is stupid. So
somebody posted this hotfix on their site where you can download it
from.

Nice list of kinds of goodies below. The hotfix you want if you have
the Explorer copying/moving files way slow problem is titled KB931770.
I tired the 32 bit version, not the 64 bit version.

Get both here:

http://hotfix.xable.net/download/index.php?dir=Language Neutral/Vista/

You may also want to read the full Microsoft KB article prior to
proceeding with install it. That is linked below:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931770

You can try to get the hot fix from Microsoft over the phone if you
prefer. The link up further in my post is much faster, tested and the
same files. Even that was discussed to death in that other forum. LOL!
Some worried if it was a "genuine" Microsoft hotfix or a phony. It
does have the official Microsoft Digital signature, you can't see that
until you download the file, but you can see it before you install if
you tend to be a little paranoid on these kinds of things. ;-)

Ok, enough of my preaching. Download the file (the hotfix) it is a
small file that auto runs similar to other Microsoft patches once you
download it, (recommend you save to your desktop so you can find it.
The icon looks like a DVD in a box. Cute!

........................................................................

Testing...

Prior to running I tried copying a medium size video file from one
hard drive to another. Happens I have a file that is just a few
hundred bytes over 1 GB, so I keep it around just for tests like this.

Prior to installing the hotfix it took me 44 seconds to move this file
from one hard drive to another. After the hotfix it took 20 seconds
plus the progress bar while still off, it acted more like it did under
XP. I did the test 10 times and the results I give are the averages of
those tests.

If it works, stop. If not try this:

.......................................................................

Possible Fix #2 (assorted comments from the other forum I mentioned
earlier) I did NOT try this, no need for me.

I had the same problem for deleting, moving, or copying a file. I
installed the patch (the one above) but without results, and finally
the problem was due to the Windows Search service (SearchIndexer.exe)
or Wsearch service. One day, it seems this service stopped anormally,
after a sofware has been installed, after a setting has been changed,
I don't know why, but the fact is it was impossible to restart it
(error 5). So I simply desactivate this service, because indexation is
not required for me. And now I don't have any problem, I can delete,
move or copy a file instantly, and the calculating time remaining
doesn't appear more.

You da man, Fabian !!!!!!!!
That did the trick. I get INSTANT deletes now. I even copied an 8GB
file ( a cooked dbspace ) from an internal drive to a external usb
drive and them deleted it from the usb drive.(The usb box just has an
ultra ata drive inside). The copy took about 5 minutes. Vista said
25.5MB/sec. The delete took less than 1 second. Emptying the recycle
bin took less than 1 second.

I had previously queried in this thread if anyone else had problems
with the search service not starting. Mine will not start, so I
thought there might me a relationship there. Nobody responded to my
post. I put my search service on manual. That did not stop the slow
deletes.I should have thought to just DISABLE it.

I guess the reason that the deletes work so fast when doing "del" in a
shell is that Vista is not trying to clean his indexes from the shell.
Seems inconsistent. I guess he cleans it in the background (if the
service would start, that is). One would think that the deletion code
would see that the service is not running and not try to
do anything. It must be wasting time trying to send a message to the
service which is dead.

Anyway, I'm glad you figured it out. Everyone should try this to
verify that this is the only thing that is slowing up deletes.
Then we can start bitching about the search service. ;-)

I noticed Explorer had major issues with deleting files and unzipping
files when I had AVG (the free version) installed. Once I removed AVG
and installed Avast (also free edition) everything was OK again... Do
you use AVG anti-virus?
 
Adam,

Good job explaining the problem, showing examples, doing excellent research
on the subject. You didn't slam anyone, you got to the point, delivered the
message well. I know the usual crew will show up and there will be 30-50
monkey replies pretty soon. I need to get my face mask on because I don't
want to get hit in the eye with fesces :-)
 
Adam Albright said:
As some have discovered, copying and moving files in Vista seems way
slower then in prior versions of Windows.

Wow, I came here for help with something else and got a fix for something
that was irritating me but I didn't even know was a bug. My time and I thank
you.
 
Adam Albright said:
Earlier today the ususal fanboy monkeys jumped up and down and made
their usual noise throwing feces around. Lost in that orignal thread
was a link to a possible fix of a long discussed problem. While the
monkeys jumped and danced, I did a little research and read through
the entire 100 plus post thread and summerize the results below.


my my, the cheerleaders are quiet, aren't they?
 
Adam Albright said:
Get both here:

http://hotfix.xable.net/download/index.php?dir=Language Neutral/Vista/

You may also want to read the full Microsoft KB article prior to
proceeding with install it. That is linked below:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931770

You can try to get the hot fix from Microsoft over the phone if you
prefer. The link up further in my post is much faster, tested and the
same files. Even that was discussed to death in that other forum. LOL!
Some worried if it was a "genuine" Microsoft hotfix or a phony. It
does have the official Microsoft Digital signature, you can't see that
until you download the file, but you can see it before you install if
you tend to be a little paranoid on these kinds of things. ;-)

There is another way to get the hotfix without phoning,
and for those who may not trust the download link Adam
left. The link Adam left is the quicker way to get the hotfix.
Although, I will say I was surprised how quickly I actually got
it using the method below.

Start here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=935195
Submit an online request to obtain a Microsoft hotfix

Which will take you here after clicking "English" (which is the only language choice):
https://support.microsoft.com/common/survey.aspx?scid=sw;en;1399&showpage=1&WS=hotfix

Where it says "KB Article/Hotfix ID:"
put in 931770.

There will also be a question asking,
"Product and Version Affected"
The drop down menu doesn't give Vista
as an alternative.... I don't why.

Anyway, I submitted the request. In
about 30 minutes I got a reply back asking
me to confirm that I wanted the hotfix for
Windows Vista. I replied back yes.
20 minutes later I received another email
with a link to download the hotfix.
The file was zipped and password protected.
The password is included in the email.

After installing the hotfix, it has indeed made
a difference.... much better.

The link to the hotfix that Adam left, I have also
tested, the file is the same as the one I received
from Microsoft. So, pick which route you want to go.


-Michael
 
After installing the hotfix, it has indeed made
a difference.... much better.

The link to the hotfix that Adam left, I have also
tested, the file is the same as the one I received
from Microsoft. So, pick which route you want to go.


-Michael

Just curious, why do some seem so worried about the hotlinks being
genuine on the page I linked to? I noticed the same amount of concern
on the forum I read about it. As was pointed out there and I touched
on myself the file has the typical Microsoft Digital Signature, so why
all the worry?

Just glad it does seem to help the speed for several so far. Anybody
try it and it didn't help?

You get about a 2 to 1 improvement?
 
Adam Albright said:
Just curious, why do some seem so worried about the hotlinks being
genuine on the page I linked to? I noticed the same amount of concern
on the forum I read about it. As was pointed out there and I touched
on myself the file has the typical Microsoft Digital Signature, so why
all the worry?

Many folks just want info/links from the official source.
Just glad it does seem to help the speed for several so far. Anybody
try it and it didn't help?
You get about a 2 to 1 improvement?

Yes.


-Michael
 
You just keep talking crap.

1. 4 basic operations of an OS (is just wrong), Move being Copy and Delete
(sometimes it is - sometimes it is just the directory entry being moved to a
new directory).

2. Hotfixes haven't been through regression testing. That means they may
cause new bugs. Therefore only people with that exact symptom are given the
hotfix. This prevents people installing untested and unneeded (for that
person) updates. If it affects enough people it will go for testing and
appear on Windows Update and /or next service pack.

YOU DO NOT REPORT THOSE SYMPTOMS. And I believe it has to do with
differential network copying. Turn off that feature the bug doesn't manifest
during copies. You are from local HD to local HD. Something the hotfix makes
no mention off. You have potentially made your system unstable.

3. I won't mention the legal issue of distributing other's IP without
permission.

4. Cmd.exe and Explorer often use completely different ways of achieving
things. Another non arguement.

5. I'm glad the hotfix had a placebo effect for you. You should consider
removing it - and withdrawing your advice here to pirate it. Ot be very
specific on the risks, the lack of need for someone not experiencing this to
install it, and what it is actually for. It isn't for fast file copies
everywhere - it is for copying hangs on networks.

This is what this unregression tested update is specifically for,

SYMPTOMS

On a Windows Vista-based computer, when you try to copy files from a server
on a network, the copy process may stop responding (hang), and you may
receive a message that resembles the following:
Calculating Time Remaining

0 minutes remaining
This problem may occur only occasionally.

