Computer takes forever to boot

[Guest]

Computer Specs:
------------------
OS: XP w/ SP2
HDD: 200 GB Maxtor SCSI
Mobo: Intel D945GCCR w/ 945GC chipset
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo 2.8 GHz
RAM: 2GB (two 1G sticks) 533 MHz DDR2 Kingston
PS: Antec Truepower 2.0 480W
DVD: Pioneer DVD-RW

By forever I mean about 5 min. I've timed everything I talk about in this
post.

It loads to the windows logo pretty quickly, but after this point the screen
goes black for about 2 min. Then the welcome screen comes up--this lasts for
another 2 min. Even when the OS is running, its very slow.

Every time I click a "browse" button in explorer it takes 1 minute before a
browse window pops up. It feels like eternity. Combined with the default
wallpaper for XP its like I'm literally watching grass grow.

Also, I cannot read CDs/DVDs through XP--even though booting and installing
XP from the CD worked fine. I've doubled checked that the jumper is set to
master and is connected to the master portion of the IDE cable.

So here I am, with a fresh install of XP sp2 on my new HDD, CPU, and mobo,
hoping someone has some advice. Can anybody help?

 

[Guest]

Have you tried booting without the CD-ROM drives connected? It sounds like
there is something that is taking a long time to initialize. Check the event
viewer for errors.
Troy

 

[Guest]

Thanks so much for leading me in the right direction!!!

I looked on event viewer and saw that when my cd drive (model DVR-105) is
connected the following system error occurs every 2 seconds:

"The driver detected a controller error on \Device\CdRom0."

So I updated the dvd drive firmware to version 1.33B and just to make sure I
installed the latest versions BIOS and system drivers for my motherboard.

However, I am still getting this controller error when I boot up with the
dvd drive connected and so the computer still hangs. What else can I do to
try and fix this?


Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Just in case it helps, here are some of the BIOS settings I thought might
shed some light:

Drive Configuration
============

Use Auto Mode Disable
Use Serial ATA Enable
ATA/IDE mode Native
S.M.A.R.T. Enable
Primary Channel Enable

============

 

[Guest]

Not really sure. Do you have another CD Rom drive you could put in it's
place to test to see if it's a problem with the CDROM drive? I'm not sure if
there are any changes in the BIOS that need to be made or not. I sometimes
change settings around in the BIOS to see if that makes any difference.

The more I think about it, I think it may be an issue with the CDROM drive.

Hopefully this helps.
Troy

 

[Guest]

Thanks Troy. I've bought a new CD player because swapping out the old one
with a different player enabled everything to work as it should. You've been
a HUGE help. Thanks again.