Author: HoosierDaddySubject: .TS files showing as DLLs in Process Explorer
Posted: 14 August 2014 at 8:47pm
I maintain and update my WIN8 HTPC remotely and it is sometime sluggish which I thought MIGHT be a weak WiFi signal. Usually delays are very short. Two days ago, I attempted to rename a video file and the Windows Explorer window seemed to just hang.
I did a find handle/dll for the file name in Processes Explorer and Windows Explorer popped up with that file as a DLL twice and as a file four times. How can a .TS file become a DLL used by Windows Explorer?
After scratching my head a while, I did a fresh find and in addition to Windows Explorer, it showed up as a DLL for Process Explorer itself. This struck me as even stranger than a .ts file showing up as a DLL for Windows Explorer.
Subsequently, the file seemed to come and go as a DLL and none ever appeared as a DLL until right clicked in Windows Explorer to rename, delete, move the file.
I rebooted and tried to rename the file using Unlocker. At first I thought Unlocker had hung but then I noticed it's working set kept slowly growing. After an hour or so it had hit almost 7GB and then suddenly reported the file had been renamed and the working set dropped down to normal. During the entire time the disk activity light on the PC was solid. But Process Explorer showed as close to zero for I/O and CPU the entire time.
I did a search of the registry and no hits for the file name. I have subsequently found that any file with the same extension (.TS) I tried to move, rename, delete, etc. would appear to hang that Windows Explorer window for a long time (sometimes an hour or more) but would finally complete the operation. Those same video files do however play just fine.
For the record, this was the first time I tried to rename, move or delete a .TS file. I normally don't use them but I recently acquired a different model DISH DVR (model VIP722) which required a different version of PVRExplorer Pro and it writes H.264 files from the DVR as .TS files. The 722 version does not appear in SourceForge (PVRExplorer Pro was abandoned in 2006 I think) but was updated and posted by a member in the Yahoo Group for PVRExplorer Pro. It was posted in 2012 and I downloaded it then just in case. It has not been changed since and nobody has reported any issues with it since it was posted over a year ago. My gut says its more than likely not the problem since I have experienced shorter hangs for even longer than that along with activity light going solid for long periods when there is little or no user interaction. I'm just trying to mention all possible clues.
Also, while a Windows Explorer is hung (actually just functioning in super slow motion), other activities in the system slow down to at best half speed.
I use Windows Defender and MalwareBytes always up to date. Secunia shows every program in the system is up to date as I always keep them. I regularly run various RootKit hunters but just from within Windows. Nothing every reported to date. Same as my Office PC. Never had or found an infection on it either.
Any ideas about the cause or what I can do to find the culprit?
Gerby wrote: