S
Steve
I'm re-posting this since I don't know if anyone saw it and I really
need some help.
Thanks in advance!
Here's my hardware:
Dell 2.6GHz P4, 768MB RAM, ATA-133 120GB HDD (20% used)
w/8MB cache, NTFS 15,000+ .WAV and .DOC files
Windows XP Pro with indexing enabled
HP 1.7GHz P4, 256MB RAM, 60GB HDD w/2MB cache, NTFS
Windows XP Home with indexing enabled
100Mbps peer-to-peer LAN w/Linksys 100Mbps router; only 6% utilized
The Dell computer has more than 15,000 .DOC and .WAV files
in several subdirectories. The HP and other computers are
mapped to the drive, not a directory.
Here's the problem:
When I run a standard file search from the HP to look for
files on a mapped Dell drive, the searches take much
longer than they do if I use a Windows 98SE machine to do
the search. I've tried searching from the HP and from a
Toshiba laptop (a P4M with XP Home), and both searches
take much longer than an older, Pentium III-based 98SE
machine. For all searches, I'm using the "Search" tool,
not the Indexing Service (even though it's enabled).
I've set the Dell to allocate more RAM and resources
to "background" and "cache", defragged the drive and
rebuilt the swap file, but it makes no difference. A .DOC
file search that the Dell can do locally takes about 15
seconds (if it actually finds the file--more on that,
below); that same search from the HP or Toshiba takes more
than three minutes, and sometimes comes up empty (no files
found). I know it will be a bit slower on the "client"
machines, but this is ridiculous!
I don't know if there's a limit as to what XP can store in
the index, but when I search from the Dell or the HP, I
almost never see the hard drive light flicker to indicate
drive activity. I assume it's trying to find the file in a
cache, but it doesn't seem to work. I believe this is a
cache problem, since I can run the same search on the
Dell, and if the Dell finds the file locally, the HP
then "finds" it.
I've checked the meters, and during the search, the Dell's
CPU utilization is about 10%, on average, and the network
utilization is about 6%, on average.
I've added this Registry entry to the "server" PC:
"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanm
anserver\parameters]"SizReqBuf"=dword:0000ffff" (which
increases the DIR command's buffer from 14000 to 65000),
and I've set it to stop checking for scheduled tasks...but
I've had no luck.
There are occasions where the Dell won't even find a file
I know is on its own hard drive. Even copying/pasting the
file name from the file itself into the search field
doesn't help. I know the file is there, but the Dell
doesn't find it. A reboot sometimes fixes this, but not
always.
Is there a known problem with searching network drives
with Windows XP? I know there's a problem searching Win98
drives from XP, but this is strictly XP to XP. If it is a
known issue (and I found nothing on Microsoft's site),
does anyone know of a work-around or third-party solution?
I'm going to try CachemanXP, but I don't expect much from
it, since I don't know if this is a limit with XP or just
a configuration issue.
Basically, I need the XP computers to be able to find
files muuuuch faster and more reliably than they currently do.
Thanks.
Steve
need some help.
Thanks in advance!
Here's my hardware:
Dell 2.6GHz P4, 768MB RAM, ATA-133 120GB HDD (20% used)
w/8MB cache, NTFS 15,000+ .WAV and .DOC files
Windows XP Pro with indexing enabled
HP 1.7GHz P4, 256MB RAM, 60GB HDD w/2MB cache, NTFS
Windows XP Home with indexing enabled
100Mbps peer-to-peer LAN w/Linksys 100Mbps router; only 6% utilized
The Dell computer has more than 15,000 .DOC and .WAV files
in several subdirectories. The HP and other computers are
mapped to the drive, not a directory.
Here's the problem:
When I run a standard file search from the HP to look for
files on a mapped Dell drive, the searches take much
longer than they do if I use a Windows 98SE machine to do
the search. I've tried searching from the HP and from a
Toshiba laptop (a P4M with XP Home), and both searches
take much longer than an older, Pentium III-based 98SE
machine. For all searches, I'm using the "Search" tool,
not the Indexing Service (even though it's enabled).
I've set the Dell to allocate more RAM and resources
to "background" and "cache", defragged the drive and
rebuilt the swap file, but it makes no difference. A .DOC
file search that the Dell can do locally takes about 15
seconds (if it actually finds the file--more on that,
below); that same search from the HP or Toshiba takes more
than three minutes, and sometimes comes up empty (no files
found). I know it will be a bit slower on the "client"
machines, but this is ridiculous!
I don't know if there's a limit as to what XP can store in
the index, but when I search from the Dell or the HP, I
almost never see the hard drive light flicker to indicate
drive activity. I assume it's trying to find the file in a
cache, but it doesn't seem to work. I believe this is a
cache problem, since I can run the same search on the
Dell, and if the Dell finds the file locally, the HP
then "finds" it.
I've checked the meters, and during the search, the Dell's
CPU utilization is about 10%, on average, and the network
utilization is about 6%, on average.
I've added this Registry entry to the "server" PC:
"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanm
anserver\parameters]"SizReqBuf"=dword:0000ffff" (which
increases the DIR command's buffer from 14000 to 65000),
and I've set it to stop checking for scheduled tasks...but
I've had no luck.
There are occasions where the Dell won't even find a file
I know is on its own hard drive. Even copying/pasting the
file name from the file itself into the search field
doesn't help. I know the file is there, but the Dell
doesn't find it. A reboot sometimes fixes this, but not
always.
Is there a known problem with searching network drives
with Windows XP? I know there's a problem searching Win98
drives from XP, but this is strictly XP to XP. If it is a
known issue (and I found nothing on Microsoft's site),
does anyone know of a work-around or third-party solution?
I'm going to try CachemanXP, but I don't expect much from
it, since I don't know if this is a limit with XP or just
a configuration issue.
Basically, I need the XP computers to be able to find
files muuuuch faster and more reliably than they currently do.
Thanks.
Steve