In news:4c328a14$1@dnews.tpgi.com.au,
jones <jones@nowhere.com> typed:
> Does having too many files and folders on the desktop i.e.
> scattered all over, not in My Documents, slow the computer
> down?
> Just curious.
>
> Thank you
> Katherine
Well, yes and no. Yes because every desktop icon has to be gotten from cache
and physically painted onto the screen at the mathematical positions
required. No because as a general rule the time added is going to be
negligible unless possibly you're making your own large icons. The Desktop
is actually just a folder that windows has been coded to display its
contents on the screen. It exists under your username under Documents and
Settings.
You can test it out for your specific situation by turning OFF the Desktop
Display and noticing how long it takes to paint the screen. To make a blank
desktop, right-click any open area on the desktop and choose "Arrange Icons
By". In the drop down that appears, remove the tic mark at "Show Desktop".
The desktop usually goes away right away. On some machines you might
have to log off and back on the get it to take affect.
To bring the desktop back so it displays, just put the tic back on "Show
Desktop" and all your icons will re-appear.
There ARE situations where the desktop icons can actually cause fairly long
and annoying pauses as each icon is painted! But that has nothing to do with
how many icons are on the desktop. To correct it, you need to do a refresh
of the icon cache. If you need more info on that, just ask or check with
Google or most any search engine.
HTH,
Twayne`