Spooky Folder

Hi,

I sure could use some help with this one. I'm now at a complete loss.

I am trying to repair something in my daughter's custom PC. We've got XP Pro in it for quite some time now. It's a P3 750 with 2 physical HDs. (C & D) Here's the problem:

She says that whenever she works within her MP3s folder on the D drive, the computer slows right down to a snail's crawl. It remains that way until she reboots the machine. If she only opens the folder, or opens the subfolders within it, to view their contents, no problem. The second she attempts to add, move, or copy a file into, or out of, this folder or one of its subfolders, the computer just bogs right down and needs a reboot. Apparently, sometimes it barely has enough juice left to do so. Icons start disappearing from the tray as well. (speaker icon, Norton AV)

I have been over to her house. This machine (and I double-checked it) is virus free, spyware free, name it. It has always been maintained squeaky-clean. I've ripped through it with all the programs I use to keep mine healthy. Windows Washer, Registry Healer, Norton System Check, name it.

The last time I was there I even did a "scannow" on the thing. I ran "error checking" on both drives as well. I also tried renaming the folder from MP3s to simply MP3.

There are numerous other folders on the D drive, both data and programs. No trouble at all with any of them. PC runs lightning-quick all the time, no matter how much you multi-task the thing. The second she attempts to work within this folder, the PC almost stalls out completely. She says that in order to restart the machine sometimes, she has to Ctrl-Alt-Delete her way to do so. Says the only thing running when she does it is Windows Explorer which is correct.

Hence, the subject of this thread is aptly named "Spooky Folder "

I have never left this forum without absolute success. It's my first line of defense for any problems I have. With all the knowledge the members here have to offer, has anyone heard of this before?

Please keep in mind that I may not be able to post back forthwith and also that I am dealing with a PC that I have to drive down to in order to try or check anything you suggest. I ask your patience with this matter.

On your marks, get set, GO!
(why do I sense yet another of my infamous multi-page threads?)

With the highest respect for all of you here,
Randy

 

Try turning off indexing on the D drive - right click the D drive in My Computer, go to Properties, uncheck the box next to "Allow indexing, etc.," click OK.

 

Manipulating folders with a large number of files in them can slow things. Try dividing the folder into subfolders according to music type, for example.

It's also possible that there is a corrupted file in the folder that takes a long time for XP to try to process. If you subdivide into subfolders and one of them shows the problem, at least you will know the offending file is in that one.

Does this folder contain avi movie clips, too?

 

Thanx!

I have no idea what indexing is so I could use some info about it first. I can get her to shut down indexing over the phone if need be.

I know she has many subfolders withing the main folder. I can, over the phone, tell her to move the subs, one by one, into the HD as stand-alone folders. This might help islolate a folder containing a corrupt file, would it not? Am I approaching this correctly by suggesting this as a starting point to troubleshoot the problem?

As for AVIs, I think she toasted them all, long ago, if not mistaken. I will ask her.

Thanx again and please reply if yes or no to my proposed next move.

Randy

 

Moved!

Okay, she probably isn't awake yet so what I did was, via the FTP setup I have between my 2 daughters' PCs and mine, was log into Mandy's PC and moved all the subfolders from the MP3 folder into the general D drive.

Unfortunately, our FTP setup will not allow me any more control than that for now. When I get a hold of her, I will tell her to defrag the drive now and then to work with each former subfolder to see if any particular one is more prone to causing a problem, okay???

Thanx again.

(It may be a while until I can give you any results of this but I will be checking in here from time to time)

Randy

EDIT I just perused her folders. I see MPEGs and AVIs everywhere.

Must be nice to have a Daddy that checks up on your PC via FTP the way I do. Mind you, it's nice to have daughters who trust me with their HDs.

 

That could be the problem right there. This has happened to me. Windows XP determines the length(in time) and the dimensions of the video file. This can take a long time with big video files.Iff the video files(especially .avi's) are incomplete downloads, XP will usually either freeze, or take forever trying to calculate the length and dimensions of it, thus bogging down the computer. Try to get her to move the avi's somewhere by themselves, and see if that does the trick.

-Dave

 

Indexing, simply explained (perhaps too simply but the basics are there) is Windows attempting to keep track of everything all the time. When a folder's contents are manipulated....moved, deleted, etc....Windows then "re-indexes." If the files within are huge and/or, as Abraxas suggested, corrupt, the indexing process can take a long time...a very long time.

On a 750, it's entirely possible the indexing process will end up taking up so much resources that the system chokes...especially if there are a number of programs running.

 

I think midz may be on to something. XP handles avi's very badly. I'd continue with the process you have started to isolate the problem, but you might want to eliminate all the avi problems as well. These problems are acute with file-sharing apps where the entire avi is not present. XP searches for a very long time to find the accessory information and access to the folders in which they reside is very slow.

To solve this problem all you have to do is the following:

1. Run: regedt32
2. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\PropertyHandler
3. Export the key (if you care to).
4. Delete the "Default" value which should be "{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E} "

You will no longer have the second page of properties displaying the AVI file information such as width, height, bitrate etc. But its a small price to pay. Many other apps can supply you with this information if you need it (any video editing software, which is really the only use for that information, anyway).

And by all means turn off the indexing service. It scarcely makes up for XP's poor search function. Just get a good searcher.

Agent Ransack: http://www.agentransack.com/download/agentran.exe

Even people who are running the indexing service probably don't know how to access its results since that is far from transparent, too. Junk.

