Question : Control Panel Icons - Windows XP

I'm using Windows XP with latest service pack (3) and all security updates as of last Tuesday (Oct 13th). I have a question about the Control Panel display. I access the Control Panel by "Start" (lower left-hand corner) then when the dialogue box opens after left-clicking "Start" I move up the dialogue box to the menu item called "Control Panel" and left-click that menu item. Next another "box" opens that looks similar to Windows Explorer. I would expect the control icons to appear, but they never do. What appears is the search flashlight. After about 10 to 15 seconds the control icons finally appear. Why does the search flashlight appear first? What can I do to have the icons open immediately as it always has since Windows 95, 98 and NT 2000.

This is not a major problem but an small irritation that I'd really like to resolve. Your help would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Frank

Answer : Control Panel Icons - Windows XP

Those system specs are more than sufficient for running Windows XP smoothly, so it should not show that search icon when opening the control panel.

There are applications that can temporarily disable .cpl (Control Panel Extensions)
Try: http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

and see if you disable all non-standard icons, it helps to open control panel faster.