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Windows XP and Explorer

Do Not Display Folder Size

SUMMARY: Don't waste CPU cycles or cause your hard drive to spin every time you hover your mouse pointer over a folder.

Normally, when you hover your mouse pointer over a folder in Explorer, Windows XP will automatically calculate the size of all files in the folder and its subfolders, displaying the results as a folder tip popup. Note that if the folder contains too many items, XP will eventually give up and only state the folder is larger than a certain size.

Many people find this functionality useful. However, others do not need this information, or they don't want Windows XP wasting CPU cycles and spinning up the hard drive to calculate folder sizes. Also, if you have a laptop and commonly navigate files using Explorer, calculating the size of every folder you hover your mouse pointer on can drain some power from the battery as the hard drive must be accessed more frequently. Thus, to disable this feature:

Example of seeing a folder's size as a folder tip

1. Open any folder in Explorer.

2. Choose "Tools" then "Folder Options".

3. When the multi-tabbed dialog box appears, select the "View" tab.

4. Uncheck "Display file size information in folder tips".

5. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.