slow log in

[DC Gringo]

I've got a lot boot process that hangs for it seems 5 minutes while running
start-up scripts. The only way to get it to log right in quickly is to
disable the workstation service, which obviously causes other problems.

I'm running WinXP SP1 on a Win2k domain.

I used bootvis.exe to log my boot process but it doesn't pinpoint what the
exact hold up is. Only that 1.5 min is in shell exec stage and 5 minutes
for Logon/services stage.

How can I see what part of either the startup script or shell exec,
logon/services are holding me up?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I've got a lot boot process that hangs for it seems 5 minutes while running
start-up scripts. The only way to get it to log right in quickly is to
disable the workstation service, which obviously causes other problems.

I'm running WinXP SP1 on a Win2k domain.

I used bootvis.exe to log my boot process but it doesn't pinpoint what the
exact hold up is. Only that 1.5 min is in shell exec stage and 5 minutes
for Logon/services stage.

How can I see what part of either the startup script or shell exec,
logon/services are holding me up?

Slow login processes are usually the result of incorrect DNS
settings, causing the machine to look in the wrong place for
the domain name server before timing out.

 

[DC Gringo]

Pegasus,

Yes, I am familiar with that problem, but I have the correct DNS setting...

Do you know of a way I can trace each step of the logon process and look at
it?

_____
DC G

 

[Herb Martin]

Pegasus,

Yes, I am familiar with that problem, but I have the correct DNS

setting...

Despite your confidence it would be my own practice
to post those settings and to have rechecked them.

BUT based on your posts it also seems likely that
you are fighting a GPO/Script problem.

You even indicated in your first post that it was during
Script processing.

And although you say "slow log in" it seems that you
are reporting a slow login of the COMPUTER (technically
a logon but not the one most people think about.)

Do you know of a way I can trace each step of the logon process and look at
it?

`
What about selectively removing your GPOs or scripts?

How about instrumenting your startup scripts to log
their own behavior to a known file (with >> to append
the results)?

If you log start/stop/major-events using something like:

@echo %0:What I am doing now %date% %time% >>c:\startup.txt

%0 should give the script name that is running.

 

[DC Gringo]

Herb,

I was auditing a whole series of events that I have now turned off...I had
switched them on recently to track down another unrelated problem. I do
believe I was having this problem before doing that, but I will check
anyway. It looks like a few hundred entries were being logged on startup.
Do you think that alone could hold up a logon for 10 minutes?

_____
DC G

 

[Herb Martin]

Herb,

I was auditing a whole series of events that I have now turned off...I had
switched them on recently to track down another unrelated problem. I do
believe I was having this problem before doing that, but I will check
anyway. It looks like a few hundred entries were being logged on startup.
Do you think that alone could hold up a logon for 10 minutes?

I would not have PREDICTED that would slow
you up for even a minute, but if switching them
off corrects the problem that seems to be the
evidence.

Writing to the event log is probably not perceptibly
slower than writing to a file -- 100-1000 records is
not all that much.

Perhaps it means a little more initialization happening
early but that only means a little (few seconds delay.)

 

[DC Gringo]

I don't know yet if it fixes it. I will know tomorrow morning when I log
onto the domain. If what you say is true then it will not fix it.

And other advice on how to track down what is causing the hang up? There is
nothing in the event log otherwise that indicates a hold up.

______
DC G

 

[Herb Martin]

I don't know yet if it fixes it. I will know tomorrow morning when I log
onto the domain. If what you say is true then it will not fix it.

And other advice on how to track down what is causing the hang up? There is
nothing in the event log otherwise that indicates a hold up.

The standard method -- which pretty much always
works -- is to divide and simplify until you find
the culprit.

The fix is usually then easy.

 

[DC Gringo]

Herb,

Yes, that is definitely what I'm trying to do. What I am looking for is a
tool that will help be identify the pieces I have split up into further
detail. I have used bootvis.exe and it doesn't get me down into which
Logon/Services or Shell exec is the culprit.

If you could help me with that I'd appreciate it.
_____
DC G

 

[Herb Martin]

Herb,

Yes, that is definitely what I'm trying to do. What I am looking for is a
tool that will help be identify the pieces I have split up into further
detail. I have used bootvis.exe and it doesn't get me down into which
Logon/Services or Shell exec is the culprit.

If you could help me with that I'd appreciate it.

Well if you remove (disable) the scripts or entire
GPOs you should be able to find it in a few reboots.

And the logging of the scripts should get it down to
a few commands fairly quickly.

 

[DC Gringo]

Herb,

Yes, I am aware of removing the scripts and GPO stopping the problem.

