Solved Desktop Icons take 15 seconds to "repaint"

Ken429

New Member
Messages
92
What did I do this time! All of a sudden I have one system running W8.1 Update 1 that boots up and then takes ~15 seconds to refresh the desktop Icons. Windows is on an SSD. I tried deleting and rebuilding the Icon File using one of the BAT files recommended the last time I had a desktop Icon issue but that does not cure the problem. I have W8.1 Update 1 on a couple of other systems and they seem to act normally. Any clue on what I did or did not do or what to look for that would cause this situation to develop?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ALIENWARE 18 Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4940MX Extreme CPU @ 4 GHz
    Motherboard
    Alienware 0FT9KT
    Memory
    32 GB Kingston HyperX 1866MHz DDR3 PC3-14900 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual GeForce GTX 780M SLI 2x4GB GDDR5 RAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC668 HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 18.4" WLED FHD (1920 X 1080) TrueLife Display IPS 16:9 1080p [SDC4C48]
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2x SanDisk Extreme PRO 960GB SSDs + 850 EVO 1TB mSATA SSD
    Keyboard
    Alienware TactX Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse
    Internet Speed
    50 MBPS Download / 10 MBPS Upload
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET NOD32 Antivirus
Yes, at one time along the way I tried to disable OneDrive but I think I turned it back on - at least it shows the little cloud in the tray saying it "Files are up to date - Updated x minutes ago" and OneDrive shows in the File Explorer Window. I have another system running W8.1.1 with what appears to be the same settings and it does not have the Desktop Icon "repaint" issue?! Just a minor update on what the problem system is doing now - when I boot Windows the desktop pops up with all the Icons immediately then after ~6 seconds the Icons go blank and it takes ~10 seconds to restore the desktop with all the Icon showing correctly.

Based on the link above it sure looks like other people are having variations of this problem. Sure would help if someone could pinpoint what needs to be changed to make W8.1.1 happy. I'm sure I must have changed some setting somewhere on this system that is causing the problem but I'm still at a loss on what it is.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
Not getting a lot of action on "my" problem. If it means anything I have tried Disabling all the Stuff in the Task Manager Start up tab and that had no effect on the Icons blanking out and "re-painting". The only Desktop Icons that do not get blanked out after ~6 seconds when rebooting are the ones set in Personalize>Change Desktop Icons. See attached.
 

Attachments

  • Stable Icons.PNG
    Stable Icons.PNG
    11.5 KB · Views: 267

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
One more issue popped up - the "Save As" function fails periodically and a reboot is needed to get it working again at least for awhile. Based on a few Googles it looks like this is another one of the hidden benefits of W8.1.1?! Could it be that the Microsoft Account on the system with the Icon and now Save As issues is corrupted in some way? Is there a good way to clear/delete the Microsoft Account on the problem computer and reestablish it? I was going to set up a new Local Account with Administrator privileges and delete the Microsoft Account and then come back and set up the Microsoft Account. Comments please.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
I have figured out how to make the Icon "repaint" issue at boot time go away - turn off Auto Logon. I use Windows Tweaker 4.1 to auto logon on all of my systems (5) with no issues on any of the systems until W8.1.1 came along. So I tried Unchecking the Auto Logon in WT4.1 for the problem system (ASRock Z77 OC Formula/3770K) and the repaint issue at boot time went away. So...I tried doing the Auto Logon via the netplwiz method. Same result - as soon as I enable Auto Logon the Icon repaint issue at boot time reappears! Just in case someone asks, I can type my password faster that the ~15 seconds it takes W8.1.1 to go thru the Icon repaint routine! Something about Windows stepping thru the sign on windows makes the problem go away??

I also tried setting up a Local Account and had the same repaint problem with Auto Logon enabled. Since I did not have OneDrive setup on the Local Account I don't think that is my problem. I also tried Disabling the Store App and that had not effect.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
I'm still trying to figure out what the #$!! is wrong with this system. Not getting any help! I downloaded the Windows 8.1 ISO file and put it on a DVD and a USB drive for good measure. However, when I boot up either the DVD or the USB I get the

"The drive where Windows is installed is locked.Unlock the drive and try again."

message when I try to do a repair. I do not have any problem booting to W8.1 from the SSD.

I thought it was a great idea to try and repair W8.1 system versus going back and starting over with the W8 DVD and rebuilding the whole system to see if the Auto Logon/Repaint Desktop Icons problem went away. Now I've run into the "Locked Windows" road block and can't seem to find a solution to that problem. Can some one please tell me how to Unlock the Windows 8.1 SSD Drive so I can try the repair method. Thanks.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
After trying everything I could find as a possible solution I gave up and did a fresh reinstall of W8.1 Update 1. I was able to use the W8.1 ISO file I had downloaded to install so that was a minor victory. The Icon "repaint" problem is gone so I must have screwed up something along the line since day 1 of W8 and it took W8.1 Update 1 to make it surface. Lost a little faith in EightForms since I usually get a lot of help on this forum solving problems. On this one I kind of felt abandoned by EightForums and of course MSFT help was non-existent since W8 was installed many many days beyond the 90 day Support Window.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W.8.1 Pro Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula
    Memory
    GSkill 2400-10
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S27B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    Mushkin Chronos DX-7 240GB, WD Raptor 250Gb, 3 -WD Raptors 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic X750
    Case
    Corsair 800D
    Cooling
    Swiftech Apogee HD 3X120 Rad
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Microsoft Exporer 2.0
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
yeah I find these forums surprisingly quite with slow responses if any
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ALIENWARE 18 Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4940MX Extreme CPU @ 4 GHz
    Motherboard
    Alienware 0FT9KT
    Memory
    32 GB Kingston HyperX 1866MHz DDR3 PC3-14900 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual GeForce GTX 780M SLI 2x4GB GDDR5 RAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC668 HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 18.4" WLED FHD (1920 X 1080) TrueLife Display IPS 16:9 1080p [SDC4C48]
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2x SanDisk Extreme PRO 960GB SSDs + 850 EVO 1TB mSATA SSD
    Keyboard
    Alienware TactX Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse
    Internet Speed
    50 MBPS Download / 10 MBPS Upload
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET NOD32 Antivirus
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