Browsing the My Documents folder on a network share with Windows Explorer from a Windows XP-based computer takes longer than expected

When you open your My Documents folder in Windows Explorer, Windows Explorer may take longer than expected to display the contents of the My Documents folder.

This problem may occur when the My Documents folder is on a network share and you are using a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer.

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Update rollup information

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

July 30, 2004: To resolve this problem, install update rollup 871260.

For additional information about update rollup 871260, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Important If you install hotfix 840309, you may experience problems after you install security update 867801. To avoid this problem, install update rollup 871260 instead of security update 867801. For additional information about this issue, see the Known Issues section.

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows XP

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition

After you install update rollup 871260 or hotfix 840309, you must add a new entry for the following registry subkey:
Follow these steps, and then quit Registry Editor:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type UseDesktopIniCache, and then press ENTER.
5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
6. Type 1, and then click OK.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Known Issues

If hotfix 840309 is installed, you may experience unrecoverable errors in Windows Explorer (Explorer.exe) after you install security update 867801.

For additional information about security update 867801, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
If you have not yet installed security update 867801, use one of the following methods to prevent this problem:

• Install update rollup 871260 instead of security update 867801.
  
  For additional information about update rollup 871260, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  871260  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/871260/ ) An update rollup is available for Internet Explorer versions 5.x and 6.0
• Remove hotfix 840309 before you install security update 867801.
• Set the UseDesktopIniCache DWORD value to 0. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer
  3. Right-click the UseDesktopIniCache DWORD value, and then click Modify.
  4. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
  5. On the File menu, click Exit, and then restart your computer.

To work around this problem if you have already installed security update 867801, set the UseDesktopIniCache DWORD value to 0, and then restart your computer. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL, and then click Task Manager.
2. On the File menu, click New Task (Run...).
3. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
4. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer
5. Right-click the UseDesktopIniCache DWORD value, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
7. On the File menu, click Exit, and then restart your computer.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: