computer slows down and freezes up

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Telman2
Posts: 1
Joined: 08.12.2008, 18:21

computer slows down and freezes up

#1 Post by Telman2 » 08.12.2008, 18:28

I've used and loved FreeCommander for ages but after loading the latest version I thought I had picked up a virus or something. My computer kept slowing down and locking up. I went back to an older version and my troubles went away. It's a fantastic program please don't mess with perfection.

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clanman
Posts: 166
Joined: 27.03.2008, 22:37
Location: Australia

#2 Post by clanman » 09.12.2008, 22:56

Hi Telman2

I have a few questions:
1. Which version are you using now?
2. What version did you upgrade too that then went slow?
Regards

Clanman
Using FreeCommander XE 2022 Build 860 32-bit public on Windows 11

Ars
Posts: 51
Joined: 09.05.2008, 10:57

#3 Post by Ars » 11.12.2008, 15:45

+1
Sometimes it is happened, especially after removing files.

Nadders
Posts: 1
Joined: 04.01.2009, 11:34

Free commander very slow

#4 Post by Nadders » 04.01.2009, 11:37

Hi,
I also have a problem with Freecommander getting very slow. The more you work in it, do copies, display folders and so on, the slowest it goes and in the end stops responding. I did a lot of copies of photos and at some point, I did not get any response and thumbnails were not displayed anymore.
I use version 2008.06C and it's running on Windows XP.

foxcole
Posts: 11
Joined: 20.02.2008, 16:44

#5 Post by foxcole » 06.04.2009, 17:49

I have this problem too. But worse, its performance has been gradually degrading and now it has stopped responding whenever I try to open a file and whenever the screen repaints for any reason (sometimes I do nothing to make this happen).

I am using the portable version 2008.06C, currently running on Windows XP but also occasionally on Vista Home Premium.

I've tried "reinstalling" it over the current copy but this makes no difference in performance. (Reinstalling in quotes because, of course, there is no actual installation in portable apps. It just copies in a fresh set of files over the existing ones, except for the user preference settings.)

I'm loathe to remove it completely and replace it with an entirely fresh copy, because I have FC highly customized, including layouts, colors, fonts, and toolbar customizations. It would take quite a while to recreate these settings.

But something is making me wonder whether the user profile is the problem, being preserved from earlier versions of FC. Is there any good way to test this?

EDIT: -- D'oh! Of course there is. I installed a pristine copy alongside, not over, my current portable version and am using it to see how it performs with no customizations. I haven't seen any problems yet; it doesn't have the screen redraw issues, and seems to be opening all my files just fine. Now I have to figure out if there's a way to move just some settings in at a time, or whether the entire user profile is all one piece... Either way, I'll move those in and see if the problems recur. It will at least identify or acquit user settings as the issue.

foxcole
Posts: 11
Joined: 20.02.2008, 16:44

#6 Post by foxcole » 06.04.2009, 19:33

In the "old" FC Portable folder, FreeCommander.ini, is this entire section of preferences that don't exist in the fresh copy. Are these only created when I select these settings, or should these also be in the new .ini file?

ToolBar2048Left=808
ToolBar2048Top=2
OpenFileWithOneClick=0
RenameUseDialog=1
ShowFileTooltipFolderToo=0
HoverTime4Select=0
SortMethod=0
SortDirAlwaysOnEnd=0
SortDirLikeFiles=0
TabsHistoryPerTab=1
TabsCloseNotLocked=1
TabsShowFolderIcon=0
TabsUseOwnerDraw=1
TabsActiveColorFrom=16777215
TabsActiveColorTo=65280
TabsColorFrom=12632256
TabsColorTo=8454016
TabsColorGradientLeftRight=1
TabsFontActiveColor=16711680
TabsFontColor=8421504
FunctionsBarVisible=1
FunctionsBarShowIcons=1
SelectCurrentHistoryDir4SelectDrive=2
ComboBoxShowFreeSpace=1
Color-StripedLine=13224393
LineCount4Stripe=1
Color-treeRight=9175040
Color-treeLeft=9175040
Color-dirViewLeft=16768477
Color-dirViewRight=16768477
QuickFilterOffWithFolderChange=0
QuickFilterFolderNamesToo=1
GoUpStripWidth=0
ToolbarBigIcons=0
ToolbarMuster=3
ToolbarMenuAsToolbar=0
SplitterSmallHideSwapButton=0
SplitterSmallWidth=6
ShowGlyphsInMenu=1
ShowFtpAsDrive=1
DosPromptWidth=189
ToolBar1024Left=11
ToolBar1024Top=2
ToolbarsLock=0
FtpLogPanelH=150
ShowNotReadyMsgForDrives=0
FlatViewBackgroundColor=12910532

