startup under windows 10 very slow

Ernie Buell

did the windows 10 upgrade from 8.1 and redownloaded notepad ++

every start up of ++ is very very slow…i am just a basic user nothing special

what can i do to track this down

thanks ernie

Notepad++ v6.8.8
Build time : Dec 10 2015 - 01:11:37
Path : C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
OS : Windows 10
Plugins : mimeTools.dll NppConverter.dll NppExport.dll PluginManager.dll

Claudia Frank

Hello @Ernie-Buell,

there is a commandline parameter -loadingTime which can be used to get reported how long
it took for npp to start. To activate it, right lick on the npp icon, right click on Notepad++ and choose
properties. Add the parameter -loadingTime at the end, separated with a space to notepad++.exe.
So something like “C:\Program File(x86)\notepad++\notepad++.exe” -loadingTime
Press Apply button but DO NOT close the window. Start npp by pressing the normal start icon.
Once npp started you should get a window telling you how long it took to load.
Close npp and start it a second and third time. Is it still being slow?
Reverse the changes made in the npp properties window, click apply and ok.

If this confirms your earlier statement, then the simplest way to track this down,
I know, is to use Process Monitor.

After downloading, run it as administrator. 2 windows should open, one is called process monitor filter.
Here we define a filter to capture events belonging to npp only.

Click on the first dropdown menu and choose Process Name
Click on the second dropdown menu and choose is
Write into the inputbox, next to the dropdown boxes, notepad++.exe
Click Add button.
Click Apply button
Click OK
This window should have been closed now.
In the main window you should already see that the status bar (on the bottom of the window) changes its value regarding
received events constantly but you don’t see any entry under the Time | Process Name … menu.
If you do see entries already then you did something wrong or I didn’t explain it correctly.
Now start your notepad++.exe - you should see that you get entries about npp immediately.
Once npp has been finished starting, switch to process monitor window and stop monitoring by
clicking the little magnifier icon. It will take a couple of seconds but then you should see that the
magnifier gets overlayered by a red cross. OK - monitoring step done.

Next step would be investigating what happens during startup.

In the menu where the magnifier is there are five icons on the right. When hovering over those icons
you will see the names like Show registry, file system, network and process and thread activity as well as show profiling events.
For first step I would say make sure that only Show process and thread activity is clicked.
Now your first line should show the process start (Column Operation) of npp and the time (First column) when
started. Scroll down to the last event and check if the time difference is what you noticed.
If so, goto the first line back and scroll down the while checking the time column.
Do see any time jumps which could explain the loading time. If so click on one and
click on the Show file system activity icon. You see additional events appearing and now that is were
investigating starts really. You need to try to understand what’s happening by checking those lines.
If you found such lines and you don’t know what’s going make a screenshot, upload it and maybe we can
findout what’s going on.

Cheers
Claudia

Ernie Buell

Claudia first the -loadingtime never worked so i went the process monitor route: I had to delete the country info in the link you supplied to get us version. downloaded it unziped to its own folder and manually created a shortcut then to get this to run in win 10 as administrator went to properties of this programs icon then went to compatibility tab and checked run this program as an administrator applyed that change started process

did the filtering and i have a selected section of that information to share but i do not see a way to attache a file for your review so will cut and past here LOOK FOR TIME 5:37:51 a regopenkey that takes 81 seconds or the first dropbox open takes 81 seconds??? which will it be to find out i deleted the two files referenced in the following i/o stream and notepad++ starts immediately so i guess its getting hung on the first dropbox file that it trys to open.

i used this same setup on win 7 pro and did not have this delay issue so its interesting it pops up on win 10

but wait…the path is pointing to a machine that is off…
so is notepad++ stalling out on the first failed i/0 and why is dropbox not supplying the local image instead of pointing to a file on a machine that is offline?

