My whole system is lagging

[Trasd]

Recently I noticed XPplorer was taking too long to start and I also noticed there was a long delay after performing certain file operations, like delete. My entire computer would be completely unresponsive for up to twenty seconds or so during these lags. I updated to the latest official version in hopes this would fix it. It did not, though the lag wasn't quite as long.

Now after I do a file copy, besides the problems mentioned above, there is a portion of the copy box that lingers on top of XYplorer's screen.

The program has become unusable. Thinking the problem might be on my end, I cleaned my registry and defragged my hard drive. No improvement. I then searched this forum and discovered only a slow refresh problem back in 2011 - no help there.

Some of you may remember my father bought XYplorer on my recommendations. He just sent me an Emil saying he was having the same problems I described above! So, now I know it is not my system. He wants to go back to MS Explorer, and for him to prefer a MS program over any other, is bad.

I am running Windows XP Pro on a 2.8GHz, single processor machine with 2GB RAM. My father is running Windows XP Pro too, but I don't know his specifications except his machine is dual core.



Help Don! This has become a real problem. I am forced to go back a few versions so I can continue my work.

[admin]

To verify that a recent version causes your problem (which I don't think is the case) please download an older version from the freezer and run it with your current configuration. Or have you done that already?

[Trasd]

To verify that a recent version causes your problem (which I don't think is the case) please download an older version from the freezer and run it with your current configuration. Or have you done that already?

No, I haven't done this yet. I will do as you suggested, no problem. Give me a couple days to work on it and I will get back to you, I've been really busy and only had time to try the obvious solutions (if the problem is on my end). If I can find specific steps to reproduce the problem, I will let you know.

EDITED
The only thing that's really changed on my system is the updates to XP MS did last week and the week before (I think that's when they were), do you know if they messed with files XYplorer depends on?

[admin]

The only thing that's really changed on my system is the updates to XP MS did last week and the week before (I think that's when they were), do you know if they messed with files XYplorer depends on?

I have the updates but no lagging.

[m48tx]

I recently updated my XP system with several available .NET framework updates. Performance went to hell. System would boot in roughly the same time, but the network took a few minutes to start and the Logitech keyboard/mouse driver did not go active until a minute or so of the network going active. While all of this was going on, the system was completely unresponsive. The system would then continue to behave erratically. (I don't remember even trying to start XYplorer.) Luckily, I was able to restore an Acronis backup of XP before the updates. I have NOT installed any .NET framework updates and the system runs just fine.

Maybe this is affecting XYplorer on your system.

[Trasd]

I have a feeling you are right m48tx - that the problem was external to XYplorer. Sometimes these systems can be so interrelated. I try to always verify facts - to be certain - before I make a bug report (that's why you don't see any - or many - from me), but this time I'm no longer as sure as I was, and I was 85% certain the facts pointed to XYplorer.

I'm not sure at all yet, but it may very well have been my virus program; this is the only thing, besides running XP Pro, my father's system and mine have in common.

If it's my virus protection, it's been screwed-up for awhile (not in the lag issue, but other issues). When I got on my system the day after I reported this, I noticed the virus program's tray icon looked different and the load ordered had changed - first time in a year the load order is different. Checked the virus protection updates and it looks like they may have installed a new engine.

Still more testing to do, but so far, the problem has not reappeared.

When I get a chance to test all this more and hear from my Pop, I'll know more.

[admin]

I should have told you to click men Help / Various Information and hold CTRL while you do it. This pops up various speed related information, among it this:

Slowdown cause number one: An active virus scanner can severely slow down file operations and make XYplorer less responsive. Especially Microsoft Security Essentials can have a dramatic negative effect on speed. Try to add XYplorer.exe and XYcopy.exe to the exceptions.

[m48tx]

I guess virus scanners are a necessary evil, but I think they do more harm than good. I use Microsoft Security Essentials on my systems, but I turn off the real time feature (and the double evil automatic updates). I see no sense in having a virus scanner screw with trusted files I am executing or copying within the system. If I download software, I run a manual scan on the install file before installation and on the install folder after installation. Knock-on-wood, no viruses so far. (Thunderbird e-mail scans attachments without the need of a virus scanner.) Just my 2 cents.

[DaveD]

Hello, I'm Trasd's pop. Some details on the problems I'm experiencing.

System: desktop, Intel dual core 6600 2.4GHz, 3.25 GB RAM, RAID-1, very fast system. Win XP Pro SP3. Normally no complaints with XYplorer.

XYplorer now takes 10 seconds to open, and hangs for over a minute after file delete, attempt to navigate to new folder, and other actions. States "Not Responding" in top bar if I select it during this time.

I selected "Various Information" with Ctrl key as suggested above. Turning off the suspect configuration items (marked with "Yes") had no effect.

This looks a lot like how some of the MS apps (e.g., MS Picture Manager) behave when there is a mapped network drive defined but not accessible. Nothing like that is going on on this system. All drives and folders defined in My Network Places are available when I click on them, and no drives on other systems are mapped. I have one backup drive attached via USB, and it has always been there.

I'm using avast. I turned off various shields: Filesystem, Network, Script, and Behavior, with no effect.

m48tx mentioned Microsoft .Net Framework. Several levels are installed on this system. One of them, Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 SP2, has an update, KB2656369, installed 4/13/2012, which would be about the time the problem started showing up. It is removable, but I hesitate to do so unless I have a good indication that it will solve the problem. I'm open to suggestions on this.

DaveD

[Borut]

Hello and welcome Dave!

I have the same system OS and also use avast. No problems of that kind here (but maybe my avast is not absolutely the last version - I believe I have upgraded it few weeks ago).