And these:
[ScanDirForm] <--- what do you call this? a module?
IgnoreCase=1
Col5=50
Col6=250

[DlgBoxUnpack]
[a section for each Layout (SmartSet?) defined]--with the following liberally interwoven among these:

[TmpForm_HistoryDir]
[DlgBoxCopyMove]
[DlgConfirmShredFile]
[DirFavorit] (because I have Favorites set up? or is this a standard option group?)
[DirFavoritInactiv]
[PackForm]
[Tools-entry for each application I selected]
[FormViewer_ShortCuts]
[8 Tabs_HistoryDir] (history of tabs viewed)
[FileEditorsF4] (FC's file associations I set up)
[ItemColors]
[ItemColorsExt]
[SmartSets] (looks like one for each "Layout" I saved)
[FormSyncDir]
[Form_TabsLeft]
[Form_TabsRight]

************
In the new version .ini, not in the old:

[HistoryDir1] (I assume this is related to the "8 Tabs_HistoryDir" above, but it doesn't hold any tab history yet)
[HistoryDir2]
[HistoryFileSelect]
[FormViewer]

--------------------------
I don't know if the differences between the two .ini files are causing any program memory leaks or excessive paging or process loops, but maybe someone else can say yea or nay to that.

I'd like to start making the customization changes one by one in the new ini, but I'm at work and don't have that kind of time.

foxcole
Posts: 11
Joined: 20.02.2008, 16:44

#7 Post by foxcole » 06.04.2009, 20:48

Me again.

Problem!!

I renamed the .ini file in the pristine new copy to FreeCommander.ini.clean, and copied FreeCommander.ini from the old folder into it, restarted FC -- but it's not using the ini file! None of the customizations are showing up at all when I run FreeCommander from the new folder.

Why isn't it using the ini file I copied in?

To my mind, that means there's some incompatibility which would account for problems with the program execution... but then, what ini file is it using? Nothing is in the FreeCommanderPortable.ini file in the "Other" directory. Where is it pulling its settings, then? It is opening the two directories that were open when I closed it before copying in the customized ini file, so it's taking stored information from somewhere.

I'm confused.

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ralfso
Posts: 812
Joined: 31.10.2007, 18:21
Location: Gifhorn, Germany

#8 Post by ralfso » 07.04.2009, 09:43

You can find the location of your used ini-file at:

Extras >>> Settings >>> Start program >>> Config file:

Load freecommander.ini from following folder:

It's written in the fcstart.ini in your freecommander directory.
Regards
Ralf

Win10 (64-bit), Intel i7-2600 (3,4 GHz), 8 GB Ram, 500 GB SSD, 2x2000 GB HD, NVIDIA GeForce 545

foxcole
Posts: 11
Joined: 20.02.2008, 16:44

#9 Post by foxcole » 07.04.2009, 16:17

ralfso wrote:You can find the location of your used ini-file at:

Extras >>> Settings >>> Start program >>> Config file:

Load freecommander.ini from following folder:

It's written in the fcstart.ini in your freecommander directory.
Thanks, I did that but it's still not using the settings in that .ini file. It's still starting with no customizations as if that file doesn't exist. I double-checked and it is the old ini file.

-- So I'm still puzzled about where it's pulling its current settings from (which is only history at this point), and why these settings seem to be overriding (or substituted for) the ini file I've pointed it to. I shouldn't have had to point to it since it's in the same location as the new file and has exactly the same name... but either way, it's not being used.

