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Slow Directory Listing in XP\2000

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9 replies

by acattr

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I have a client who is experiencing an issue with XP\2000 stations, mainly XP. They have a folder\share on the server which contains over 8000 items, mainly all images (.jpg, etc). When the XP\2000 stations access this folder in an app or within Explorer, its takes upto a minute or longer to display all of the contents. This problem does not occur on there Win9x stations. I know others have experienced this issue as well. Does anybody know of any fixes to increase the performance of viewing directory listings of a share on a server? The server are NT4SP6 and W2KSP3.

9 replies

by mmerritt

Having similar problens like this with no real solutions that I have found, I have found a few simple things that have helped a lot.
1. If possible, create sub-directories in folders
containing many items and/or large file sizes.
Dependingon the number and average file sizes
of items in directories/sub-directories will
will determine the level of performance gains.
I would start by creating @ 4 sub-directories
under this folder/share and divide the 8000
itemsinto them to start off, which should
display from the affected workstations in
seconds instead of a minute or longer.
2. When accessing folders of this type (one's
with multiple sub-directories containing many
files) expand the directory first in the left
pane of Windows Explorer or the app by
clicking the + instead of the directory name
in WinXP which automatically expands
directories with a single click and will take
much longer to access.
So simple, it's almost embarassing! By spending a few hours one afternoon creating sub-directories and training users to out smart this time wasting annoyance, I was able to submit a significant cost savings plan which more than justified my services, at least for the next FY or until someone else trys to pin another computer related crisis on the Admin. If anyone else has a better solution, I'm still waiting to here it!

by acattr

I understand what your saying, but putting items into subfolders is currently not an option. We use a database system that references the images in that directory. I would love to reprogram the database system to look into the subdirectory but I do not have authority for that. Thanks for the help.

by quintar51

One thing that I would check is the protocols used on the network. The more protocols you're using, the longer it will take to browse the network. For all your different workstations, Win9x, NT, 2000 and XP, you can use TCP/IP as the only protocol.

by quintar51

What about the speed for the NICs on the 2000/XP machines?

are they set to 100MB/sec Full Duplex?

by dustyd

How are the XP/W2K machines viewing the folders, as icons, thumbnails, etc.? It takes much longer to display a thumbnail view vs. only a list of filenames.

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