Have you tried a "fresh installation"? Just close XY, make somewhere on your usual main drive an empty test folder, copy there both *.exe files from XY's application folder (nothing else!) and start XY from this new test folder then. (Everything will be on "factory defaults", but your settings will remain preserved in your original XY installation.)

Any difference?

Edited: Same OS, of course, not the system - my system is probably less powerful.

[Trasd]

Hey Pop,

Try opening some of the MS products that depend on .NET junk - like the RAW picture viewer and see if you are having trouble there. It's weird we had the same problem at the same time but without the same solution.

Also, when you run that utility I just wrote you, it should be instant - is it? Try all this without XYplorer running.

I know MS puts out a .NET pack for fixing problems; basically all it is is directions on how to (completely) remove all the framework stuff and the latest packages to reinstall - all zipped together. I had to use this once on my laptop and it actually worked.

Are you noticing any lag at all outside of XYplorer?

[DaveD]

Borut: Tried a fresh installation, and it works great, with none of the delays.

I also installed XYplorer on the laptop (No, T, I hadn't done that yet--tough getting around to this stuff), and imported the XYplorer.ini file from the desktop, so as to have the exact same settings on both platforms. Even with the desktop settings, the laptop copy runs great without any delays or other problems, which proves that my desktop XYplorer setup itself is not at fault. I may uninstall/reinstall XYplorer on the desktop, and restore (load) the same .ini file, just as I did on the laptop.

T: I haven't opened any of the products that use this MS .NET FW support, as I don't exactly know what does require it. But everything on the desktop outside of XYplorer runs just great. Your app is lightning fast. Reason the laptop MS .Net FW 2.0 doesn't have the service installed is because I had to install SP2 yesterday along with APC's UPS software--it was required, and apparently I was running SP1. So I do know one program that requires FW 2.0 to run, that being the APC UPS program, and it runs fine.

Since the laptop does not have the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 SP2 service on it, the service I referred to in my previous append, I may take it off of the desktop tomorrow or so if I don't come up with another solution.

Edit, update: I saved my XYplorer.ini, completely removed XYplorer and reinstalled it, restored (loaded) my saved configuration XYplorer.ini, and the problem is fixed!

DaveD

[Trasd]

Borut: Tried a fresh installation, and it works great, with none of the delays.

I also installed XYplorer on the laptop (No, T, I hadn't done that yet--tough getting around to this stuff), and imported the XYplorer.ini file from the desktop, so as to have the exact same settings on both platforms. Even with the desktop settings, the laptop copy runs great without any delays or other problems, which proves that my desktop XYplorer setup itself is not at fault. I may uninstall/reinstall XYplorer on the desktop, and restore (load) the same .ini file, just as I did on the laptop.

T: I haven't opened any of the products that use this MS .NET FW support, as I don't exactly know what does require it. But everything on the desktop outside of XYplorer runs just great. Your app is lightning fast. Reason the laptop MS .Net FW 2.0 doesn't have the service installed is because I had to install SP2 yesterday along with APC's UPS software--it was required, and apparently I was running SP1. So I do know one program that requires FW 2.0 to run, that being the APC UPS program, and it runs fine.

Since the laptop does not have the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 SP2 service on it, the service I referred to in my previous append, I may take it off of the desktop tomorrow or so if I don't come up with another solution.

Edit, update: I saved my XYplorer.ini, completely removed XYplorer and reinstalled it, restored (loaded) my saved configuration XYplorer.ini, and the problem is fixed!

DaveD

Sweet, Pop! Be glad you didn't have to trace the .NET stuff down because, as you probably know, there are at least 4 versions...

Glad that fixed it, I would hate to see you on Explorer again.

Don, looks like we both got it - both working good again. Woot!

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Borut]

Dave,

I am pleased that it helped. But...

XYplorer saves the current configuration in much more then XYplorer.ini. There are for instance the *.dat files, that keep track of various things such as tags etc etc.

Firstly, I hope that nothing of importance has been lost, if you kept only the XYplorer.ini.

Secondly, I suspect that the content of those other files at the original XY position was creating the problem. So, if you still have them, maybe you could zip them and make them available with a private message to Don - maybe he would like to investigate the problem in detail.

Thirdly, I somehow believe that the whole issue has nothing whatsoever to do either with .net elements or the virus scanners.

But, please keep in mind that I am but a user of XYplorer. So, actually I really can not speak here in Don's name. I was just trying to help.

[DaveD]

Borut, I haven't really done anything with XYplorer since I installed it a month or so ago. I just haven't found the time to learn any of the many features. So the .ini file pretty much got me to where I was before (unless perhaps I did something several weeks ago and forgot about it--in which case I have to relearn it anyway).

But that brings up a thought. My system takes automatic changed data backups every night, and the images of any point-in-time that I want to get back to, whole system or individual apps, up to a year or so, are immediately available (this system has saved my butt on several occasions). Maybe you, or Don if you don't have the expertise, can tell me whether I could selectively and serially restore the .dat files from the troublesome install to see if I can find which one caused the problem, if a .dat file is indeed the root of the problem. I did a quick look at the backup .dat file sizes for the latest changed files, and action.dat is 146K; most of the rest are the same sizes of the ones in the new install. The "Various Information" analysis (with Ctrl key) I did earlier today tells me that tag.dat had 510 bytes, one item, but it flagged this .dat file as potentially slowing the application down. Anything else besides .dat files and the .ini file are out there that I might consider attempting to restore? I took a quick look through the registry this morning before uninstalling/reinstalling and didn't find anything much there.

Thanks, DaveD