User avatar
ralfso
Posts: 812
Joined: 31.10.2007, 18:21
Location: Gifhorn, Germany

#10 Post by ralfso » 07.04.2009, 17:43

Do you have writing-rights in the folder which contains your ini-file?
If not, look at http://forum.freecommander.com/viewtopi ... =admin+ini.

You also can try the zip-version of freecommander (FC doesn't need an installation).
You find it at the bottom of http://www.freecommander.com/fc_u3_en.htm
Regards
Ralf

Win10 (64-bit), Intel i7-2600 (3,4 GHz), 8 GB Ram, 500 GB SSD, 2x2000 GB HD, NVIDIA GeForce 545

foxcole
Posts: 11
Joined: 20.02.2008, 16:44

#11 Post by foxcole » 07.04.2009, 21:32

ralfso wrote:You also can try the zip-version of freecommander (FC doesn't need an installation).
You find it at the bottom of http://www.freecommander.com/fc_u3_en.htm
I am already using the portable version, as mentioned (not U3, but Portable), so yes, I do have write permission. That's how I could copy the ini file from the old FC file into the new---exactly the same file name, in exactly the same directory path.

Just to refresh... my ini file was created from an older version of FC. When you update portable apps, the user settings are preserved (never overwritten or removed). This means a new program version might be using old settings, and sometimes programmers aren't aware of this. They change what the program expects or can use as they gradually improve the application. This can mean an old ini file no longer works with a new program version.

This appears to be the problem here. It continues to appear that the old .ini file is not compatible with 2009.06C... that for some reason it was causing the updated version 2009.06C in the "old" folder to stop responding... while the 2009.06C in the "new" folder (with the old ini copied in) doesn't recognize, or apply, the ini settings at all, even when pointed specifically to that file.

That doesn't seem logical and I'm not sure how that could happen. It just does.

foxcole
Posts: 11
Joined: 20.02.2008, 16:44

#12 Post by foxcole » 13.04.2009, 16:52

Well, it turns out I had no alternative but to wipe out the old copy and go through all the settings again on a fresh new copy. Took a long time to remember where everything was (some things aren't actually set up in the milieu of Settings) and make it look the way the old copy did --- but now it seems to works fine, no more hanging.

If it starts to exhibit the same problems, however, I will report back.

TussFL
Posts: 2
Joined: 15.02.2009, 23:43

Same Problem

#13 Post by TussFL » 12.06.2009, 00:12

I, too, am experiencing this issue with the latest version on my XP laptop, a problem that as a long-time user I've never before faced. After a while the program can become painfully slow and unresponsive, occasionally locking up altogether. Even exiting from and then relaunching FC will, at best, restore only a brief period of usability before the problem recurs. Only a reboot resolves the issue. I have used diagnostics to verify that neither memory usage nor CPU utilization are the cause.

A reinstall on top of my existing installation resolved nothing and, like the previous writer, I had been loathe to do a clean reinstall because of substantial customization, but that is no longer a concern, as when it locked up a few minutes ago it deleted my .ini file! :evil:

Once the problem begins, file renaming often causes an "invalid pointer action" error message, though the rename is made and there are no other apparent ramifications.

One other anomalous behavior I've observed when it starts to slow down is an inability to rearrange or otherwise customize the toolbar. While this would not normally be of much import as, once it's set the way a user likes, there should be little need to make additional changes. But on at least two prior occasions--and again today--all existing customizations thereof were lost and the toolbar reverted to a semi-default view using two lines. I say semi-default because of the random spaces separating the individual segments on each line.

I am totally in love with and dependent on FC, cannot remember the last time I used Windows Explorer, and do not understand how others can make do with anything else/less. I feel guilty for being unable to donate, as, Marek, you surely deserve my financial support but, sadly, my disability check just cannot manage the stretch. I HATE these "usability issues" and hope their source can be unearthed and corrections can be made soon.

And while you're at it, could you PLEASE restore focus to the next item on the list (per the sort field), as in previous versions, rather than having focus follow the renamed/changed file? Better yet, perhaps this could be user selectable as there are times the new scheme is better.

Thanks...

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