Question for Win XP users

[bham]

When I open a folder with images in it. It takes a while to able to scroll down in the folder because the CPU is doing something that spikes it use to 100% and slowly one by one each icon slowly changes from general symbol to photoshop symbol. Is there a setting or something I could change to eliminate it. It is frustrating. It was faster on a old ME with a whole lot less RAM and slower processor so I know the same images should take as long.

Thanks the help is appreciated.

[David_S85]

Is it making thumbnails of the images? If so, and if you don't want those thumbnails, you can turn that setting off.

[bham]

No I have view set to details. Does the same thing on list.

[David_S85]

No I have view set to details. Does the same thing on list.

Hmmmm. I'm new to XP (about a month). I loaded Task Manager, and had WinExplorer up next to it, clicked onto a photo folder with 70 images on it, and it momentarily spiked to 52% for perhaps a half second, then fell back to 2% usage. I also have Explorer set to always display full details.

I suspect it is performing an automatic refresh, and reading the details of each file as it goes through them. Photo files seem to display lots more data in Explorer than other file types.

How many files do you store in each folder? RAM size? Processor speed?

[davemj98]

I suspect you are actually opening the photoshop program to do your viewing and that is what is causing the 'hit'. If you were viewing your thumbnails in another program like microsoft fax & photo viewer, it would roll out a lot faster:dunno .

[BrettG]

Another possibiliity is if you're displaying exif data in columns in detail view. It'll have to scan each file to pull out stuff like image size, or whatever else is displayed.

Right click a column, and you can show columns and choose what to show or not...

[NHBubba]

This is a folder on a local drive, right? Not something over a network or an external (maybe USB1.0) drive, right? I know network and external drives take longer to browse. Often you'll get the flashlight moving in the dark icon.

You can also try hiding the Folders view in the left column if you have it visible. Populating that tree takes time.. and it is far far worse for network shares and (slow) external storage. You can click the little 'x' on the right hand side of the Folders column.. or click the Folders icon/button on the Standard Toolbar to hide it.

Another thought is the 'Show common tasks in folders' option. This causes the left-hand column to show 'common' tasks for the files you're viewing. There are bubbles w/ things like 'File and Folder Tasks', 'Other Places', and 'Details'. You can try turning this option off by going to the Tools->Folder Options menu and selecting 'Use Windows classic folders' options in the Tasks section of the General tab. This will prevent this 'common task' column from showing.

[spider-t]

I haven't seen this either.

If you open Windows Task Manager, click on the Process tab, sort by the CPU column (so 100% will be at the top) before you navigate to the slow folder, you will see the name of the process that's using 100% CPU.

This might give you some clues.

cheers,
Trish

[StevenV]

If you open a given folder, let it finish, close that folder and then re-open it again do you get the same long-time-icon-rebuild?

[bham]

Ok thanks for the suggestions so far. To clarify the problem I am opening a folder on a local drive, but it does same thing on either of my 2 external 200GB drives. Win XP Home, 2.6Ghz, 512 Ram. I tried turning all columns off except name and it still does it. About the only default that I changed from how the system came was to make jpg default to open with photoshop 7.

Brett G has the best description of what is seems to be scanning each image. The logo changes from the unidentified file to the photoshop logo. If I defaulted all images to open in say windows picture and fax viewer I imagine it would solve this but thought there must be another avenue to explore with some of you experienced XP users can suggest.

I really appreciate all the quick feedback. This place (Dgrin) gets better and better everyday.

[bham]

If you open a given folder, let it finish, close that folder and then re-open it again do you get the same long-time-icon-rebuild?

Usually yes, sometimes no (if I do it soon after). For folders I haven't open in a while, always. Also if this helps to diagnose it, it only changes the icons you can see, then if you scroll down to new ones then it has to do those also. Does same thing when I am in a program saving the file into a folder with other images.

[bham]

I haven't seen this either.

If you open Windows Task Manager, click on the Process tab, sort by the CPU column (so 100% will be at the top) before you navigate to the slow folder, you will see the name of the process that's using 100% CPU.

This might give you some clues.

cheers,
Trish

explorer.exe is the on that goes up in memory usage when I open a image folder. Goes from 2% to like 90% or so.

[bham]

This seems ironic because on my older pc that is like 192 Ram and a 766Mhz with Win Me I didn't have this issue at all. Same files, same size, same column display, same default program. :scratch

[spider-t]

Here's a quick page on thumbnail caching (http://www.tunexp.com/tips/work_with_multimedia/disable_the_thumbnail_cache/).

