Question on management of many files in XP

[yo-yo~delta]

I have one folder in my computer that has 21,xxx some odd files in it. It takes about 20 seconds to load the directory, but after viewing the directory once, my computer becomes very slow and must be restarted to make up for it, it seems the memory never free's.

My second part of the question, These files take up alot of room, and I was looking for a way to compress them, and make for easier, less system disturbing method. I tryied compressing it to a .rar file, however the .rar file takes forever to load every file for viewing (and it took 2 hours to compress). Is there anyway i can compress these files and make it so they don't take ages to load, AND they dont lag my system after viewing them, with out having to split the files up? I know its a lengthy demand, but looking for options.
Thanks.

[Gene K]

What is the name of the Folder? What file extension? What type of files does it contain?

[yo-yo~delta]

Folder contains only images,
almost 22 thousand, mostly jpg, gif, png, some bmp.
folder is 4.02 gigs

when compressed, i believe it was 3.82 gigs, but
took too long to load i had to close it.

[Gene K]

Originally posted by yo-yo~delta
Folder contains only images,
almost 22 thousand, mostly jpg, gif, png, some bmp.
folder is 4.02 gigs

when compressed, i believe it was 3.82 gigs, but
took too long to load i had to close it.

4.02GB of images [almost 22,000 separate one's] is a bunch. Why would you need to retain that many?
The file is so large, it is unwieldy.
Suggestions:
a. This file needs to be removed from your boot drive. If you have a second hard disk or an external hard drive, move it there. Then clean it of the images that are of no further use to you [you must be saving a copy of all you view]. Note that the file is so big that it will continue to be clumsy and tedious to handle, search, and view the images therein.
b. If no second Hard Drive is available and you have a DVD-RW, consider that
What I am saying basically is that a file this large needs to be kept off-line [off the boot drive]. If you accumulate such files and do not presently have a second Hard Drive, save up and buy one.
Others may have different opinions.

[yo-yo~delta]

It is ona second hard drive. this flder does not cause problems untill it has been loaded once. basicly, is my system somehow keeping the memory on all these files after being loaded once, totaly lagging me down?

[Rocket]

Make it so your folder view isnt set on thumbnails....being on thumbnails slows the loading of the page drastically.

make sub folders in the folder and sort jpg, bmp, gif files separately.
make other sub folders to group same types of pictures and such.

it is easier for windows to open a folder containing many different folders, as opposed to one big one with all the files exposed.