Wiz-A repeat question

[Ken Lang]

Some time ago there was a member who like me now had a problem with screen refreshing. That is it takes forever to get the desktop icons to come up on the screen, till you can do something again. You mentioned increasing memory for that function. How do I do that.

[Wiz Feinberg]

Go to my All About RAM page, to the section labeled "How much RAM will help your system?" and read the basics about memory upgrades. There is a link in that section to go to the Crucial Memory Advisor (scanner) page. On that page you should see a button labeled "Scan my System." Using Internet Explorer you can scan from your browser (ActiveX). If you visit with Firefox you have to download the scanner and run it as an administrator, on your computer.

The Crucial scanner will tell you how many memory slots there are on your motherboard, how many are already filled, how much memory is installed, and what the maximum amount of RAM is for your system, plus the exact type of RAM you need (Important!). It will offer exact part numbers and prices for either additional memory modules, or replacement modules, to reach the maximum for your system. You can choose to order right there, or buy it elsewhere.

[Ken Lang]

Thanks Wiz. I wasn't talking about adding more computer memory. I guess the word I should have used is allocating memory to that function.

[Wiz Feinberg]

Thanks Wiz. I wasn't talking about adding more computer memory. I guess the word I should have used is allocating memory to that function.

Open Task Manager, via Ctrl+Alt+Del. Click on "Processes." What we call the Windows Desktop is actually Explorer.exe. Locate Explorer.exe in the Processes list and right click on it. One of the flyout options will be Set Priority, so click on that option. Another set of flyout options will appear, ranging from a high of "Realtime" through "Low." Most services and applications are set to use Normal Priority, so try increasing the Priority one step at a time, for Explorer.exe. When you alter the Priority of any process you will have to allow the action via a pop-up warning. Just select Yes or OK.

While you are looking at the Processes you can sort it to view the processes using the most CPU. To do so, click on the label CPU, in the process menu column. If another process is using too much CPU, reduce its Priority and see if that frees up your desktop.

Let me know if this helps.

[Ken Lang]

Cool. I will give it a shot. Thanks.

[Wiz Feinberg]

Ken;
Just so you are aware of the facts, slowdowns in the rendering of desktop events and windows can also be attributed to third party software running in the background. This includes unseen software that may be hostile and is badly programmed, thus is consuming too much RAM and CPU. It is a good idea to update your security applications and run full system scans for viruses, Trojans, Bots, Spyware and Keyloggers.

Overheated internal components will also cause Desktop slowdowns. Get out the vacuum and clean out the dust bunnies from inside the computer case, fans and heatsinks.

[Jon Moen]

I believe this is what you were asking about:

http://www.mydesktophelp.com/tips/win155.php

It increases your Icon Cache size so the icons don't have to be refreshed as often. It did the trick for me a year or so ago. It does require working in the registry.

[Wiz Feinberg]

I applied the aforementioned Registry tweak to just my logged in identity. The appropriate key is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer