When I see this, there's usually something pointing somewhere that no longer
exists.
Are all your desktop shortcuts functional?
Are all your printers pointing to existing printers?
Have you scanned for viruses?
Have you scanned for malware/spayware?
I also open My Network Places and delete the shortcuts that build up there.

If all your folders exibit this behavior, I would guess the problem is in a
common area, like the desktop.

Also, in System Properties, Advanced tab, Performance Settings (button), I
always turn off all Fade effects and Slide effects. These two effects tend to
cause a noticable lag with no real benefit.

The SFC command is only good if you have the Windows CD handy. The "i386" is
the folder on the CD with all the Windows installation files. If you Had a
virus, this command would force all your Windows files to get replaced with
CD versions.

Not only can a virus cause this behavior, but AntiVirus software can cause
this behavior. Make sure your antivirus software is up-to-date. Or
uninstall/reinstall it.

JeffO

"Tony Susa" wrote:

> Why would Windows XP SP2 hang on right click a folder in the explorer?
>
> For a few weeks now, even after many reboots and malware scans, my Windows
> XP SP2 system hangs for minutes whenever I right click on a folder on any
> NTFS drive on the laptop. The eggtimer houglass comes up and nothing
> happens for many minutes, even when the folder contains almost no files or
> even no files whatsoever. Windows XP SP2 hangs even if I first left mouse
> button select the folder, and then right click on it instead of just
> rightclicking on the folder without selecting it.
>
> Inexplicably, after the computer is in operation for an hour or so
> (typically after a few of these rightclick eggtimer events), the right
> click response time returns to normal. Until the next reboot and the cycle
> begins anew. A right click works fine in applications, e.g., in Internet
> Explorer or Microsoft Word, etc. And a right click on a file works fine.
> Just right clicking on folders causes the interminable delay in the first
> few hous of use. It's so frustrating!
>
> Googling for advice, I ran the suggested "chkdsk /r" but to no avail.
> Further following google advice, I right clicked on a blank area of the
> desktop and immediately up came the context menu where I selected
> Properties > Appearance > Effects which had the following settings:
> [#]Use the following tansition effect for menus and tooltips
> [Fade effect]
> [#]Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts
> [Standard]
> [ ]Use large icons
> [ ]Show shadows under menus
> [#]Show window contents while dragging
> [#]Hide underlined letters for keyboard navigation until I press the Alt
> key
>
> Note this same selection can be accessed without a right click using the
> Control Panel > Display > Appearance tab > Effects button.
>
> The right click slowness problem remains. I have no idea if a software
> installation a month or more ago caused this problem but it may be worth
> noting I don't have Hotbar or Xupiter installed.
>
> Still following google advice, went to the control panel, selected folder
> options, clicked on the view tab, and unchecked "automatically search for
> network folders and printers". Still, the right click hanging problem
> remained.
>
> It seems a right click on the desktop and on a file work instantaneously
> but a right click on any arbitrary folder (of any size) on any disk takes
> many minutes to respond for the first hour or two of operation after a
> reboot. Is this wierd or what?
>
> I read the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 819101 titled "Temporary
> Decline in Performance Occurs When You Right-Click a File or Folder in
> Windows Explorer" (
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;819101 ) which
> seems to describe the exact problem I am seeing. But, the suggestions in
> that Microsoft KB article didn't work and the cause wasn't explained. All
> Microsoft says is "Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem". That's
> not helpful.
>
> Does anyone know how to stop these horrid WinXP rightclick hangs?
>