Why huge difference connecting to Pro (<1 sec.) vs. Home (25 secs.) 2

[peva2]

Approx. half (12) of our networked computers are mostly XP Pro (with a couple each of Linux and WIN2000, and one WIN98) the other half (11) are XP Home. Without exception, from any given windows computer, in Windows Explorer, when clicking on any XP Home computer, it takes 23 to 26 seconds for the connection to complete, but when clicking on any non-XP Home computer (IOW - XP Pro, Linux, WIN98), the connection is essentially instantaneous (<0.5 sec. for XP Pro and Linux; 5 seconds for WIN98).

There must either be something fundamentally different with XP Home that makes it significantly slower in network connection than everything else, or perhaps there is a default setting (that can be changed) that creates the connection slowdown.

My questions are:
(1) What would be the difference that explains all of the XP Home computers being inherently slower than all of the other computers in making the network connection.
(2) Is there a simple setting change or registry tweak that could be made to eliminate that difference, or is there some fundamental difference in Home for which there is no workaround.

(I realize of course that replacing the OS to, say, XP Pro would likely fix the problem - I'm hoping to not have to do that - I'm looking for a setting change or tweak.)

Thanks!

 

[BadBigBen]

Networking features
* The following networking features are not included in Home Edition: The user interface for IPSecurity (IPSec)
* SNMP
* Simple TCP/IP services
* SAP Agent
* Client Service for NetWare
* Network Monitor
* Multiple Roaming feature

Source: Windows XP Home Edition vs. Professional Edition: What's the difference?

and those are not the only differences, read the article under that link...




Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[BadBigBen]

Forgot to add this link:


XP Home vs. XP Pro networking: What's the difference?

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-1038781.html

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[linney]

For remote shares, you can speed up browsing by using regedit:

Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace

Export this key (in order to back it up, just in case) and then delete the key called

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} (Task Scheduler).


Mapped Drive takes forever to open in XP!
thread779-935638

Speed up Network Browsing
Thread96-664508

Slow Logon to Windows 2000 Domains
faq779-4017

 

[peva2]

Thank you both.

BBB - While I was reading both of those articles (I must confess I understood less than half of the concepts and terms used), I kept my eyes open for the one or two big differences that would account for the connection speed difference I'm seeing - not just an incremental difference between, say 1/2 second and 3 seconds - we're talking a factor of around 100.

What would you say would be the primary factor in that connection speed difference - could it possibly be the Kerberos authentication? Whether that's it or not, is there a way the missing feature could be added or its lack compensated for?

linney - In the searches that I had done prior to posting, I had seen the registry edit to eliminate the search for scheduled tasks. I'm glad you mentioned that, because I had thought that that may be a help (though why for Home and not for Pro). The reason I had not tried it was that I administer AVG through a remote administrator console, and scheduled tasks (like scans) are involved. So I'm thinking I would be disabling some needed function. If I were to delete that key to see if it helps connection speed and find out it doesn't help or eliminates a function that I need (for administering AVG remotely over the network), would it be safe to say that if I add that key back (essentially restore the registry from the backup) that it would work like before?

Here's another possible clue as to the root cause of the problem: I didn't mention this in my original post because I didn't want to get too complicated, but when connecting to the Windows computers, whether XP or Home, from either of the Linux computers, there is no delay, yet there is the delay in accessing the XP Home computers, and only the XP Home computers, from any other Windows computer. That leads to the question of what is it that Linux does or doesn't do that prevents the delay that all the Windows computers have in accessing only the XP Home computers. Can that Linux accessing behavior be mimicked in the Windows computers by eliminating or adding some feature to the Windows computers? (Hmmm - could it be that Linux doesn't check for scheduled tasks and that that *is* the important difference?)

 

[peva2]

Well - it's Eureka time. The registry edit (deleting search for scheduled tasks) did the trick. I can access them all quickly now (as in *immediate*).

The thing I noticed about Linux not having the delay was my clue and the final impetus to try the tweak that linney posted.

I wonder why being interrogated for scheduled tasks is so slow in Home but apparently not in XP Pro? Any ideas on that (maybe relates back to some of the info. BBB linked on differences between Home and Pro?).

Strange too that in my previous searching for an already existing explanation and solution, while that registry edit was a common tweak mentioned in articles, I saw no mention of it being something *uniquely* affecting accessing XP *Home* and *not* XP Pro computers. I guess that's one of the reasons it took me so long to decide to try that tweak (plus my concern for it possibly having an adverse effect on AVG remote administration - which I still don't know about).