The stall is gone since i closed the files that were opening automatically within notepad++…what a trail and should anyone care?

if you can accept an attachment will send process data in a more usable form

5:37:51.1925562 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegQueryKey HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\CTF\TIP SUCCESS Query: HandleTags, HandleTags: 0x400
5:37:51.1925650 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegOpenKey HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\CTF\TIP{F89E9E58-BD2F-4008-9AC2-0F816C09F4EE}\Category\Item{A48FA74E-F767-44E4-BFBC-169E8B38FF58} NAME NOT FOUND Desired Access: Read
5:37:51.1925756 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegEnumKey HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\CTF\TIP NO MORE ENTRIES Index: 18, Length: 288
5:37:51.1925876 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegCloseKey HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\CTF\TIP SUCCESS
5:37:51.1926833 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegQueryKey HKLM SUCCESS Query: HandleTags, HandleTags: 0x0
5:37:51.1926924 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegQueryKey HKLM SUCCESS Query: Name

5:37:51.1927066 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegOpenKey HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\CTF\KnownClasses NAME NOT FOUND Desired Access: Read

5:38:31.8234932 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile

\OFFICE-DESKTOP\Dropbox\Private\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt BAD NETWORK PATH Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
5:38:31.8280329 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile \OFFICE-DESKTOP\Dropbox\Private\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt BAD NETWORK PATH Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a

5:38:31.8292908 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile C:\Users\gebue_000\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt@2016-01-31_183327 SUCCESS Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a, OpenResult: Opened

5:38:31.8293650 PM notepad++.exe 4508 QueryBasicInformationFile C:\Users\gebue_000\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt@2016-01-31_183327 SUCCESS CreationTime: 1/31/2016 8:33:27 PM, LastAccessTime: 1/31/2016 8:33:27 PM, LastWriteTime: 3/2/2016 5:30:22 PM, ChangeTime: 3/2/2016 5:30:22 PM, FileAttributes: A

5:38:31.8293825 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CloseFile C:\Users\gebue_000\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt@2016-01-31_183327 SUCCESS

5:38:31.8330184 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile \OFFICE-DESKTOP\Dropbox\Private\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt BAD NETWORK PATH Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a

5:38:31.8350463 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile C:\Users\gebue_000\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt@2016-01-31_183327 SUCCESS Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a, OpenResult: Opened

5:38:31.8351541 PM notepad++.exe 4508 QueryBasicInformationFile C:\Users\gebue_000\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt@2016-01-31_183327 SUCCESS CreationTime: 1/31/2016 8:33:27 PM, LastAccessTime: 1/31/2016 8:33:27 PM, LastWriteTime: 3/2/2016 5:30:22 PM, ChangeTime: 3/2/2016 5:30:22 PM, FileAttributes: A
5:38:31.8351834 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CloseFile C:\Users\gebue_000\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt@2016-01-31_183327 SUCCESS
5:38:31.8392017 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile \OFFICE-DESKTOP\Dropbox\Private\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt BAD NETWORK PATH Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
5:38:31.8448692 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile \OFFICE-DESKTOP\Dropbox\Private\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt BAD NETWORK PATH Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
5:38:31.8505800 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile \OFFICE-DESKTOP\Dropbox\Private\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt BAD NETWORK PATH Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
5:38:31.8543605 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile \OFFICE-DESKTOP\Dropbox\Private\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt BAD NETWORK PATH Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
5:38:31.8551907 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile C:\Users\gebue_000\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup\ERNIES PSWWWWWD (Brian Buell’s conflicted copy).txt@2016-01-31_183327 SUCCESS Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a, OpenResult: Opened

Claudia Frank

Hello Ernie,

you did it - the missing dropbox connection is/was the porblem.
RegOpenKey didn’t take that long, because it is like this

os tries to do an action (e.g. query registry)
once that is done, an event gets sends telling us if it failed or was successful.
procmoc captures that event. So we need to compare this event with the previous one to
see if it has been taken to long.

So in your example RegOpenKey took only 0.0000142 seconds

5:37:51.1926924 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegQueryKey HKLM SUCCESS Query: Name
5:37:51.1927066 PM notepad++.exe 4508 RegOpenKey HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\CTF\KnownClasses NAME NOT

but next CreateFile took ~40 seconds.

5:38:31.8234932 PM notepad++.exe 4508 CreateFile

Regarding npp and dropbox. Npp doesn’t know about any local images, it treats the dropbox as a “normal” folder.
So when it has been configured to open \\OFFICE-DESKTOP\Dropbox\Private\ERNIES it will try it and only this one.

The reason why this took so long on windows 10 and not on windows 7 might be related to different tcp settings.
When npp tries to open the connection it will wait until the responsible os component comes back. In this case
the os has a defined value how long it waits before returning that it has been failed. The parameters in question
can be found in the registry under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip and with explanation here.

But be warned, there needs to be a good tcp/ip understanding when trying to optimze those settings.

And regarding the -loadingTime parameter, it is case sensitive, so -loadingtime won’t work.

Cheers
Claudia