I don't have much memory on my PC and a pretty weak processor. Although netbeans is by far my favorite IDE it is almost unbearable to use on my present computer because of the project scanning that starts automatically when I open the program.
Is there a way to prevent netbeans from scanning projects?
In addition to creating smaller Projects for the folders you really work on and then a Project Group to group them (Mateng), you can try excluding folders that you will never work on such as images folders and so on. To ignore those folders, go to:
File > Project Properties > Ignored Folders > Add Folder...
From NetBeans Help:
The Ignored Files property is the opposite of the Include Path. These are files inside the PHP project that you want the IDE to ignore for FTP upload, scanning, etc.
In addition to close unneeded projects (David) you can create project groups containing related projects (or just one):
File > Project Group > New Group....
Project groups can then be opened by pointing at them from the same menu. Best of all: Each group remembers which files were open in the editor windows the last time. I organize all my projects into groups and it reduces scanning significantly.
(btw: There's a handy plugin providing a project group shortcut to the toolbar)
Edit: I am also using Scan on Demand for a while now - really good. Kudos for that answer.