Bug 102285 [Import/Export] Project Import wizard unusably slow
R3.1 I wanted to create a new 3.2 workspace and import some projects from my 3.1 development workspace which contains around 120 plug-ins. I've set the root of the importer to point at those plug-ins. After letting the wizard scan my disk for over 10 minutes I gave up and did it manually. A possible source for the problem might be that the root directory (as expected) contains a .metadata directory with tons of data (in my case) and that this one is fully scanned.
bundles/org.eclipse.ui.ide/src/org/eclipse/ui/internal/ide/IDEApplication.java
continue;
            }
            
            File workspace = new File(instancePath);
            if (!workspace.exists())
                workspace.mkdir();
            try {
                
                  
                String path = workspace.getAbsolutePath().replace(
                        File.separatorChar, '/');
                url = new URL("file", null, path); 
            } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
                MessageDialog
                        .openError(
                                shell,
                                IDEWorkbenchMessages.IDEApplication_workspaceInvalidTitle,
                                IDEWorkbenchMessages.IDEApplication_workspaceInvalidMessage);
                continue;
            }
        } while (!checkValidWorkspace(shell, url));
        return url;
    }
    /**
     * Return true if the argument directory is ok to use as a workspace and
     * false otherwise. A version check will be performed, and a confirmation
     * box may be displayed on the argument shell if an older version is
     * detected.
     * 
     * @return true if the argument URL is ok to use as a workspace and false