Why does MATLAB 7.8 (R2009a) take so long when my current directory is a network drive?

When I am in MATLAB 7.8 (R2009a) and I change from my local directory, C:\, into a network directory, K:\Devel, using the CD command, it is quite slow. Once the command prompt is returned, I observe that the current directory shown in the MATLAB Toolbar is still showing it is in the C:\ drive for quite some time before it updates to the proper directory.

While in this directory, any commands that I run take a long time to run. However, if I change back into the C:\ drive, this lag is gone and I am able to use MATLAB as expected.

Also, if I change to another directory on K:\ that does not contain any MATLAB files or subfolders, this lag is not observed.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

The reason for this delay is because of two main factors: the shared network drive and the amount of files and subfolders in this network drive. This application delay is expected in MATLAB 7.8 (R2009a), and can be seen to some extent even when using Windows Explorer to view a network drive containing many files and subfolders.