Black screen slows startup

[LTarras]

I have a Dell Dimension 2400 with 512 MB running XP Home. It was reformatted
about 6 months ago and recently I am experiencing a very long boot time (more
than 5 minutes). The unusual thing about the startup is that most of the
time occurs before the Windows banner screen is presented. It loads BIOS and
then the screen goes black for at least three minutes before you see any sign
of Windows coming to life. Cleaning startup files, temps, spyware, and
viruses have all been done. It doesn't seem to have any effect. The BIOS
appears to be up to date (AO5). What am I missing?

 

[Thomas Wendell]

What is your boot order in BIOS?
It sound like it is trying to boot from USB. Anything connected, like a card
reader or an ext HD?


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Tumppi
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[Gerry]

Have you tried this approach?
How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/en-us

Also look for Error Reports in the System log in Event Viewer.
Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in
the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for the last boot. No
Information Reports or Duplicates please. Indicate which also appear in
a previous boot.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you
should double click for further information. You can copy using copy
and paste. Often the link will, however, say there is no further
information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

Are there any yellow question marks in Device Manager? Right click on
the My Computer icon on your Desktop and select Properties,
Hardware,Device Manager. If yes what is the Device Error code?

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Hope this helps.

Gerry
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FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
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