Maybe you should become humble
 
....and everyone else already posted the info. This is just a collaboration.

Plus there is nothing wrong with the original post other then it's a
duplicate. For once.

But, keep it up john, you just might get the flame war you're after.

However, the OP did fail to mention that this fix is NOT to be installed
unless you are having this EXACT problem. It's possible this fix can cause
other issues. This is not a final fix.

Make sure you backup first.
 
You just keep talking crap.

You still haven't learned how to post to a newsgroup. You begin saying
I said something then promptly post more of your own gibberish or
intermix what OTHERS said that I quoted and then being the doofus you
are, you post YOUR crap ahead of what you claim I said. You really
need to lay off the bottle. Of course I never expect much from a top
posting buffoon like you to begin with. Take a few more gulps of
whatever you're drinking and try again. This time, TRY to make sense.
 
Well duh...maybe it's because most everyone else did the fix some time ago.
Yah think?
Frank

Sure Frank, that's why you mentioned it here so often, you think?

You know if you're going to be a BS artist, you need to find a better
teacher then Justin.
 
Adam said:
Sure Frank, that's why you mentioned it here so often, you think?

You know if you're going to be a BS artist, you need to find a better
teacher then Justin.

You're a good example of a bad example. Big enough reason to keep you
around.
First problem you have it your inability to comprehend what you're reading.
Second problem emanates from the first; you assume based on
non-comprehension.
That's been your death knell.
Carefully re-read my post. Notice that I never said I applied the
"hotfix". Then re-read the MSTech where it says not everyone has this
problem. That means they don't need the hotfix. That's also why it is a
"hotfix" and not an update. I didn't need it on any of my 3 Vista
installs ok!
Are you with me so far?
It's obvious that you're very inattentive, forgetful and never precise.
Bad qualities for a big mouth blow hard like you. Makes you look the
fool most times. You know, like shooting yourself in the foot and
wondering why you're hobbled (oh, that hurts!).
My advice; try to tighten up your act, read every post twice or maybe
even three times.
It might help. Then again, you could just be a natural born loser.
Sorry, but that is sometimes called ..."the awful truth" (snort, snicker).
Frank
 
First problem you have it your inability to comprehend what you're reading.

Sure Frank, if you say so.
Second problem emanates from the first; you assume based on
non-comprehension.

Got it. said:
That's been your death knell.

Yet I kick your silly ass over and over and do it so easily.
Carefully re-read my post. Notice that I never said I applied the
"hotfix". Then re-read the MSTech where it says not everyone has this
problem. That means they don't need the hotfix. That's also why it is a
"hotfix" and not an update. I didn't need it on any of my 3 Vista
installs ok!

Wow Frank that's so interesting. Only trouble is I never said any of
the things you imply. For starters this thread wasn't directed at you.
It was offered to help people having the same problem I did. Nothing
less, nothing more. Did I step on your toes and fail to kiss your
pinky ring or something you expected before I posted it? Heck, too
bad.
Are you with me so far?

You're as transparent as glass Frank. Really. You're not hard to
figure out at all. I've deal with people like you for oh, about 30
years. Regardless what newsgroup it is, clowns like you are always
alike. So yes, I understand you perfectly. Wanna give me a high five?
It's obvious that you're very inattentive, forgetful and never precise.
Bad qualities for a big mouth blow hard like you. Makes you look the
fool most times. You know, like shooting yourself in the foot and
wondering why you're hobbled (oh, that hurts!).

If you say so Frank. Feel better now you got that off your chest?
My advice; try to tighten up your act, read every post twice or maybe
even three times.
It might help. Then again, you could just be a natural born loser.
Sorry, but that is sometimes called ..."the awful truth" (snort, snicker).
Frank

Go back to your bottle Frank. I hope you're a better drunk because
damn, you're sure not much of a troll.
 
No it wasn't. It was misleading. It was wrong. And anyone releying on it
will be stuffed around.
 
Adam Albright said:
Sure Frank, that's why you mentioned it here so often, you think?

You know if you're going to be a BS artist, you need to find a better
teacher then Justin.

Here's an idea, how about for once you clean up your mouth and quit acting
like a jerk. I know you have an obsession with me but it's not healthy.
You look like a child dropping names the way you do.
 
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