TeXworks very slow to open or close files

[Rick Voland]

I am not using Microsoft "OneDrive", at least not deliberately. My test file is on my desktop. 

The solid-state drive is very new and has 93% storage space free. 

The test file is on the desktop. I keep most of my files on an external USB drive. I can connect that USB drive to another computer with Windows 7 and TeXlive 2020 that lacks those most recent updates and can open those existing tex files just fine on the other computer. 

Rick 



----- Original Message -----

From: "George N. White III" <gnwiii at gmail.com> 
To: "Rick Voland" <rvoland at tds.net> 
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2020 10:07:31 AM 
Subject: Re: TeXworks very slow to open or close files 

On Thu, 30 Jul 2020 at 09:15, Rick Voland < rvoland at tds.net > wrote: 




TeXworks is now very slow to open or close files. I have TeXworks from TeXlive 2020 for Windows 10 Pro installed on the c: drive in the usual place, and have all the TeXlive updates including today. I made no changes to file paths in TeXworks. 

TeXworks now takes maybe 15+ minutes to open or close even the simplest *.tex document (with its *.pdf). Once the files are open, the normal typesetting with pdflatex is very fast (seconds), just like before. I use a minimal new test.tex file from the article template in TeXworks. I am using M$-Windows 10 Pro with 16GB RAM, a solid-state drive, and a fast CPU. While TeXworks is opening or closing a file, the windows taskmanager indicates 2 instances of texworks with one at 25% of my CPU (and it still takes >>10 minutes to open or close!!). 

The problem developed 1-2 weeks ago after a TeXlive update. I am suspicious about a new directory created on 07-18-20 

~\TeXworks 

Normally, TeXlive for windows puts all user configurations at: 

~\.texlive2020 

so TeXworks details should be at: 

~\.texlive2020\texmf-config\texworks 




Are you using Microsoft "OneDrive"? I have encountered systems where many files in a user's "Documents" folder had been moved to Microsoft's "cloud" and were being retrieved on demand, resulting in the sort of delays you experienced. 

Is the system overheating? At my former work (older building and budget cuts resulting in reduced cleaning) there were many identical laptops that were prone to dust accumulating in the CPU cooling fins. Affected systems would get slower and slower and eventually just stop. Short of disassembly and thorough cleaning, liberal application of "canned air" to cooling vents would produce a cloud of dust (so do it outdoors) and make the system usable for a few weeks to months. 

How full is your SSD (after running the cleanup tool)? I have encountered Windows systems where files in the recycle bin were not included in the Windows "free space" calculation, so a drive that was out of space was shown with ample space available. 

-- 
George N. White III