You might want to check the Windows Indexing Service. In XP, Right-click on "My Computer", and select Manage. That will open a screen, and at the bottom you will see Services and Applications. Open that to get to Indexing Services and choose system, and then Directories. I would at this point click the help button and read what it is, and how to prevent NTFS Directories from being indexed. I don't know if this would be the fix, but it might be worth checking.