find files or folders freezes/hangs

[ME-User]

when i click start/search/find files or folders, my pc freezes up! at first, i could just get through part of a search but now it's a total freeze.

i scan at least once a day and run panda internet security. i run adaware, spybot, etc with no problems. a total scan disk showed nothing! i am clueless but suspect that my 20 yr old son and his love of surfing for porn may be the problem. it would make sense that some porn crap would block my pc from searching (so mommmy can't find the offending crap and get rid of it)!

help please! i am in no shape to format.:upset:

[ME-User]

btw, it runs fine in safe mode! so where to now please?

[jtdoom]

hi

for elimination purposes, I suggest you first clear internet histry, and internet temp files, and then (in explorer's filemanager) copy the content of the favourites folder to another drive.
after copy, and only then, delete content of favourites folder

the favourites folder can contain links with impossibly long names, which shows as the properties, Plus that the name given to the link can be impossibly long/contain invalid characters as well, and these properties and names are seen as file or foldernames (sorta)

(I have seen scandisk seriously hang on the favourite folder more than once)

during the copy, (in order to move), you may get an error, and that would immediately tell you there is a problem with a fave link, but I cannot guarantee it will report an error,

ofcourse, indexing would then have to be customised.
you would only find out by excluding the hard drive the copy is on from indexing.
(when I think about it, one can see one can first find out what drive freezes the process)

[ME-User]

hi jaak!
while i was waiting for a reply, i happened to read one the the posts that ann? answered. it was one that was moved recently. anyhow...i didn't know that adaware had a newer version! so i deleted my version, d/l'd the new SE and let it run. came up with 46 critical that were removed. and guess what? yep...find files or folders now works in normal mode :)

how cool is that?

btw, can i post a hijack this log?

[jtdoom]

that's all the better.

I don't know wether posting a HJT log is still needed, and if you don't have surfing problems, I suppose it can be a waste of our helpers' time.

[jtdoom]

btw, it would not surprise me if it had found/removed some files in temp folders, and in faves.
The newer adaware (SE) did find some issue within favourites I had copied from another person, and that was long after I had cleaned up the invalid names! !!
(the original copy was burned to CD, so I can prolly reproduce the test)