I would like to find out specific what inside the scripts or GPO is the hold
up.

How can I log the scripts and GPO?

_____
DC G

 

[Herb Martin]

Herb,

Yes, I am aware of removing the scripts and GPO stopping the problem.

I would like to find out specific what inside the scripts or GPO is the hold
up.

How can I log the scripts and GPO?

Divide and conquer. Don't remove the whole
GPO, selectively disable (likely candidate)
pieces and log the script behavior.

 

[DC Gringo]

Herb,

We seem not to be communicating very well. I am very thoroughly trained and
have a lot of experience as a troubleshooter. If I have forgotten any of
those skills, you have certainly reminded me of them with your conceptual
suggestions of "dividing and conquering", "process of elimination", and
"divide and simplify".

From time to time I need tools to accomplish my task. This is one of those
cases. I am am asking you or anyone else in this group for a tool or
application for logging the scripts and application of the GPO from the
workstation side of the equation.

Bootvis.exe did not do the trick.

Your continued help would be appreciated.

_____
Glenn

 

[Herb Martin]

From time to time I need tools to accomplish my task. This is one of
those

cases. I am am asking you or anyone else in this group for a tool or
application for logging the scripts and application of the GPO from the
workstation side of the equation.

I don't believe there really are any tools for watching
the INTERNAL execution of a script -- surely someone
must have written a perl script or something to go
through and add the instrumention but I don't know of
one, here's a naive appoach in Perl:

## usage: perl thisScript.pl startup.cmd >newstartup.cmd
print '@echo >>c:\%0.log _________________________' ;
print '@echo >>c:\%0.log %0 %date% %time% running...' ;

while (<>) {
print '@echo >>c:\%0.log %0 %date% %time%: ' ;
print;
print;
}

print '@echo >>c:\%0.log %0 %date% %time% finished.' ;
print '@echo >>c:\%0.log =======================' ;


Now, I didn't test the above (might have a misplaced quote
or % sign) but that would just write a new batch file which
you can substitute for your real batch file (then later replace).

For GPOs in general there isn't much in Win2000 -- GPResult
I mentioned earlier.

Win2003 has RSoP (resultant set of policies) but neither of
these addresses performance directly.

 

[DC Gringo]

Thanks, Herb...sorry to be abrupt before but it seemed my less direct
questioning wasn't getting through...

That is surprising that there' no logon script profiling tool commonly
available, used, or known about...I can't imagine I'm the only one that has
to troubleshoot a logon...

I have changed some event log settings and stopped messing around with other
things...and now I have two entries in my event log:


Any ideas?


Event Type: Error
Event Source: Userenv
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1058
Date: 1/5/2005
Time: 1:06:46 PM
User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer: myMachine
Description:
Windows cannot access the file gpt.ini for GPO
CN={31B2F340-016D-11D2-945F-00C04FB984F9},CN=Policies,CN=System,DC=ourdomain
,DC=net. The file must be present at the location
<\\ourdomain.net\sysvol\ourdomain.net\Policies\{31B2F340-016D-11D2-945F-00C0
4FB984F9}\gpt.ini>. (The network path was not found. ). Group Policy
processing aborted.

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Userenv
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1030
Date: 1/5/2005
Time: 1:06:46 PM
User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer: myMachine
Description:
Windows cannot query for the list of Group Policy objects. A message that
describes the reason for this was previously logged by the policy engine.


Event Type: Error
Event Source: UserInit
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1000

Event Type: Error
Event Source: KIXTART
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1789
Date: 1/5/2005
Time: 1:13:09 PM
User: N/A
Computer: myMachine
Description:
The description for Event ID ( 1789 ) in Source ( KIXTART ) cannot be found.
The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or
message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. You may be
able to use the /AUXSOURCE= flag to retrieve this description; see Help and
Support for details. The following information is part of the event: GetPG:
LookupAccountSid failed Error : The trust relationship between this
workstation and the primary domain failed. (0x6fd/1789).



Event Type: Error
Event Source: KIXTART
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1789
Date: 1/5/2005
Time: 1:13:09 PM
User: N/A
Computer: myMachine
Description:
The description for Event ID ( 1789 ) in Source ( KIXTART ) cannot be found.
The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or
message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. You may be
able to use the /AUXSOURCE= flag to retrieve this description; see Help and
Support for details. The following information is part of the event:
GetPrimaryGroup failed Error : The trust relationship between this
workstation and the primary domain failed. (0x6fd/1789).


Date: 1/5/2005
Time: 1:06:46 PM
User: N/A
Computer: myMachine
Description:
Could not execute the following script Adminrights.cmd. The system cannot
find the file specified.
..




_____
DC G