# [SOLVED] Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open



## juanstg (Feb 26, 2010)

Hi, 

Here's the problem. Running Windows 7 x64 with 8gb ram...plenty of power, w/ 3 EVGA 512-P1-N402-LR GeForce 6200 512MB 64-bit DDR2 PCI 2.1 Video Cards for running 3 monitors. 

When opening a photo with the default program (Windows Picture Viewer) it takes forever. It doesn't matter if you open the picture directly or from within something like MS Outlook. 

I have Googled this & found a lot of people referring to the the calibration settings for the monitor. I have checked this and it did not resolve the problem (there were no calibrations set). I also found a solution that referenced changing a registry value that delt with Windows Photo Viewer Gallery, this product is not installed on the computer so it can't be it. 


Thanks in advance for any help!
Juan


----------



## VirGnarus (Jun 28, 2010)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

There's two programs we can use to garner data on what's taking place.

1. Process Monitor - Start the program then when it starts it'll immediately start capturing. Quickly attempt to open a photo and wait for a few seconds (like 5) before clicking the Capture (magnifying glass) button. If you want, you can press the Clear Entries (eraser) button to clean the log and try capturing again. When you got a nice, short session of logging of the photo trying to load in Windows Picture Viewer, save it (make sure "All Events" option is selected), zip up the file and send it over.

2. Process Explorer - Open up then try to open a photo. Note that there should be a new process that pops up related to Windows Picture Viewer. If you cannot figure out which process, press Ctrl+F then type the filename of the photo. It should pop up with a list of processes currently handling the file. Double-click the Picture Viewer one then click on Threads tab. If it's still attempting to load the photo, you should see activity on one or more threads listed. Dbl-click most active one then click the Copy All button and paste here for us to review.


----------



## srl746 (Jun 30, 2012)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

Was there any resolution on this problem? I am experiencing a very similar situation. My problem appears intermittently. Sometimes _Photo Viewer_ opens normally, sometimes it takes more than one minute to open. My machine is ASUS M4A78LT-M LE Motherboard, AMD Quad-Core, 8 GB memory, dual monitors. Secondary video card is GeForce 6200, 512 MB, PCI. OS is Windows 7, 64-bit, SP1; all current fixes. There are no games on the machine, anti-virus is MSE. Thanks.


----------



## awardtech (Jul 1, 2012)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

SOLUTION - At some stage you probably color calibrated your display using the tool in Windows 7. As soon as you remove this calibration profile speed will return to normal.

[COLOR=#3485bd !important][COLOR=#3485bd !important][/COLOR][/COLOR]Right click Desktop -> Screen Resolution -> Advanced Settings -> Color Management -> Color Management -> Advanced -> Change System Defaults

Then click on the default profile (the one you are using now) and click Remove. The profile should have some string in it like 'calibrated' . Make sure the new default profile does not have the 'calibrated' string in it. When you click Remove you will probably note some change in the screen colors as another profile becomes the default.

Restart, and you should be good to go.


----------



## srl746 (Jun 30, 2012)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

Awardtech, thank you for your fast response. I checked the calibration issue and found my situation was the same as the original post on this thread. There were no calibrations profiles set. I too, have Googled this subject extensively, and find many references to the calibration issue and _Windows Photo Viewer Gallery_ (not installed), so neither seems to be the problem here. I suspect there is something fairly unique about my configuration, but I just have not found it. Any other ideas? Could this be an issue due to the dual monitors? Thanks.


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

I am wondering since you have told us nothing about your hardware but that you have a lot of it, if I won't find an absolutely old hopelessly underpowered psu at the heart of this whole problem.


----------



## srl746 (Jun 30, 2012)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

Rich-M, thanks for your response. The PSU is not something that I had thought much about as being a possible cause. The unit is 450 watts, the age is not exactly known, as it was a spare I had bought maybe two years ago, and put into service when I built this machine to learn Windows 7 (about a year ago). I have measured the system unit's requirements using a "Kill-a-watt" meter at 120 watts peak on boot up, and 70 watts "idle". The usage climbs to about 100 watts with disk I/O active. The Nvidia GeForce 6200 is a PCI card that does not require the extra 12 V line for operation. It is a "business graphics" model, not a gamming card. Having said that, I cannot be sure that the power supply is not a factor, except that once _Photo Viewer_ opens the first time, subsequent opening seems normal... ie, it snaps open quite quickly. This tends to make me think the problem is elsewhere. The machine has two internal SATA drives, one a WD 320GB Blue, and one a WD 1 TB Black. There is also occaisionally, a 2TB USB WD drive attached. I have not done much testing with the additional drives detached, as all my data is on the larger drives, with just the OS on the smaller. Any additional thoughts? Thanks.


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

That needs replacing badly if that is all it pulls.


----------



## srl746 (Jun 30, 2012)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

Rich-M, thanks for the response. I do not think we are dealing with a bad power supply. I measured the current on four XP/Pro machines running dual core processors and similar (some 6200, some 5200 Nvidia) graphics cards. The results are quite similar. All the machines run less than 100 watts for the entire system unit (including fans). The 6200 has (I think) only 3 processor cores on it, compared to your 9800 which has something like 112 (and probably draws over 100 watts by itself). Just to be sure, I put a scope on the 5 volt and 12 volt lines while running, and the PSU is rock solid, with the 5 volt line showing 5.12 v, and the 12 volt line showing 12.16 v, with no spikes or drop outs observed. I would think that if the power supply was shaky, there would be other programs showing problems, or perhaps the machine re-booting or blue screening.

Do you know if the original poster on this thread found a resolution to this problem? Thanks.


----------



## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

No clue on the original poster here...he never posted back after the first post.


----------



## VirGnarus (Jun 28, 2010)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

The OP never did provide any data for this. They just posted once and then never returned. If you wish to find a solution for this, we'll probably need you to run through the same process that I recommended to them in order for us to collect data on this.

Another added option is to follow the instructions mentioned for Process Explorer, then when you get to the point where you find the photo viewer process, find it in the list of running processes, right-click it and create a Full Dump. Zip up and send to a 3rd party filesharing site. Of course make sure to be doing this when Photo Viewer is hanging up on loading the file.

Inform me of the filename, as that'll help expedite the analysis.


----------



## srl746 (Jun 30, 2012)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

Additonal information: Having convinced myself (at least) that the PSU was "probably" OK, I removed the extra video card. The _Windows Photo Viewer_ application works as expected (extremely well). Additionally, the boot time for Windows 7 is dramatically quicker. I now think I am dealing with one of four issues:

1 - Possible bad video card.

2 - Possible bad or outdated video driver.

3 - Windows 7 does not like the video card and/or the driver for some other reason, or has multiple video card issues that I was unaware of.

4 - Bad PSU in spite of my previous diagnosis.

I will test #1 first, then #2, since I have access to multiple cards. Just need to schedule the second test. If #1 and #2 are unrevealing, I will probably change the PSU as I need a spare on hand anyway. If these tests all fail to resolve the issue, I will go for pulling data per VirGnarus's post above.

I am certainly curious on this, since it is only with the _Windows Photo Viewer _application that the problem is noticed. The boot time was a surprise, but since this is the only Windows 7 machine I have, there was nothing to compare to. I will update this thread when I get a chance to try tests #1, #2, and #4.

Any additional thoughts? Thanks for the help !


----------



## VirGnarus (Jun 28, 2010)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

It definitely sounds like a video driver issue though, given that simply removing a video card resolves it. How old _is_ your video driver? Also you mentioned secondary card, but not primary. What is your primary card?


----------



## satrow (Feb 4, 2012)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*



> Nvidia GeForce 6200 is a PCI card


*PCI* and on Windows 7, it's barely capable of doing anything past Aero (which, as it's a DX9 -based card, it can only just do), it's got either 64/128/256MB of memory, which is another bottleneck, as is the PCI bus speed.

I have both FX5200 PCI and FX6200 PCI-E - it's *not* a pleasant experience using the former on Vista or the latter on W7 - they really can't cut it, way too slow and frustrating in use, great if you like watching pixels being drawn.

If you're restricted to using a PCI card, I recommended 3 modern cards in this thread a couple of days ago: http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...with-only-64mb-memory-652714.html#post3787803 but you will need to upgrade that PSU to be sure you can safely drive them.


----------



## srl746 (Jun 30, 2012)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

Changing the video driver appears to solve the problem. Device Manager reported that the video driver was "latest available." However, since I suspected a possible corrupt driver, I uninstalled and deleted the existing driver and let Windows discover the card and acquire a new driver for me on reboot.

After six reboots, results are consistent, and performance is what I would expect from the application. Bonus here is that boot-up time is now one-third what it was with the old driver.

Thanks to everyone for the help on this issue.


----------



## VirGnarus (Jun 28, 2010)

*Re: Window Picture Viewer extremly slow to open*

Glad to hear it. While the OP has never popped their head up again, I'll mark it as solved for your case.


----------

