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#31
Yes, the paint delay is normal - it has been that way on every system and every Windows OS that I've ever used. Some are faster than others, but I don't think that I've seen 5 seconds worth. That is pretty slow.
The icon database file gets loaded onto RAM each time the OS starts. If an icon is needed, Explorer will first look in the icon database file in RAM, if the icon is not there, then Explorer has to go get the icon from the exe or dll on the hard drive or SSD. I think that these other icons are also cached in RAM for subsequent paints.
The caveat to all of the above is - this is just what I've read elsewhere. I've not dug into it myself.
I have an ssd in both my notebook and my netbook.
That delay is not normal.
There is no noticeable delay on either system and let me tell you that netbook has an old atom processor.
I once had a similar problem...try this:
Click Start and type Regedit in the Search box and click Regedit from the list
Locate and click to select the following key in the registry:
On the Edit menu, click New, and then click String ValueHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Type Max Cached Icons for the registry key name and press Enter on the keyboard
Double-click on the Max Cached Icons registry key and type 2048 or 8192 in the Value data: box and then click OK
Close the Registry Editor
Delete IconCache.db thats located in the following path:
Windows Vista or Windows 7
%userprofile%\AppData\Local
before you perform any registry editing,
always make a system restore point.
CREATE A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT
Win | type Create Restore Point | ENTER |
CREATE | type a name for the restore point |
CREATE button | CLOSE | OK
WIN is the key with the wavy Microsoft flag on top.
This is what I see:
Keep in mind that this was done in a clean VM with only 512MB or RAM assigned (but assigning 256MB made it no worse). Normally I don't even that much delay, but the relatively weak host hardware was being loaded down by other VMs that i had doing things.
I have seen this type of delay on other systems too - but only the first time after a reboot. That is why I'm sticking my nose into this thread. I would like to know if increasing the icon cache size helps the OP - because I've not seen it help by a noticeable amount on other systems.
Something very much like this was suggested many posts ago.
But I'll take this opportunity to suggest using the Fix-It tool rather than messing around in the registry. If you opt to follow the link to the post and then on to the MS article, you might notice what I think is a typo under the section for doing it yourself. They tell you to create a key named MaxCachedIcons (no spaces), and then they tell you to double click on that newly created key Max Cached Icons (with spaces). This space/nospace issue has been the topic of discussion in many a thread over the years. The Fix-It tool writes a key with the spaces.
Maybe I'm just reading the MS article wrong - maybe there is no typo. I've submitted feedback suggesting that they change that... but it is still the same. And the article was recently reviewed... whatever that means
Increase Icon Cache Size
IconCache Windows 7 Ultimate x64
But let's let the OP get some sleep and then run the suggested malware scans.
Might I suggest an easy test? Perform a clean start and make sure it isn't an application conflict. If no change, also suggest boot without AV active. Many of todays AV programs want to have a hand in everything. Many (if not all) AV's will not allow you to remove from startup using the clean start/msconfig method.
Troubleshoot Application Conflicts by Performing a Clean Startup
A Guy