Paradox users should be aware that many extreme slowdowns were reported after installing Windows XP Service Pack 2. Delays of thirty seconds or more were reported!

The problem actually turned out to be quite different. It actually has nothing to do with Paradox at all!

It turned out that the source of the problem ... was a timeout. Caused by printers.

Service Pack 2 appears to have resulted in the creation of printer definitions for network-connected printers with "auto connect." (Even if no network exists. The installer "just does it.") Therefore Windows would poll each printer (sometimes once for each installed network-protocol), wait X-seconds apiece for the reply that, of course, never came, and proceed to the next.

While there is nothing per se "wrong" with this, (well, it's a piss-poor implementation..., not to have been done in parallel for all printers at-once), but the key issue is simply that this issue popped-up without people being aware of it, and with really no clue what's happening or how to proceed. The problem was ultimately discovered by doing a TCP/IP protocol "packet sniff" to see who was talking to whom about what. It was then easy to see the broadcast-messages going out repeatedly.

Simply remove the unwanted printer-definitions (or disable auto-connect) and the problem disappears. (Also, and as a general rule, one should always remove all network protocols and bindings that are not actually known to be required in your particular network and/or the Internet.)

Since I use Win2K and have still been delaying allowing users to upgrade to SP2 this information will be extremely useful and is coming at a time to prevent a problem. Unlike if I had waited for MS to deliver the info.

Kudo's Sundial.