boot lag

[jefe]

Hi,
For some reason now when I reboot, my machine has a long lag before the
reboot start. When I restart the fans run and there are no beeps, after a
few mins the monitor will flic on and boot starts. It seems like it cycles
between the hd cdrom and floppy a bunch of times before the boot starts.

xp machine
boot order
cd rom
floppy
ide-1

I removed the cd and floppy from the pc and from the bios. I also reset to
the original bios.
no change

TIA
Jefe

 

[Grant Robertson]

For some reason now when I reboot, my machine has a long lag before the
reboot start. When I restart the fans run and there are no beeps, after a
few mins the monitor will flic on and boot starts. It seems like it cycles
between the hd cdrom and floppy a bunch of times before the boot starts.

xp machine
boot order
cd rom
floppy
ide-1

I removed the cd and floppy from the pc and from the bios. I also reset to
the original bios.
no change

It sounds as if your hard drive is starting to go and the controller is
having a hard time recognizing it. Try booting off of a floppy. Does it
take just as long to boot up? Try disconnecting the HDD and setting it to
'None' in the BIOS then booting off of the floppy. Does it still take as
long to get started? If not, then it is definitely the HDD.

Turn off the PC and don't use it any more until you do the following:

1) Buy a good disk imaging program (about $89) and a new HDD.

2) Borrow yet another spare HDD with at least 3/4 the space as the size
of your current HDD.

3) Take a complete image of the HDD including the empty clusters and
store that image on the borrowed HDD.

4) Use that same disk imaging program to make a copy of your old disk to
the new disk.

As an alternative to buying a new HDD you can try saving the old one by
running SpinRite (www.spinrite.com) on it. But at least take the image
first.

The latest versions of the disk imaging software that is out there also
makes great backup software so it is worth the investment.

If you aren't cmpletely comfortable with all this then enlist the
services of a GOOD local technician.

 

[jefe]

Just got spinrite and ill give it a whirl

thanks

 

[bbaka]

Hi,
For some reason now when I reboot, my machine has a long lag before the
reboot start. When I restart the fans run and there are no beeps, after a
few mins the monitor will flic on and boot starts. It seems like it cycles
between the hd cdrom and floppy a bunch of times before the boot starts.

xp machine
boot order
cd rom
floppy
ide-1

I removed the cd and floppy from the pc and from the bios. I also reset to
the original bios.
no change

TIA
Jefe

It happens to me too, and the more times I add programs the worse it
gets. Even deleting and cleaning all traces of the programs I don't want
does not help so that old saying about backing everything up and
reinstalling with a fresh format actually does make sense. Windows is
notorious about leaving junk in the registry which it searches for even
after the program has been properly uninstalled. At first I though XP
was a big improvement over my 2KPro but then it started slowing down
just the same. Microsoft should have done something about this years
ago, like about 10 years.
Bill Baka

 

[CBFalconer]

.... snip about systems slowing with time ...

It happens to me too, and the more times I add programs the worse
it gets. Even deleting and cleaning all traces of the programs I
don't want does not help so that old saying about backing
everything up and reinstalling with a fresh format actually does
make sense. Windows is notorious about leaving junk in the
registry which it searches for even after the program has been
properly uninstalled. At first I though XP was a big improvement
over my 2KPro but then it started slowing down just the same.
Microsoft should have done something about this years ago, like
about 10 years.

Why? Their objective is to get you to buy new software. You
should have installed Linux years ago.

 

[kony]

It happens to me too, and the more times I add programs the worse it
gets.

.... and there you are... of course it does. The solution
is to not install all of that stuff and chose to avoid
software that is so invasive.

Even deleting and cleaning all traces of the programs I don't want
does not help so that old saying about backing everything up and
reinstalling with a fresh format actually does make sense. Windows is
notorious about leaving junk in the registry

No, "windows" does not add anything nor remove anything.
The software designer does this (or doesn't). Windows
simply obeys their (and your) commands. If Norton
Systemworks' installer adds 350 registry entries but it's
uninstaller only removes 100 of them, that is not a WIndows
fault.

...which it searches for even
after the program has been properly uninstalled. At first I though XP
was a big improvement over my 2KPro but then it started slowing down
just the same. Microsoft should have done something about this years
ago, like about 10 years.

What would they do? Have the OS randomly delete files and
registry entries? Have it continually ask you "Do you want
to delete this?" just out of the blue with no initiation of
the deletion on the user's part? There might be something
more windows can do beyond system restore points, but since
machines don't quite have AI yet and with Windows being such
a widely used OS, there are quite a few variables- too many
- to easily have the OS clean up what applications did (or
didn't do).

The solution is to make a system backup (or at least
registry) prior to installing large softwares, and choosing
small softwares when possible. Apps that can unzip to a
folder and run within that folder without placing files or
registry entries elsewhere/anywhere are very good and
desirable goal IMO. Plus they're then more easily portable,
could be taken with you on a removable flash medium.

 

[CBFalconer]

.... snip ...


No, "windows" does not add anything nor remove anything. The
software designer does this (or doesn't). Windows simply obeys
their (and your) commands. If Norton Systemworks' installer adds
350 registry entries but it's uninstaller only removes 100 of
them, that is not a WIndows fault.

The solution is fairly simple. Get and install INCTRL5, from the
PC Magazine utilities. Use it to install anything, and keep the
log files. The time to start using it is immediately after
installing Windoze. Then you can completely exterminate any sign
of anything in the future. The log files will not take up much
space if you keep them in text format.

INCTRL5 and the other PCMag utilities used to be freely available.
I think that has changed and they now want some sort of
registration fees (a stupid bean counter move), but this one is
worth it.