 

Update:
(just to let you know I'm still here)

I haven't been over to her PC just yet. She wants to make darn sure that the problem isn't occuring when (1) she works with the files while Kazaa Lite is actually running and (2) that the problem isn't happening only when files are being copied and/or moved from the Kazaa Downloads folder we made eons ago. She wants to be sure that we get the straight goods on what does and does not cause the stalls. I might hear about it today. She has very little time for the PC these days.

Okay, I find this whole topic of XP's indexing quite intriguing, indeed. I am quite sure others reading through this thread do as well. Fascinating stuff!

All of you: I cannot, for some reason see how to turn indexing off any of my drives via My Computer and then properties. Can you please clarify where this is done for me? As for the registry tweak, well explained! Easy to do.

So I guess, from here, we take things real slowly and one step at a time so that we actually come up with the exact solution here. If I go gang-busters now, we will end up with an uncontrolled experiment where the problem will get solved but without knowing what, exactly, did the trick or what was the real culprit.

Just, please, clear up how to turn off indexing for me. I will then, when the opportunity arises, approach the whole thing step by step for the benefit of everyone following this thread.

Would someone, if you don't mind, lay out suggested steps you'd like to see me take, in an order that would be the most logical and in the best interests of everyone here??? I know you all have the solution in one form or another. Just wondering what steps you would like me to take and when so that we could all gain from it when it's all said and done.

You have no idea how much I am enjoying what I'm learning here. This forum never ceases to amaze me.

Randy

 

Randy ...

I notice that you have only 256 MB of RAM, and I'm guessing that Mandy's computer may have the same.

The consensus seems to be that 256 MB is the minimum RAM necessary to run XP effectively, and that adding RAM is the least expensive way to improve the performance of a computer.

Depending on what your respective motherboards can accept, you might want to consider increasing the amount of RAM your computers have (I have 1 GB and sometimes think I could use more ).

Jim

 

Turn off the indexing service by going to Control Panel, Admin Tools, Services. Double-click the Indexing Service and disable. Apply. Stop it if it is running.

If you do it through My Computer, every file on your HD will have to have its attributes changed. This can take quite a while. And it doesn't prevent the Indexing Service from running, even if it no longer has anything to do.

Agent Ransack seems to have something similar to an indexer, or at least some sort of search-caching function. The first search you do with it takes a while (though nowhere near so long as the MS thing), but subsequent searches done without closing the window are almost instantaneous.

 

Need Help!

Hi, Everyone!

Told you I'd post back!

Okay, so after quite some abscence from this thread, I am now writing from Mandy's PC.

I found the culprit but cannot delete it!

I am attempting to delete a movie file, probably corrupt, that shows in Explorer as simple a "Video Clip" rather thean the usual MPEG.

I have now got at it via Safe Mode, logged in as either Mandy or Administartor (tried twice). When I go to delete the file, it says it is being used by another person or program. How can this be?

Hands up! What now? How do I delete this thing? I have done all I know by using Safe Mode.

Can someone please tell me what the method is that I need to use????

Thanx in advance,
Randy

(If no reply for a while from someone, I will post back after I get back here again to her PC.)

 

Are you sure you can't just ignore it?

Write down the full filename and path!

Boot from the XP CD choose the first option to repair. Choose recovery console.

Here it will look somewhat like DOS.

type attrib drive letter:\(the full path to the file)\(filenaname.extension -s -h -r

then type

del same name and path ( do not put the -s -h -r)

type exit to restart

Do anything else or do it wrong look for a new girlfriend!

Mike

 

Recovery Console

Mike,

Only been to Recovery Console once before on my machine. Had to get there via boot disk set. I do not have them here with me.

Thanx for the quick reply!

I will leave here now and come back this week with my disk set.

BTW:

She's my daughter, not girlfriend, but I laughed my rear end off at how you worded that, Mike! TOO funny! I guess that would mean that I should use some caution?????

Thanx again, Mike

I shall return

 

Yes I would advise caution in the Console!

Mike

 

About The File

Sorry, everyone, but here is more information about the file that needs deleting. This is what I see about the file when I'm looking at it via our FTP setup between machines:

It's in her D Drive, it's in a folder called Kazaa Files, and it shows up like this when I'm looking at it:

The Ring "“part2.avi 83,204KB 1/31/2002 4:32 PM -rw-rw-rw-
(named just like I typed here, no spaces missing, etc.)

What exact commands should I be typing in Recovery Console when I get there? I could really use a hand here. Tell me if you need more info, okay???

Thank You,
Randy

 

type

attrib d:\Kazaa Files\The Ring "“part2.avi -s -h -r

then type

del d:\Kazaa Files\The Ring "“part2.avi -s -h -r

type exit to restart

Mike

 

Did you try the registry change suggested above? That should prevent explorer from searching the avi repeatedly (and reporting the file as being in use).

You could also try removing everything else from that folder and deleting the folder.

 

Success !!!

It's done......deleted forevermore!

I just deleted it using the registry method from Abraxas. I exported the key, then deleted it. I was then able to delete the file with no problem at all. I then merged the exported reg. entry back. I checked and, yep, there it is again.

I have no doubt, whatsoever, that the Recovery Console info was right on the money as well. Thanks, Mike!

Words cannot express my gratitude to everyone on this whole forum!

Special thanks to all who posted:

Miz, midz, JSS3rd, Abraxas, & Mike

I have no idea what I would do without the patience everyone here has with me and the skills everyone here are gifted with.

Unless she has any more trouble, I imagine this nightmare has come to an end now.

Thanks again for seeing it through for us.

Randy & Mandy

 

Glad you got rid of the pest, but the problem will recur with incomplete avi's if the registry key is returned.

Better keep a copy of this thread