Slow performance when opening MS Office files

  • 7007788
  • 04-Feb-2011
  • 26-Apr-2012

Environment

Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows Vista
Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows Server 2008
Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows 7
Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Office

Situation

When opening a file residing on a Novell volume using MS Office, the file takes an unusually long time to open. For example, using MS Excel 2007, a spreadsheet can take several minutes to load.

Resolution

Configure Anti-Virus
 
In some cases, slow performance can be caused by anti-virus software scanning the file each time the file is opened. Configure anti-virus software to scan files only when modified, instead of upon every open of the file. 
 
 
Disable NetBIOS:

In some cases, slow performance can be attributed to server lookups via NetBIOS, which is not needed on modern networks. In these cases, disabling NetBIOS queries in the advanced TCP/IP settings of the network adapter may resolve the delay.

1. Navigate to the Local Area Connection Properties dialog for the network adapter (Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change Adapter Settings -> Right-click on the network connection -> Properties)
2. Select the "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" item, and click on the "Properties" button
3. Click the "Advanced" button
4. Click on the "WINS" tab
5. Click the radio button for "Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP"
 
 
Disable WebDAV:

In some cases, the additional step of disabling WebDAV may also help, because of attempts to find Microsoft WebDAV information via the Novell Apache server. Apache supports WebDAV, but does not have the information to respond to this request. Apache returns an "HTTP 405 Method Not Allowed" error. The workstation makes this attempt several times, which contributes to the delay.

1. Navigate to the Services Management Console (Start Orb -> Search Programs and Files -> services.msc)
2  Double-click on "WebClient"
3. Stop the service by clicking the "Stop" button
4. Change Startup type: to "Disabled"

Disabling the WebClient service may lead to unexpected results, and even failure of other tasks that rely on WebDAV, such as web folders and mapping drives to HTTP(S) addresses.