PowerPoint very slow while opening presentation

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hi Diego,

The link on Slide 10 might change from BAD to OK if the movie.mov file were in
the same folder as the PPT, but I think you understand all that. The fact that
the presentation opens slowly without slide 10 suggests that it's not the
problem in any case.

Sometimes it's possible for images copy/pasted from the net to trigger an
internet connection. What happens if you open the file from the local HDD with
any network connections disabled (ie, wireless turned off, ethernet unplugged)?

Steve,

I ran FIXLINKS_PRO and this is the report:

------------------------------------------------------------
FixLinks Pro DEMO
=================
File: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Presentation
2005.ppt

This DEMO reports all links but only repairs image links.
To repair other link types, please register FixLinks Pro
at http://get.pptools.com

LINKED PICTURES, SOUNDS, MEDIA; SHAPES WITH ACTION SETTINGS
Slide ShapeName Mouse Status Link Type
===== ========= ===== ====== =========
10 Picture 19 M/C BAD media (movie/sound) object
File: movie.mov

ACTION SETTINGS ON TEXT WITHIN SHAPES
Slide ShapeName Mouse Status Link Type
===== ========= ===== ====== =========
HYPERLINKS
Slide ShapeName Status Link
===== ========= ====== =====
TRANSITION SOUNDS
=================
(NOTE: transition sounds are always embedded, not linked.)

Approximate link storage: 24 bytes

KEY to Report
=============
STATUS:
OK Link is good; file is where it's supposed to be
BAD Link is bad; file is missing. FixLinks Pro will allow you to
locate and relink it
N/A Not a link; data may be embedded

NOTES:
RUN MACRO actions are reported as BAD links though they're embedded in
the PPT file
They don't work in the PPT Viewer; they may not work in PPT due to
security settings

RUN PROGRAM actions are reported as BAD links if the full path to the
program or file
isn't specified in the link; some programs like NOTEPAD.EXE and other
Windows utilities
may work regardless. Testing is in order.

--------------------------------------------------

Then I deleted slide 10 , but presentation opens slowly as before...

Diego

P.S. FIXLINK is very good !

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[distri]

As Mike suggested I started Mac OS X in Safe Boot, and know the
presenation opens in about 90 seconds.

I've found other people whith the same problem in Apple discussion
group at

http://discussions.info.apple.com/[email protected]@.68b1a863

 

[distri]

I'll try to find which extension,frameworks or other part not started
in Safe Mode could cause
the problem.

 

[Mike]

So do you mean after starting in safe mode the presentation opened
quickly? How fast?

 

[distri]

Yes it opened quickly. About 1 minute and half instead of 8 minutes

 

[distri]

I tied to run top command from Terminal:

in Safe Mode PowerPoint uses about of 60-80% of cpu

in Normal mode PowerPoint uses about 10% of cpu with some peaks of 15 %
of cpu

 

[Mike]

That's very interesting. I have also noticed that during Powerpoint
hangs, it's not using much % CPU. I just rebooted in safe mode and one
of my presentations that usually takes 25 seconds to switch to the
slide sorter only took 3! Using top I could see PowerPoint's %CPU climb
to 99%. Next I tried booting normally and changing Powerpoint's
priority to -20 using the renice command and the same presentation
switched to slide sorter view in less than 2 seconds. I'd be interested
in hearing what kind of difference this makes with your 8 minute
opener. To try it, first open Powerpoint and then get it's PID by
typing "ps -axc | grep PowerPoint" in Terminal. Then enter "sudo renice
-20 xxx" (xxx being the PID). Then see how your presentation responds.

 

[distri]

That's very interesting. I have also noticed that during Powerpoint
hangs, it's not using much % CPU. I just rebooted in safe mode and one
of my presentations that usually takes 25 seconds to switch to the
slide sorter only took 3! Using top I could see PowerPoint's %CPU climb
to 99%. Next I tried booting normally and changing Powerpoint's
priority to -20 using the renice command and the same presentation
switched to slide sorter view in less than 2 seconds. I'd be interested
in hearing what kind of difference this makes with your 8 minute
opener. To try it, first open Powerpoint and then get it's PID by
typing "ps -axc | grep PowerPoint" in Terminal. Then enter "sudo renice
-20 xxx" (xxx being the PID). Then see how your presentation responds.

Mike,

I've changed the nice value to -20 , but for o my ppt file it does
not make any difference
when opening it.

In normal boot mode I started PowerPoint, changed the nice value of
the process to -20 then opened the ppt file, and it took 8 minutes to
complete the opening.

Do you know any "performance and tuning" tool for mac os x ?

 

[Mike]

Ok, maybe my results with renice were a coincidence. After doing
further testing I see that the nice value doesn't have much of an
effect after all. What's puzzling is why there is so much variation in
the amount of time it takes the same presentation to switch to slide
sorter view under seemingly identical conditions. I just now opened up
a presentation and it switched in 1 second. I closed it, opened it back
up and switched and it took over 30. PowerPoint is the only application
I know of that behaves this way. I do hope someone at Microsoft is
looking into this issue - and if they are I'd be more that happy to
provide more information.

I generally stay away from any kind of performance tools because OS X
seems to handle this quite well on it's own. The one exception is
TechTool Pro which I run occasionally to check hardware and optimize
directories. While this hasn't helped my Powerpoint issues, I do feel
it helps keep the filesystem healthy.

 

[distri]

Ok, maybe my results with renice were a coincidence. After doing
further testing I see that the nice value doesn't have much of an
effect after all. What's puzzling is why there is so much variation in
the amount of time it takes the same presentation to switch to slide
sorter view under seemingly identical conditions. I just now opened up
a presentation and it switched in 1 second. I closed it, opened it back
up and switched and it took over 30. PowerPoint is the only application
I know of that behaves this way. I do hope someone at Microsoft is
looking into this issue - and if they are I'd be more that happy to
provide more information.

I generally stay away from any kind of performance tools because OS X
seems to handle this quite well on it's own. The one exception is
TechTool Pro which I run occasionally to check hardware and optimize
directories. While this hasn't helped my Powerpoint issues, I do feel
it helps keep the filesystem healthy.

I do hope also Micosoft people is looking this issue !!!

 

[BSG]

It was once suggested to me that changing the properties on the slow opening
presentations to Read Only will make a big difference. Have you tried that?
Barry

 

[distri]

Barry,

YES, setting the file permission read-only is faster ( 90 secs., same
as Safe Boot Mode) !

To see how CPU perform while presentation is opening , I used BigTop (
dowlodable from Apple
developer site); if not in read only or not in Safe Mode, CPU shows a
low CPU activity, and if in read
only or Safe Mode the CPU is constant at 80-90 %.

Where do you find that "read-only" suggestion ?

 

[BSG]

I actually got the suggestion from a friend who gives alot of large
presentations. I have no idea where he read it.
Barry

 

[Mike]

That speeds up presentations for me too. Unfortunately I always need to
make changes.

 

[distri]

I hope Microsoft will read this discussion...

 

[Kurt]

I hope Microsoft will read this discussion...

I've heard many of them don't read...