Windows Explorer is slow reading directories

What was the software you installed and then removed?
What drive is it, and what else is on that drive?
How may folders and subfolders are in your "My Documents" folder?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Post by Petre Huile
I am experiencing a problem in Win98SE. Opening and reading a
directory in Explorer is taking a ridiculous amount of time on one of
my drives, sometimes in the order of 20secs. The problem gets
progressively worse as I access the drive and read directories.
This problem began after I'd installed some software which I later
removed and I'm wondering whether the shell or some other components
got overwritten with incompatible versions.
I've checked out the drives and controller and I don't think these are
at fault. I'm pretty sure the problem is within Windows.
Does anybody have any idea where to look for the cause of this. In all
other respects the system is perfectly stable. It's really annoying.
Thanks.
Petre.

Petre Huile

2004-01-24 08:27:18 UTC

The program I'd installed was Cobian Backup which is a pretty simple
utility. The installation issue may be a red herring. Unfortunately I
was not very quick to pick up on the fact that this problem had
surfaced on my system. It's one of those insidious problems you may
not spot right away - you have to spend some time navigating around in
Explorer browsing directories before the problem makes itself
apparent. If you're busy working inside apps you may not see it
immediately.

The drive exhibiting the problem is the second drive in my system.
It's exclusively a data drive - the OS and program files are stored on
another drive. Both drives are attached to a FastTrack100 controller
and the drive is a Maxtor Diamond Max 6Y080D0. I has an 8MB buffer -
so I was hoping I'd get some fast reads out of it! I've spent a couple
of weeks testing drive and controller using the lastest drivers and
manufacturer's diagnostics. Everything checks out fine so on the
surface hardware doesn't appear to be the problem. Each of the two
drives is attached to a separate head on the controller card as per
Promise's instructions. There is nothing I've found on either
manufacturer's website to indicate issues that could cause this
problem.

The drive is an 80 Gig drive. It's partitioned as three disks:

D: 30GB (7.71GB used, 1,235 folders, 20,872 files)
E: 30GB (0.89GB used, 290 folders, 2,566 files)
F: 20GB (1.42GB used, 900 folders, 11,130 files)

An issue I wondered about when setting up this drive was the size of
the partitions. I recall seeing something a long time ago - not
relevant at the time so I only paid it fleeting attention - which
referred to then need for care when sizing partitions to avoid
performance hits caused by partition sizes that are not multiples of
standard units. Does this trigger any ideas??? By configuring 30GB
partitions have I violated some law of Windows partitioning?

If the problem is located within the system files used by Explorer
(which is my gut feeling) then which files should I be examining.
What's the easiest way to replace these files with known good versions
without having to reinstall the OS. A reinstallation would be a
nightmare because of the software reinstallation that would be
involved.

Thanks for the help.

Post by glee
What was the software you installed and then removed?
What drive is it, and what else is on that drive?
How may folders and subfolders are in your "My Documents" folder?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

glee

2004-01-25 05:39:56 UTC

So, where is the My Documents folder located, and how many folders and sub-folders does it have?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Post by Petre Huile
The program I'd installed was Cobian Backup which is a pretty simple
utility. The installation issue may be a red herring. Unfortunately I
was not very quick to pick up on the fact that this problem had
surfaced on my system. It's one of those insidious problems you may
not spot right away - you have to spend some time navigating around in
Explorer browsing directories before the problem makes itself
apparent. If you're busy working inside apps you may not see it
immediately.
The drive exhibiting the problem is the second drive in my system.
It's exclusively a data drive - the OS and program files are stored on
another drive. Both drives are attached to a FastTrack100 controller
and the drive is a Maxtor Diamond Max 6Y080D0. I has an 8MB buffer -
so I was hoping I'd get some fast reads out of it! I've spent a couple
of weeks testing drive and controller using the lastest drivers and
manufacturer's diagnostics. Everything checks out fine so on the
surface hardware doesn't appear to be the problem. Each of the two
drives is attached to a separate head on the controller card as per
Promise's instructions. There is nothing I've found on either
manufacturer's website to indicate issues that could cause this
problem.
D: 30GB (7.71GB used, 1,235 folders, 20,872 files)
E: 30GB (0.89GB used, 290 folders, 2,566 files)
F: 20GB (1.42GB used, 900 folders, 11,130 files)
An issue I wondered about when setting up this drive was the size of
the partitions. I recall seeing something a long time ago - not
relevant at the time so I only paid it fleeting attention - which
referred to then need for care when sizing partitions to avoid
performance hits caused by partition sizes that are not multiples of
standard units. Does this trigger any ideas??? By configuring 30GB
partitions have I violated some law of Windows partitioning?
If the problem is located within the system files used by Explorer
(which is my gut feeling) then which files should I be examining.
What's the easiest way to replace these files with known good versions
without having to reinstall the OS. A reinstallation would be a
nightmare because of the software reinstallation that would be
involved.
Thanks for the help.