Is this a possibility?

-Trish

[StevenV]

Well, but it's not thumbnails that are being the problem, if I understand what's written. It's document icons. I don't remember if there's a cache for them or not, I don't think so. Hmmmmm, more research needed...

[Art Scott]

I hate to say it but it sounds like a bug...reason....I have an old HP vectra Plll 1gb processor and 512 mb ram.....I am running XP pro sp 2 with a 20gb hdd and a scratch disk of 10mb.....Adobe PS Cs and tons of other software loaded....if I go to my computer and open it the open the c drive and clik open any of my photo files that are set to view as an icon or a list ....they open almost instantly to show the icon or list....viewing a thumnails a little longer and as a film strip even longer.....

Viewing as an icon or detail should open almost instantly.

[bham]

Here's a quick page on thumbnail caching (http://www.tunexp.com/tips/work_with_multimedia/disable_the_thumbnail_cache/).

Is this a possibility?

-Trish

Thanks Spider-T that did the trick. I have many folders with very large #'s of images. With 1000 images in many of them this was really bugging me.

Thanks for all the input from everybody on the problem. I was pretty sure it wasn't a bug or something due to the fact that I run McAfee, Spybot and Adaware pretty much every other day.

[spider-t]

Thanks Spider-T that did the trick. I have many folders with very large #'s of images. With 1000 images in many of them this was really bugging me.

Thanks for all the input from everybody on the problem. I was pretty sure it wasn't a bug or something due to the fact that I run McAfee, Spybot and Adaware pretty much every other day.
Glad to help! -Trish

[bham]

Well Trish I spoke to soon. That speed up some but wasn't what was really doing it. I found this accidently another way. Here is what I did. Select a jpg. Right click and select properties. There should be three tabs at the top General, Photoshop Image, Summary. (Obviously this is a image that has a default to open with Photoshop, I am still using version 7.) Select Photoshop Image. I had generate thumbnails checked and I unchecked it. Now it is lightning fast like I figured it should be.

So it was taking the time to have photoshop to generate one thumbnail at a time, I think, but having windows just list details. Anyway some of you try and check that box and see how slow it goes. You'll see.


Thanks for everybody's help and suggestions. Maybe this could help someone else out in the future.

[valhalla]

I have the exact same problem and have been working with a Microsoft Tech for a long time. They are pretty much worthless (kind of like Microsoft in general). The problem does not happen using My Computer or Explore without the left pane visible. It also only happens with certain level parent folders.

It also seems to be worse when moving any kind of movie file from one folder to another. Once the intitial long, hard drive chugging process finishes when opening a parent folder, I can close it and open it again quickly without a problem. It seems to change after a certain number and type of file deletions or manipulations. Then just trying to scroll in the left pane just to bring a file into view takes forever and you can hear the intensive processing going on via the hard drive. Whatever the bug or problem is it definately seems related to the lame code behind the left pane operations.

Also have you seen problems with the Recycle Bin locking up for a long time? When I am sorting through files and trying to go back and forth to the recycle bin to retrieve something at some point it can take up to 5 minutes for the recycle bin window to regain focus and be usable.

Microsoft after nearly trashing my system is trying to tell me it is a hardware issue. Seeing that you are using a much faster machine than I am that totally throws out and discredits what they are saying. I have been arguing with about this and believe it is a bug in XP. This did not happen with the same size and type folders and files in 98 on a very much older, slower system. It also did not happen with 2000 or ME.

Bham....I sent you a private message on this also...

Thanks!

Randy

[Jiff]

All,

We are having similar problems with the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer at our company on several PCs . So far as a common denominator, it seems that if there are bad links or shortcuts to folders that no longer exist in the same directory that have the pictures, there is a long delay.

As nearest I can figure, the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, operates more like a slideshow program. It tries to preindex all files within the directory and precaches them so it can do a slideshow. If it runs accross a broken link, it has a hard time resolving this.

To figure out which one is having the problem, try this. Create 2 new folders, copying half of the files from the original to New Folder 1 and half to New Folder 2. Try and reopen any of the pictures in Folder 1 and Folder 2. Hopefully (if you only have 1 bad bad link) either Folder 1 or Folder 2 will have the problem. Repeat halving with the offending folder, until you find the bad link.

If anyone has a more permanent solution or a way to disable the precaching feature in Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, I would love to know it.

[davemj98]

AH ha
Told you so.