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Files open slowly when double clicking

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by overloaded

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My user has a Win98 PC that takes a long time to open files (MS Office and graphics) when you double click on them. The applications open normally if you are creating a new file. If you open a file from within the application there is no problem either. Any ideas?

2 replies

by btomasetti

the problem could be caused by a couple of different issues,
1. Not enough memory- if not enough memory the paging file gets hit.which means the files must be swapped back and forth between the hard drive and memory. solution add more memory- recommend at least 128MB.
2. fragmented hard drive. if teh hard drive is fragmeented then the read /write heads have to make several passes to locate a fragmented file causing a delay in loading the file into memory. thr larger the file possiblr ythe longer the delay depending on how fragmented the file is.
3. if the computer is hooked up to the network and these files are on a server or anothe computer being accessed from accross the network. this may slow things down a bit.ex. if the default directory for the stored document is the MY Documents folder, and that folder is mapped to a server.the program will laucn pretty fast because it is local but the document must travel accross the network . hoped this helps.

by overloaded

1. PC has 128MB
2. Drive only slightly fragmented
3. The document and application files are all on the local drive.

I suspect the problem has to do with a dll. The problem only occurs when you open the documents from within windows (shell, explorer, etc.)

Opening the app alone is not a problem, neither is opening the document from within app.

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