Problem with massive slowdown logging in

[Hisham]

Today I rebooted after performing that latest Windows Update and
installing WinPCap (packet capture library). Upon rebooting, the XP
boot screen showed the blue progress bar pausing every second or so
with the entire POST-to-Login-Screen time being quadrupled. Hitting
CTRL+ALT+DEL allowed me to enter my username and password after which
there was a problem. The problem is the system sat there waiting for no
reason at all. The mouse was movable but the pointer would disappear
over the "Log On to Windows" box. Eventually the system logged in but
the CPU usage was pegged to 100% and left the box nearly unusable. I
was able to start Process Explorer to try to see which program/thread
was hogging all the resources but I couldn't find anything that stuck
out. Quite a few programs was chewing up the CPU but none were
constantly doing it. Instead the top CPU usage was wildly fluctuating
between multiple programs. I eventually rebooted the system into Safe
Mode and everything was fine. I uninstalled WinPCap and rebooted in
normal mode. Same problem with the slow downs occured as before. I
rebooted again but this time with "Safe Mode" and tried to check to
make sure all the WinPCap DLLs were removed and scanned the registry
for any references to it. Instead of rebooting into normal mode, this
time I rebooted in "Safe Mode with Networking" and I recieved the same
slow downs. At this point, what I've determined is that "Safe Mode"
gives me a usable system without the slowdowns (verified multiple
times). "Safe Mode with Networking" exhibits the same slowdowns as a
normally booted system. Where do I go from here in diagnosing this
problem? Does anyone have any solutions short of reinstalling the
entire system?

Software info:
Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 fully updated (also applied KB909095 hotfix for
hiberation issues)
Adaware, Spybot (run nightly)
Windows Anti-spyware
Mcafee Virus Scan & Mcafee Firewall (latest version, updated whenever
new virus defs come out)
Firefox 1.5 w/ noscript and adblock

Hardware info: Dell M60 Workstation Laptop (Centrino 1.6Ghz, Intel 855
chipset, 2915ABG wireless, 1.5 gigs of RAM) w/ the latest Dell drivers

I've had no problems with spyware or viruses on my system and run a
very tight/clean ship so I'm baffled with this problem. Any help in
diagnosing this problem is appreciated.

 

[Malke]

Today I rebooted after performing that latest Windows Update and
installing WinPCap (packet capture library). Upon rebooting, the XP
boot screen showed the blue progress bar pausing every second or so
with the entire POST-to-Login-Screen time being quadrupled. Hitting
CTRL+ALT+DEL allowed me to enter my username and password after which
there was a problem. The problem is the system sat there waiting for
no reason at all. The mouse was movable but the pointer would
disappear over the "Log On to Windows" box. Eventually the system
logged in but the CPU usage was pegged to 100% and left the box nearly
unusable. I was able to start Process Explorer to try to see which
program/thread was hogging all the resources but I couldn't find
anything that stuck out. Quite a few programs was chewing up the CPU
but none were constantly doing it. Instead the top CPU usage was
wildly fluctuating between multiple programs. I eventually rebooted
the system into Safe Mode and everything was fine. I uninstalled
WinPCap and rebooted in normal mode. Same problem with the slow downs
occured as before. I rebooted again but this time with "Safe Mode" and
tried to check to make sure all the WinPCap DLLs were removed and
scanned the registry for any references to it. Instead of rebooting
into normal mode, this time I rebooted in "Safe Mode with Networking"
and I recieved the same slow downs. At this point, what I've
determined is that "Safe Mode" gives me a usable system without the
slowdowns (verified multiple times). "Safe Mode with Networking"
exhibits the same slowdowns as a normally booted system. Where do I go
from here in diagnosing this problem? Does anyone have any solutions
short of reinstalling the entire system?

Software info:
Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 fully updated (also applied KB909095 hotfix for
hiberation issues)
Adaware, Spybot (run nightly)
Windows Anti-spyware
Mcafee Virus Scan & Mcafee Firewall (latest version, updated whenever
new virus defs come out)
Firefox 1.5 w/ noscript and adblock

Hardware info: Dell M60 Workstation Laptop (Centrino 1.6Ghz, Intel 855
chipset, 2915ABG wireless, 1.5 gigs of RAM) w/ the latest Dell drivers

I've had no problems with spyware or viruses on my system and run a
very tight/clean ship so I'm baffled with this problem. Any help in
diagnosing this problem is appreciated.

Since the problems occurred after installing updates and a third-party
program, uninstall the updates and the third-party program. Make sure
you reboot. Does the computer return to its normal state? If so,
install the updates one at a time. Test the computer. If it is fine,
then make a System Restore point and install the third-party software
and test. If the computer is fine, perhaps the original installations
didn't go well. If the computer is not fine, contact the third-party
software's tech support.

If you install a Windows Update and immediately experience problems,
contact Microsoft:

Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from
Microsoft Product Support Services at 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no
charge for support calls that are associated with security updates.

MS International Support -
http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx

Malke

 

[Hisham]

Thanks for the response. Uninstalling said updates and third-party
program hasn't changed anything. What I would like is if you have a
link to a whitepaper that can tell me exactly what services and files
are started in both "Safe Mode" and "Safe Mode with Networking."

What I've done so far is gone to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network (supposedly the
location of drivers and services for Safe Mode with Networking) and
exported the tree. I then deleted the tree and restored the entries
from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal (Safe Mode) to
"Network" thinking that the problem would go away. Then I'd restore one
service/driver at a time to find the troublemaker. However, that hasn't
worked. I get the same stall once inputting my username and password in
the "Log On to Windows" box. This leads me to believe that the
offending program/driver/service is being loaded somewhere else or
Windows is not respecting the registry options I've input. A whitepaper
on the entire safemode process would help me here. The next step I've
taken is to remove all unsigned drivers out of
C:\Windows\System32\Drivers but that has left me with a system that
won't boot (even though I left the display drivers alone). As it
stands, I'll use a Linux boot CD to copy back those drivers one-by-one.
Anyway, I'm running out of options and a fresh source of ideas would
help.