Petre Huile

2004-01-25 10:53:56 UTC

It's on the C: drive (the drive without problems) and it has 0 folders
and subfolders. All of my data files are on the D: drive in their own
heirarchy and this is the drive with the slow read problem.

Other issues I'm wondering about concern environment variables used by
Explorer. Delores suggested an amendment to [vcache] in System.ini
which I've implemented but it hasn't made a difference in my case.

Thanks for the help.
Petre.

Post by glee
So, where is the My Documents folder located, and how many folders and
sub-folders does it have?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

glee

2004-01-27 04:59:40 UTC

I don't expect the vcache setting would have any effect on what you are describing.
I am hard put to figure the cause, especially not being on the machine myself. Is DMA enabled for all the drives, in Device Manager?

If there was an issue with the partition size, you would be having the same problem on the first drive. The second drive is not very full, so the files should be on a fast portion of the drive. Nothing that is coming to mind would affect the one drive but not the other.

Have you done any testing of the drive read speed and so forth, using something like HDTach?
http://www.simplisoftware.com/Public/index.php?request=HdTach
Are the files on the second drive unusually large files, or perhaps multimedia files?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Post by Petre Huile
It's on the C: drive (the drive without problems) and it has 0 folders
and subfolders. All of my data files are on the D: drive in their own
heirarchy and this is the drive with the slow read problem.
Other issues I'm wondering about concern environment variables used by
Explorer. Delores suggested an amendment to [vcache] in System.ini
which I've implemented but it hasn't made a difference in my case.
Thanks for the help.
Petre.

Post by glee
So, where is the My Documents folder located, and how many folders and
sub-folders does it have?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Petre Huile

2004-01-27 23:13:02 UTC

Yes, DMA enabled on all drives. The files on the second drive are not
unusually large. I'll get HDTach and see what results it gives me.

Are there any environment variables specific to Explorer I can check
for? What about checking file versions related to Explorer...

Thanks for the help.
Petre.

Post by glee
I don't expect the vcache setting would have any effect on what you are describing.
I am hard put to figure the cause, especially not being on the machine
myself. Is DMA enabled for all the drives, in Device Manager?
If there was an issue with the partition size, you would be having the
same problem on the first drive. The second drive is not very full, so
the files should be on a fast portion of the drive. Nothing that is
coming to mind would affect the one drive but not the other.
Have you done any testing of the drive read speed and so forth, using
something like HDTach?
http://www.simplisoftware.com/Public/index.php?request=HdTach
Are the files on the second drive unusually large files, or perhaps multimedia files?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

glee

2004-01-28 03:32:41 UTC

I don't see how the file versions or environmental variables would affect only one of the partitions....the operating system applies to all the same.

I mis-read your earlier post and thought you had three physical drives, or at least two, because you wrote "Each of the two drives is attached to a separate head on the controller card as per Promise's instructions". But in the same post you wrote "The drive is an 80 Gig drive. It's partitioned as three disks". So, how do you have one physical 80GB drive connected to two "separate heads on the controller card"??
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Post by Petre Huile
Yes, DMA enabled on all drives. The files on the second drive are not
unusually large. I'll get HDTach and see what results it gives me.
Are there any environment variables specific to Explorer I can check
for? What about checking file versions related to Explorer...
Thanks for the help.
Petre.

Petre Huile

2004-01-28 06:34:23 UTC

Sorry. It would have been clearer if I'd written "The drive with the
problem is an 80 Gig drive...".

There are 2 physical disk drives, hence each is connected to a
separate head on the controller card. One of the drives is completely
partitioned as the boot drive containing the OS and program files. The
other drive (the one exhibiting the problem) is used exclusively for
data and contains three partitions providing logical drives D:, E:,
and F:. I set it up this way because I find 80gigs an impractical size
for a single partition. Running disk utilities on a partition so big
takes forever. Hence, I reasoned, smaller more efficient partitions
would be better and plumped on 30gigs for drives D: and E: and the
remainder for drive F:.

It's interesting that in an earlier post Gerry says he sees a similar
problem. I've mailed him privately so he can take a look at my
configuration in case he spots a similarity with his own setup. That
might offer some clue. (As you can probably tell I'm clutching at
straws right now!)

