Open Dialog Problem

[twade]

In the latest build, the open dialog is acting very strange.  Upon first
activation, it takes up to a minute or so before displaying any
directories or files.  In past builds, it would only take about 5
seconds.  The task manager reports that PixInsight is unresponsive
during this time.   This only happens on the first activation.  It works as
expected thereafter.   I have a dual 2.66 GHz Xeon custom computer.

In addition, upon selecting a file in the open dialog and clicking Ok,
PixInsight looses focus and switches to the last window in "Z-order".  
That is, any other open program will end up in front of PixInsight.  

Wade

[vicent_peris]

Hi Wade,

a bit off-topic in this topic... You say you have a dual Xeon machine. I would know how well it works compared to other processors. In work I have a quad core Intel Extreme Edition, so it would be better to know if the Xeon processors run faster the calculations of PixInsight. It would be nice to have a small comparison with other processor, too... Perhaps we can apply some standard processes and compare timings? We could have a PI buyer's guide! :lol:


Regards,
Vicent.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Wade

This is a strange problem. I'd like to know if anybody else is experiencing similar behaviors with the latest version (build 357).

I have a question: Do you have a 3.5 floppy disk drive on your computer? This might be the cause of the initial delay. This was happening with Qt 4.1; perhaps we have a regression that causes the same problem in Qt 4.3.3.

If you have a floppy drive, try disabling it in your BIOS, if possible, to see if this fixes the problem. (WARNING: only change BIOS parameters if you feel comfortable doing so; if you enter wrong values for some critical BIOS parameters, your computer may fail to boot).

Do you have another computer at hand (preferably without an active floppy drive) to see if the problem also happens on it?

Regarding the focus loss, I've seen this problem a few times. I'm working in fixing it; as always, it seems a Windows/Qt pitfall... None of these problems happen on Linux!

Thank you for your help and patience, and happy new year!

[twade]

Vicent,

I would be happy to run some tests for comparison.

Wade

[twade]

Juan,

Do you have a 3.5 floppy disk drive on your computer?

No, there is no floppy drive attached to the PC.  There are a lot of files on the partition in question.  Do you think this has something to do with gathering all the files and directory information (i.e. the more you have the longer the delay)?  Perhaps, the algorithm used is not the most efficient.

Regarding the focus loss, I've seen this problem a few times. I'm working in fixing it; as always, it seems a Windows/Qt pitfall... None of these problems happen on Linux!

I plan on building a Linux machine next year.   The latest version of PixInsight is the most stable I've seen.  It hasn't had any crashes.   The hard work is definitely paying off.

Thank you for your help and patience, and happy new year!

Thanks, you have an awesome New Year too.

Wade

[georg.viehoever]

I see the same effect (Latest Build, Win Vista, Core 2 Duo). Opening the File Dialog takes 20 secs or so. I have no floppy disk attached. I do have a NAS attached, but I dont know if this is the cause of the problem.

Georg

[twade]

Juan,

I did forget to mentioin the drive in question is a USB removable hard drive.

Wade