I found a great little tip from BioTeck.Net about how to speed up the process when opening Windows Explorer on Windows XP

Here are the steps:

• Open My Computer
• Click on Tools menu
• Click on Folder Options
• Click on the View tab
• Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
• Click Apply
• Click Ok
• Reboot your computer (not sure, but this one might be optional)

Thanks Behrad!