View Full Version : Delay Opening Folders caused by IE Resident
I recently upgraded to Spybot v1.6 and have noticed a new delay in Windows Explorer responses. I have tracked this delay to the Resident IE component of Spybot - which caused no problem in v1.5.2. I am seeing a 3 second delay when opening Windows Explorer or My Computer and this repeats on every change of folder - so flipping between folders becomes very annoying as each change has this 3 second pause.
I am still using Internet Explorer v6 and wondered if this might explain the problem I am seeing. I believe the upgrade to Internet Explorer v7 severed many of the links between the two Explorer programs. I am using XP-Pro SP3 on 3Ghz P4 with 1Gb Ram - so it usually responds pretty fast. I have eliminated all the other resident addons as a cause of this problem, and I can turn the delay on and off using the Resident IE switch option provided in the TeaTimer menu.
I would prefer to stay with IE6 as it seems to respond much faster than IE7 - plus I like the GUI better - but if the only solution is to upgrade to IE7 then maybe I might have to change.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I am not sure about your problem, but IE 7 is much more secure and I definitely recommend that you upgrade :)
If you don't like the GUI, EnhanceIE (http://www.enhanceie.com/ie/tweaks.asp) has a collection of tweaks to make IE7 more like IE6
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj115/ilovehobnobs/ie7now.png
caterwaul
2008-07-25, 21:03
Upgrading to a higher browser version has nothing to do with your issue at all. The delay you speak of involves "Windows Explorer" and not "Internet Explorer" and is related to teatimer based on your reference to "Resident IE component of Spybot" as the cause.
I presume that you find if you "exit" teatimer then this problem goes away... right?
There is a known issue w/ teatimer in version 1.6 (and perhaps 1.5 not sure) where the process uses a high amount of CPU initially but is supposed to settle down but in some cases the high cpu rate continues w/ the teatimer process.
This could be a factor especially if you are relatively low on resources.
Here is a link discussing this issue w/ teatimer: http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=30994
I think you are confused. There are two resident elements available in Spybot. My issue is related to the "IE Resident" element not to "TeaTimer". As I stated I can switch the delay on and off using the IE Resident switch available in the TeaTimer right-click menu - exiting TeaTimer itself has no effect on the delay.
The "IE Resident" element consists of a BHO and a Browser Extension that load with Internet Explorer - however the two Explorer programs did share a large number of DLL's and settings prior to the introduction of IE7. As I understand it one of the major differences with IE7 is that it has severed many of the links between these two programs - mainly to improve security.
I am aware of the high cpu problem with TeaTimer and am already testing the beta version - which seems to work well.
Since posting I have been able to test Spybot v1.6 on a similar setup to mine but with IE7 loaded - and the Windows Explorer delay is not present. So I believe my theory may be correct - the IE Resident element of Spybot v1.6 does cause a delay problem in Windows Explorer if you are still using IE6.
Any thoughts from the Spybot development team?
caterwaul
2008-07-26, 05:46
Got it.. so your talking about what is called the resident SDHelper in the SB1.3 version that I use.
Great just another issue as far as upgrading beyond SB1.4 for some us WIN98 users (with issues) who have to stick with IE6 anyway. :sad:
It seems the more I find out the more there are computability issues between newer SB versions and older platforms. :buried:
It seems the more I find out the more there are computability issues between newer SB versions and older platforms
Yep, it's a bit like the Model T Ford, as much as I like it, modern tyres just won't fit anymore, and it won't run on unleaded petrol.:)
Anyone have any technical comments on my original post?
The 3 second delay in opening folders in Windows Explorer and My Computer is most definitely due to the "Resident IE" protection module - aka "SD Helper" and only seems to happen if you are still running IE6.
I am running XP Pro and the delay happens with both SP2 and SP3.
Installing IE7 does fix the problem - however I still prefer IE6 - but an upgrade seems the only fix apart from disabling the Spybot SD Helper module.
UPDATE: I was mistaken - upgrading to IE7 has not fixed my issue. The test on another PC was obviously a red herring - on my main two computers the upgrade has not affected on the 3 second delay.
I note there are several other vague post about slowdowns caused by "SD Helper" (aka Resident IE) - I think I should have used this older term in my Thread Title.
Please read my previous posts above for full details of the problem - IE7 has now been eliminated as a fix. Any suggestions?
Terminator
2008-07-31, 23:03
When can we expect another version of The SD Helper as it is causing random crashes within IE 7 (Vista version) and the only way to stop the problems (in my case at any rate) is to turn of the SD Helper which isn't ideal I know but what else can I do:sad:?
magicalbum
2008-08-24, 05:25
I'm confirming the same problem, v1.6 of S&D with Resident IE causes windows explorer (the file browser) to delay about 3 seconds before showing the files in the folder. I've solved this problem by uninstalling spybot.
magicalbum
2008-08-24, 05:36
stupid me didn't bother to search this forum before i googled
solution here: http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=32763
UPDATE: I was mistaken - upgrading to IE7 has not fixed my issue. The test on another PC was obviously a red herring - on my main two computers the upgrade has not affected on the 3 second delay.
(...)
Please read my previous posts above for full details of the problem - IE7 has now been eliminated as a fix. Any suggestions?
I came across an odd delay/lag shortly after I updated to the latest version of SpyBot and had initially wondered if the automatic clearing of temporary files (which the new version of SpyBot seems to do when it first launches) had anything to do with it. This Windows Explorer delay was also quite annoying for me :hair: (also someone who still prefers and uses IE6!).
Maybe you could try some investigating (as I did) and create a new local account on your computer and then log in to it. When I did this, I noticed that there was no delay found in Windows Explorer in this new account. I called this account "dummy" (for testing on a "dummy" profile) and tried copying my usual account profile over the dummy account profile. When I did so, the odd lag appeared in the now copied-over profile. (I learned long ago that testing is best done on a copy of something, so if I really screw up it's only a copy that gets affected and I still have the original to copy again.)
I then decided to delete the "dummy" account and its now "corrupted" profile and then recreate it. Just as I suspected, the recreated "dummy" account did not have the Windows Explorer delay. I therefore began copying over my usual profile's folders to the "dummy" profile, one at a time. The next paragraph is an excerpt from a note I sent another colleague once I had identified and solved this issue (drumroll, please):
"I isolated the issue to the "Cookies" folder (of all places) and took MD5 hashes of all the items in that folder. Next I used the general tab in Internet Explorer's "Tools, Internet Options" and cleared the cookies with the "Delete Cookies..." button, whereupon the odd lag completely disappeared in Windows Explorer! The only thing that changed in the "Documents and Settings, dummy, Cookies" folder was the "index.dat" file -- all the other "...@....txt" files were still there. (The MD5 hashes confirmed this.) Can you think of any reason why a (corrupted?) index.dat file located in the Cookies folder would cause a short delay in Windows Explorer when nothing other than Windows Explorer is even running?"
So -- short answer -- try :flame:clearing your cookies!
P.S.: I still don't know if SpyBot had anything to do with the onset of the problem I described above.
Congratulations on coming to the same solution I found - but by a different route.
I had given up on this thread some time ago as users had started several other threads on this topic.
This problem appears to be linked directly to the SDHelper Resident IE module in Spybot v1.6 - which obviously has some problems that were not present in v1.5.2.
I did start a summary "Solved" thread with a more obvious title Delay Opening Folders Caused by SDHelper - Solved!! (http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=32763) - which also links to the other major threads on this and related problems - but you must have missed that one.