4.5.3 running slow / hanging

[Eric]

Kirk,

Since updating to 4.5.3 I have noticed that PM is running VERY slow when opening a new contact sheet.  Even small folders (>500 images) take much longer now. PM starts by displaying the first block in the sorting progress gauge and then the screen goes white/blank for several minutes (depending of folder size).
I'm running a p4 @ 3.6 3GB ram 2TB drive space XP pro w/ current patches. I have noticed that if I close explorer (not IE) it will sometimes run faster.

[Kirk Baker]

Eric,

Since updating to 4.5.3 I have noticed that PM is running VERY slow when opening a new contact sheet.  Even small folders (>500 images) take much longer now. PM starts by displaying the first block in the sorting progress gauge and then the screen goes white/blank for several minutes (depending of folder size).
I'm running a p4 @ 3.6 3GB ram 2TB drive space XP pro w/ current patches. I have noticed that if I close explorer (not IE) it will sometimes run faster.

What kind of sort are you having PM perform?

I changed nothing in PM having to do with sorting in 4.5.3.

-Kirk

[Eric]

Kirk,
 
It sorts by capture time. What I have noticed is that if I have explorer open it takes a VERY long time to do anything. I did just realize that the last time I had an issue like this with PM it had to do with PM navigator and a file server on the network. I'm going to shutdown the big file server and see what happens.

[Kirk Baker]

Eric,

It sorts by capture time. What I have noticed is that if I have explorer open it takes a VERY long time to do anything. I did just realize that the last time I had an issue like this with PM it had to do with PM navigator and a file server on the network. I'm going to shutdown the big file server and see what happens.

Sorting by capture time is one of the slowest sorts in Photo Mechanic.  It means that PM has to scan the EXIF data for each and every file before it can sort any of them.

See if sorting by filename speeds things up.  If it too is slow then we've got a problem.

Thanks,

-Kirk

[Eric]

Kirk,
Opening a folder consisting of 603 files 2.96GB using a filename sort takes 1:48.3 while opening the same folder using a capture time sort took 1:55.9 So we're looking at a 7 second difference. Also I have bumped PM's priority high  just to help it along. Do those numbers seem normal to you? Is it just my imagination at this point? I could just swear that PM 4.5 opened folders faster and with fewer blank screens.

[Kirk Baker]

Eric,

Opening a folder consisting of 603 files 2.96GB using a filename sort takes 1:48.3 while opening the same folder using a capture time sort took 1:55.9 So we're looking at a 7 second difference. Also I have bumped PM's priority high  just to help it along. Do those numbers seem normal to you? Is it just my imagination at this point? I could just swear that PM 4.5 opened folders faster and with fewer blank screens.

You're saying that it is taking nearly two minutes just to perform the sort operation?  What kind of images are you browsing?  Are these files local (on a hard drive) or are they on a network volume?

-Kirk

[Eric]

Kirk,

That folder has original jpgs from Nikon D2Xs, D200 and a Canon IIn. It is a local SATA 500gb drive. Not in a raid.

[Kirk Baker]

Eric,

That folder has original jpgs from Nikon D2Xs, D200 and a Canon IIn. It is a local SATA 500gb drive. Not in a raid.

JPEGs are exceedingly quick to load.  So something must be going on here.  Can you post a full directory listing of the folder you are browsing?

Thanks,

-Kirk

[Eric]

OK I feel silly, but I'm not sure what it is that you are asking me to do.  Do you want a screen shot of the the folder?

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Kirk Baker]

OK I feel silly, but I'm not sure what it is that you are asking me to do.  Do you want a screen shot of the the folder?

No, I just want a textual directory listing.  You would open a command prompt window, change directory to your folder and then use the 'dir' command, redirected to a text file.

If you want to contact me privately with your phone number I would be happy to call you and walk you through the process.  Just click on my name to the left of this message and send me a Personal Message.

-Kirk

[Eric]

hope this works

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Hayo Baan]

Eric, just a question that may be of relevance here.  Is this a directory on a network drive/other computer, or on a local harddisk?  If the latter, there is no reason it should be this slow, if on a network/share, long times are to be expected (Windows has a crappy networking architecture in this respect).

[Eric]

Local drive, fileserver is off for now.

[Hayo Baan]

Ah, yeah, I see you actually already answered that one before.

Anyway, what do you actually mean with "the sort takes ..."?  Displaying the complete folder, including all the thumbnails for the first time (i.e., right after opening the contact sheet), or after you changed the sort order.
Furthermore, how do you measure the time?  What is the starting moment, and what determines the action is "ready"?

Is upgrading to PhotoMechanic 4.5.3 the only change you recently made to your system?  My guess is that the degradation is caused by something globally, not by PM.  Have you tried going back to the previous version does it indeed differ in speed?

[Kirk Baker]

Eric,

hope this works

Yes, it worked.  The directory listing is of only 5-7MB JPEGs which should render very quickly especially if they're on a local hard disk.

I suggest uninstalling 4.5.3 and reinstalling 4.5.2 and if the problem persists, then it is likely that some other factors are involved.

Let me know what you find out.

-Kirk