Thanks.
Petre.

Post by glee
I don't see how the file versions or environmental variables would
affect only one of the partitions....the operating system applies to all
the same.
I mis-read your earlier post and thought you had three physical drives,
or at least two, because you wrote "Each of the two drives is attached
to a separate head on the controller card as per Promise's
instructions". But in the same post you wrote "The drive is an 80 Gig
drive. It's partitioned as three disks". So, how do you have one
physical 80GB drive connected to two "separate heads on the controller
card"??
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

glee

2004-01-29 03:29:57 UTC

I think Gerry was referring to a universal problem, rather than one on only one partition, as you describe yours. The fact that it is happening only on that partition seems to me to point to something in the file system on that partition causing it....hence my question about what type of files are on that partition.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Post by Petre Huile
Sorry. It would have been clearer if I'd written "The drive with the
problem is an 80 Gig drive...".
There are 2 physical disk drives, hence each is connected to a
separate head on the controller card. One of the drives is completely
partitioned as the boot drive containing the OS and program files. The
other drive (the one exhibiting the problem) is used exclusively for
data and contains three partitions providing logical drives D:, E:,
and F:. I set it up this way because I find 80gigs an impractical size
for a single partition. Running disk utilities on a partition so big
takes forever. Hence, I reasoned, smaller more efficient partitions
would be better and plumped on 30gigs for drives D: and E: and the
remainder for drive F:.
It's interesting that in an earlier post Gerry says he sees a similar
problem. I've mailed him privately so he can take a look at my
configuration in case he spots a similarity with his own setup. That
might offer some clue. (As you can probably tell I'm clutching at
straws right now!)
Thanks.
Petre.

Petre Huile

2004-01-29 09:46:40 UTC

Mostly just regular-sized files, i.e. no voluminous a/v files.

The D: partition has got 20,872 files consuming 7.71GB. If I've done
the math correctly that averages about 350k per file.

I didn't figure this number of files would cause any problems. I've
run Norton Disk Doctor on the partition and it reports no problems.

I'm undertaking further tests of the hardware right now. Will post the
results when I have them.

Petre.

Post by glee
I think Gerry was referring to a universal problem, rather than one on
only one partition, as you describe yours. The fact that it is
happening only on that partition seems to me to point to something in
the file system on that partition causing it....hence my question about
what type of files are on that partition.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

glee

2004-02-02 05:27:09 UTC

Any luck yet, Petre?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Post by Petre Huile
Mostly just regular-sized files, i.e. no voluminous a/v files.
The D: partition has got 20,872 files consuming 7.71GB. If I've done
the math correctly that averages about 350k per file.
I didn't figure this number of files would cause any problems. I've
run Norton Disk Doctor on the partition and it reports no problems.
I'm undertaking further tests of the hardware right now. Will post the
results when I have them.
Petre.

Petre Huile

2004-02-15 08:42:52 UTC

Hi, I have started a new thread "Continued: Windows Explorer is slow
reading directories" - since it's a while since I last posted on this
issue. I have done some more testing and have posted my
results/problems in the new thread. I'd appreciate it if you can go
and have a look.

Thanks,
Petre

Post by glee
Any luck yet, Petre?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Post by glee
I think Gerry was referring to a universal problem, rather than one

Post by glee
only one partition, as you describe yours. The fact that it is
happening only on that partition seems to me to point to something

Post by glee
the file system on that partition causing it....hence my question

about

Post by glee
what type of files are on that partition.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Post by Petre Huile
Sorry. It would have been clearer if I'd written "The drive with

the

Post by Petre Huile
problem is an 80 Gig drive...".
There are 2 physical disk drives, hence each is connected to a
separate head on the controller card. One of the drives is

completely

Post by Petre Huile
partitioned as the boot drive containing the OS and program files.

The

Post by Petre Huile
other drive (the one exhibiting the problem) is used exclusively

for

Post by Petre Huile
data and contains three partitions providing logical drives D:,

E:,

Post by Petre Huile
and F:. I set it up this way because I find 80gigs an impractical

size

Post by Petre Huile
for a single partition. Running disk utilities on a partition so

big

Post by Petre Huile
takes forever. Hence, I reasoned, smaller more efficient

partitions

Post by Petre Huile
would be better and plumped on 30gigs for drives D: and E: and the
remainder for drive F:.
It's interesting that in an earlier post Gerry says he sees a

similar

Post by Petre Huile
problem. I've mailed him privately so he can take a look at my
configuration in case he spots a similarity with his own setup.

That