Slow Opening of My Network Places

[obtc101]

I am having problems in opening my network places on Windows XP home edition. I have plenty of RAM and am running on a network of 5 computers routed through an ADSL ethernet switch. My problem specifically is that when I click on My Network Places it takes about 30 seconds to open the naviagtion window, I have no other problems in navigating windows and everything else seems fine. I have a 10/100 network card with latest drivers by realtek. I recently updated my direct X software. I have most of the windows updates and have turned of all non-essential services that startup. Please help, its so annoying when trying to navigate my network.

[teststrips]

the 30 second delay is probably because your network browser service is forcing an election on the network. This crap gets really down and dirty, but I'll try to simplify so I don't have to write a book.

The network browser service runs on all network compatible versions of windows (including win 3.11, 95, 98, NT, 2000, xp) What the service does is compile a list of all names of computers in your node (on your IP subnet... your internal network/not the internet). When it works properly, one computer becomes the master browser and all the other computers look to it for the master browser list. The problem comes in when two or more computers compete to become the master broser, any computer can force an "election" anytime to try to become the master browser. The master browser gets votes based on 2 things, UPtime and Version of windows. Uptime gets a little more priority, but if XP tries to browse and sees the master browser is 98, it will force an election. It gets a little more screwey when you have ANY server version of windows running. Server versions usually get a higer prority just because of it's OS. A win2k server is listed higer than a winXP workstation.

This gets even more complex if some of your machines are running NetBEUI (another communications protocol - TCP/IP is another protocol) and other machines aren't running it. If the master browser is broadcasting on NetBeui, and your machine is talking to it on TCP/IP, you have a problem.

So to answer your question, your 30-45 second lag is the time it takes to force an election, poll all computers on the node, decide who the master browser is going to be, and compile a new master browser list. The reason it is always forcing elections could be due to many problems, such as NetBeui being on a majorty of the computers and not your XP box, The complexities of who's computer has been on longest, or a fight over who the highest level of windows is.

I hope I made sense through all of that, it's getting late and my brain needs some rest.

[Restek]

[SirCujo]

XP also attempts to find schedules tasks on network drives (for some reason?).

XP also attempts to scan all network computers for shared items (drives / printers).

Either one of these can be turned off. It might be one of these causing the problems.