Downloads folder takes too long to open

j9lemmon · 24 Apr 2014

When I download an email attachment, my Downloads folder used to open up instantly. Now it takes about 5 minutes to open. There is a green progress bar at the top that takes about 2 minutes to finish, then it just sits for another 3 minutes, then displays the files and folders within the Downloads folder.
I wonder if it's my McAfee anti-virus, or perhaps there are too many files in my Downloads folder (8gb currently).
Any help greatly appreciated.

koolkat77 · 24 Apr 2014

j9lemmon said:

I wonder if it's my McAfee anti-virus, or perhaps there are too many files in my Downloads folder (8gb currently).

Welcome to the forum j9lemmon,

Yes, have you tried freeing up some space in the downloads folder?

Let us know.

Ztruker · 24 Apr 2014

I'd say it's the size of the folder. Get rid of stuff you don't need and move older stuff to other folders.

As a test, rename downloads to downloads-old.
Create a new downloads folder.
Test ...

whs · 24 Apr 2014

I would make a new empty folder and download to that - or move all the download stuff there.

Layback Bear · 24 Apr 2014

Just a though if I may.
How full is the hard drive?

AddRAM · 24 Apr 2014

Close it then re open it, does it open fast now ?

I see this happen all the time with Windows 7.

gregrocker · 24 Apr 2014

MucAfee is the worst program you can install on your PC, as bad as being infected.

Whenever we see strange problems like this, the solution is always to uninstall MucAfee and install the recommended free, lightweight AV Microsoft Security Essentials. This used in concert with Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware on-demand scanners it perfectly adequate. If one gets infected then consider MBAM real time protection which stops all chronic infection that I've ever seen.

You'll need to run the special uninstaller to clean up after the Muc: Uninstallers (removal tools) for common antivirus software - ESET Knowledgebase

Then I'd run SFC /SCANNOW Command to see if it damaged System Files.

j9lemmon · 02 May 2014

Thanks for all the great answers; all were great, but I went with creating a new folder.
I agree about McAfee. When my subscription ends soon I plan to replace it with Avast, which worked well on my XP machine.

gregrocker · 02 May 2014

MSE is better. As Avast has bloated up it has stopped being co-recommended here where we know Win7 best. These recommendations are based on the problems we see an AV cause, performance more than efficacy.

When a user is chronically infected I recommend MBAM Real Time protection and have never seen it recur.

j9lemmon · 02 May 2014

Thanks gregrocker.
One reason I prefer Avast is that it has a site checker that works in Chrome. I assume it's important to avoid visiting dangerous websites, so I really want some method to show which sites are dangerous.

As far as I can tell MSE doesn't offer that for Chrome. Am I missing something?