Slow start-up?

[seadog]

I have a feeling this might be more something to do with W10, dunno. Lately, as in since I had to reload Windows a few weeks back Xara has been getting very slow to start. Now, this computer, an ASUS all in one - 2.90 gigahertz AMD A6-5350M APU with Radeon HD Graphics and 8Gb of ram. It wasn't slow starting before the big crash, so I'm wondering if there's anything I can do? Not a big problem, just irritating.
Cheers,
Fraser

[gwpriester]

Is the problem just with Web Designer or slowness in general? Sometimes when Windows is sending updates in the background it slows down my computer. And then a day or two later when I shut down I get an option to shut down and install updates.

Another thing that can cause a slowdown is a virus or malware. Is your anti-virus software up to date? Have you scanned your computer recently? I always recommend Malwarebytes + your anti-virus software.

And there is always this. Do you have several documents open? Or are you working on a document with a lot of high resolution photos?

[Mart]

I realise this topic is a few months old but since I am experiencing a relatively slow start-up of Xara Designer ProX 64-bit, I came here and did a search to see if it had been experienced by others. This is not a big issue but a noticeable one. Corel, Affinity and Inkscape take about 5 seconds to open. Xara takes 15 to 20 seconds.

My own findings are that Windows Defender seems to be the cause.

I have been trying a few security programs on Windows 10 recently. With an AV program other than Windows Defender operational (installing a third-party AV program disables Windows Defender by default), Xara Designer ProX opens in a fairly snappy fashion.

However, I'm back to using Windows Defender at present and have again noticed that Xara can be pretty slow to open. This being mostly when the computer is first switched on and Xara is started for the first time. It can be slow at other times if the Xara hasn't been opened for a good while. When Windows Defender is taken out of the scene, the slow opening times don't occur at all. I can't say this would be a universal experience but it has been mine as regards Xara's comparatively slow start-up time.

The computer has an Intel i5 processor and 8 gigabytes of RAM.

[gwpriester]

Mart - That is very interesting. Please post this in Dear Xara so the developers can take a look.

[amoore]

MY Internet security AV is Webroot Secure Anywhere. My perception is that XDP opens slowly. Perhaps it's affected by some AVs and not others.

[Mart]

One possible reason for slowness I've read about is that Windows Defender scans relevant files every time a program is started. This method of working might always cause a delay. If a different AV program works the same way, then perhaps this would also cause a delay. Other AV programs may not work the same. Having scanned the files once, they are known to be safe and hence it wouldn't be necessary to scan them again.

Whether a program opens speedily under Windows Defender might depend on the files (or the number of files) being scanned. All just a theory though. Other security programs I've tried that don't cause a lag are:

Avira Pro.
HitmanPro.Alert3.
Malwarebytes Pro (running realtime).
Bitdefender Internet Security.

All these being run with Windows Defender disabled. XDP opens much more quickly under these conditions.

[wizard509]

I use Avast free version + Malwarebytes free and have had no problems
Is it just Xara or all your programs? Do you have a lot of fonts installed, that could slow down your machine too.

[Mart]

There are 610 fonts in the fonts folder, which is quite a number and I could try cutting this down. Then again, other graphics/image programs installed on the SSD open in about half the time of XPD. In my experience, the comparatively slower opening time of Xara is overcome by using an AV program other than Windows Defender. If Windows Defender is thought good or sufficient security though, Xara opening more slowly wouldn't be a reason to stop using it.

[wizard509]

There are 610 fonts in the fonts folder, which is quite a number and I could try cutting this down. Then again, other graphics/image programs installed on the SSD open in about half the time of XPD. In my experience, the comparatively slower opening time of Xara is overcome by using an AV program other than Windows Defender. If Windows Defender is thought good or sufficient security though, Xara opening more slowly wouldn't be a reason to stop using it.

OK. Kinda odd that Windows Defender should be causing a problem with Xara. For me that would be reason enough to switch to Avast. The free version is sufficient for my needs. My son also uses Avast free and Malwarebytes free and is a firm beliver in them.
I also use a couple other programs to clean my computer of any unwanted junk that could be causing me problems.
Have you cleared your browser cash whatever browser you are using but not cookies and also IE cash. The reason I do not clear my cookies is so I do not have to sign in here every time. Poor reason maybe.

http://www.magix.com/gb/xara-photo-g.../new-features/

[Mart]

The computer had a clean installation of the Fall Creators Update when it became available. The system is kept clean and optimised but the entry for XPD is allowed to remain in the C:\Windows\Prefetch folder (should aid start-up times).