Slow response of desktop icons at startup

[Guest]

At startup, the short-cut icons on my desktop respond very slowly. Initially
the icons all have the Windows default appearance and then slowly, one by
one, the true program icon replaces the default image. It takes seconds for
each true icon to appear, and for twenty or thirty icons that means almost a
minute for the screen to assume its final appearnce. I find the wait to be
very frustrating. At one time all the icons would appear in final form
instantaneously. Can someone tell me how to return to that?

 

[Malke]

At startup, the short-cut icons on my desktop respond very slowly.
Initially the icons all have the Windows default appearance and then
slowly, one by one, the true program icon replaces the default image.
It takes seconds for each true icon to appear, and for twenty or
thirty icons that means almost a minute for the screen to assume its
final appearnce. I find the wait to be very frustrating. At one time
all the icons would appear in final form instantaneously. Can someone
tell me how to return to that?

Check and see what is running in the background at startup. Do
clean-boot troubleshooting.

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Malke

 

[NoStop]

At startup, the short-cut icons on my desktop respond very slowly.
Initially the icons all have the Windows default appearance and then
slowly, one by one, the true program icon replaces the default image. It
takes seconds for each true icon to appear, and for twenty or thirty icons
that means almost a minute for the screen to assume its final appearnce. I
find the wait to be very frustrating. At one time all the icons would
appear in final form instantaneously. Can someone tell me how to return to
that?

Find out what Windoze is doing at this time. What processes are running?
Could you have a bunch of malware on your computer that is busy sending out
spam or phoning home with your credit card and banking info rather than
spending its time building your desktop? Oh, the fun of running
Windoze.

 

[Bruce Remick]

Check and see what is running in the background at startup. Do
clean-boot troubleshooting.

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Malke

I'm having a similar problem, along with a general slowdown when opening most
programs. I tried downloading the Guided Help to do a clean boot, but it
doesn't seem to want to load. I'm not sure I understand enough about what I'm
doing to try a manual clean reboot.

In addition to the slowness, my screen saver-- a stock Windows swirly thing--
comes up but doesn't move at all. Bringing up a .doc file in My Documents takes
about two minutes or more. Closing it also takes a minute or two. Net surfing
doesn't seem to In Task manager processes, I notice svchost.exe / CPU 99 /
218,600k. Does this suggest a specific problem? When I turn off the computer,
a window always comes up telling me to end svchost.

WinXP Home/SP2. I have run AVG and AdAware with no problems shown.

Bruce

 

[Malke]

I'm having a similar problem,

(snip)

Please make a new post instead of tacking yours onto someone else's.
This way the both of you will get the help you need. Refer to this page
for what to include in your new post:

http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Malke