I will keep it like this on my computer (WIN2k) for a couple of days, and see if there are any adverse effects. I then plan on making that tweak (leaving plenty of breadcrumbs, i.e., backup that key, in case there are some latent effects and it becomes necessary to untweak it) to all of the Windows computes in the company. People have complained to the company owner about how slow access to certain computers was over the network (as it turns out - to all the XP Home computers). So, barring anything unforeseen, a week or so from now, I plan to have solved the problem company wide (again, making sure I don't do anything irreversible just in case . . .).

Thanks again to both of you! And possibly my problem will help someone else - or at least adds understanding about rubber-meets-the-road differences between Home and Pro.

 

[ettienne]

Windows XP Home is not intended for business use, therefor you may run into issues.
Assuming that the reason for accessing the XP Home machines is to share data, why not consider a NAS device on your network? They are cheap, fast and easy to setup and you can add heaps of storage space to your network.

 

[linney]

I wonder whether the XP Pro have that Registry Fix already applied to them from and earlier time? As far as that fix is concerned it has been around for ages and ages, so it is pretty safe to use.

"Export: and "Import" Reg Keys will protect your back when making registry changes in RegEdit, and allow for undoing things, as will System Restore.

 

[BadBigBen]

@Linney - No, that certain key is on my version of XP PRO (VLK)...

@Peva2 - Since I do not know the full insights as to the differences, it would all be just conjecture on my part, as to what is causing the hick-up... but I don't think it is Keberos Authentification that is the cause, as Linux uses Kerberos over SAMBA... why the scheduled tasks key causes the hickup, I do not know probably caused by the WebClient Service mentioned in Linney's first link...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[peva2]

Ettienne - We do have that, but there are also things that work better for our company if locally stored even though the information is shared. Will give that some thought, but it would be quite a departure from how we do things - maybe with some unintended consequences that would be more problem to deal with than the original problem we are attempting to solve.

I wonder whether the XP Pro have that Registry Fix already applied to them from and earlier time? As far as that fix is concerned it has been around for ages and ages, so it is pretty safe to use.

The delay in connection is only in the XP Home computers. The Pro (and WIN2k and XP Home and probably all other Windows computers) interrogate the other computer when asking it to connect. For some reason, that interrgoation causes a delay in the Home computers but not the XP computers. IOW - when a Home computer asks a Pro computer to connect, it also interrogates the XP computer for the scehduled tasks. And, again, for some reason, that process delays the Home computer in connecting, but not the Pro computer (keep reading).

My point is that (though no one can explain why they interrogate for scheduled tasks in the first place), the cause of the problem is in Home in that it can't connect right away when interrrogated.

Now that I understand the problem a little more, I was able to make better-targeted searches for a fix of the Home computers. What is missing in the Home computers is the Group Policy Editor that is in Pro computers - there is a setting in the Pro computer GPE: Local Computer Policy, Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies, "User Rights Assignment" the setting "Access this computer from the network". I came across third party Group Policy Editor simulators, none of which worked, and I followed instructions for adding and registering the GPEdit dll's from a Pro computer to a Home computer - that also did not work (maybe they used to work, but MS plgged the hole, or maybe they never worked - maybe like installing a fog light switch on the dash of your car won't give it fog lights?).

I have to think there is a registry tweak that could be done in Home that would have the same effect as that "Access this computer from the network" setting of Group Policy Editor in Pro, and/or otherwise eliminate the delay resulting from the scheduled tasks interrogation in the Home computer (make it ignore that part of the connection request or whatever). IOW - elimniate the problem in the Home computer (the delay caused by the interrogation) rather than the problem in the XP computer (initiating the interrogation). It would be interesting to know what causes the delay in Home when there is no such delay in Pro from the same interrogation (such as, does Pro ignore the scheduled task request, or is it able to comply with the request without adding noticeable delay, and if so, why?).

If anyone has any insight into that, I would like to know it. Otherwise, the registry tweak will be done in all the Windows computers on our network.

 

[linney]

User Rights security settings are not registry keys", so there is nothing that can be added to a XP Home Registry, to change user rights.

The truth of the matter is that XP Home was never intended for business use, certainly not in large numbers in a Networked situation.

There are some changes you can make around the edges of XP Home, but you will never end up with XP Pro. The only real option is the upgrade path.

If any XP Home user is interested in a pseudo Group Policy?

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_home_sectab.htm

Lots of Registry Settings from Group Policy.

http://www.j79zlr.com/gphome.php

292504 - Policy Settings for the Start Menu in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;292504&FR=1&amp;PA=1&amp;SD=HSCH

 

[peva2]

OK - I think we've beat this horse enough - certainly to the exhaustion of my present understanding.

The doug knox program was the one I was referring to - as you probably know, it did nothing for the security settings required for this problem. Frankly I had forgotten that this thread is where I learned of that program.

Anyway - thanks again. I know more now than I did, and have already started removing (from all of our Windows computers) the registry key that causes a search for the scheduled tasks in the target computer - that is a satisfactory solution.