Explorer problem? (1 Viewer)

[Mike LS]

See if anyone has a possible answer for this.

My work computer has always been extremely fast opening programs.
This morning, I rebooted the machine (routine) and now, all of the sudden, it takes 30 - 45 seconds to open any Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer windows. Whether I use a desktop shortcut, taskbar button, or keyboard hotkey, there is a lag before the window will open. No other programs experience this lag but the two explorers.

I'm running Win2000 and have added or removed nothing in the last couple of weeks. No driver changes, no hardware changes, no program changes. Just a reboot.

 

[John_Bonner]

Bad stick of RAM?
If your BIOS is set to skip the memory test upon startup, change it and let the memory "count up" to see if your RAM is ok.

 

[Mike LS]

I'll try that, but could that cause it to only slow down on those two programs?

Programs that take much more memory to open like PhotoShop open up as quickly as they ever have.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Mike, there has been a recent issue with a Windows update patch causing severe slowdowns for some users. I'm not sure if 2000 is affected but it might be worth checking your Add/Remove programs and see if patch 811493 has been installed and if so, remove it.

 

[Mike LS]

I'll check that.

One other thing I've noticed that's weird is that several times today when I have opened Windows Explorer, I get a popup IE window that opens. Sometimes it's an x10 and sometimes it's a realcast ad, but the page will never load. I just get a "page cannot be loaded" error. But I've never had a popup when Windows Explorer opens.

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OK, I uninstalled the Windows fix and it's still doing it.

I'm also getting realcastmedia popups on sites that I've never gotten popups on before. Namely my company website. There should be no popups on that server.

 

[brentl]

"Sometimes it's an x10 and sometimes it's a realcast ad, but the page will never load. I just get a "page cannot be loaded" error"

My guess, you loaded something from the web. Dowload Spybot search and destroy and get rid of it.

Brent

 

[Mike LS]

Looks like it was some kind of spyware. I ran AdAware and found 9 files tied to "Flashtrack". I removed them all and both explorer programs seem to be loading very quickly now.