Delay after entering password on welcome screen

[Mike]

Ok, this is stumping me. Let's say I'm *already* logged into windows. If I
hit Windows Key+L to lock the PC and get to the welcome screen, there is a
slight delay with a blue screen. Now, if I type my password in (and mind you,
everything is idle, nothing is loading or working in the background), why is
there is 5-10 second delay after hitting enter? The same happens if I don't
even have a password...

Any ideas??

 

[Mike]

oh, and fyi, turning ON classic login mode (no welcome screen) DOES resolve
the problem... i get my desktop FAAAST!

so what's wrong with the welcome screen??

 

[JS]

It could be a sub-process or application that's running in the background
and taking all the CPU resources. If it's a process named: logonui.exe
when you log on from the Welcome Screen it could be a virus. If it's
not logonui.exe but another process you should be able to find the
cause of the slowdown by following the instructions below.

Note that the last paragraph in this post may be your best choice
for finding the problem. Also watch the CPU graph and make sure
that the CPU is at idle (nothing running) before you press
Windows Key+L, then wait a few seconds and log back on.

To find and display what could be the problem try Process Explorer:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Once you have Process Explorer installed and running:
In the taskbar select View and check 'Show Process Tree' and the
'Show Lower Pane' options.
Then expand the process named 'Explorer' (click on the + sign)
In the column on the left named 'CPU', look for any high CPU usage.
Next click on the CPU column to sort the processes by %CPU usage
(Highest to Lowest).

Move the mouse cursor over any process,
you should see a popup with some detailed info.
Then mouse over the process that's using most or all the CPU %.
Then click on that process to highlight it,
Now that it's highlighted, right click and from the options listed select:
'Search Online'.
This should display what out there on the web about that process.
You can also double click on any process to open up a more detailed
'Properties' window.
Note: some entries like Explorer, System/Services, and Svchost
may need to be expanded to show the detail (sub processes),
in this case click on the + located to the left of the entry.

An alternate method when using Process Explorer
is to double click on the Graph just below the Menu bar.
This will open the 'System Information' window, which has a larger display
of all three graphs. Move your mouse over any spike in the
CPU Usage graph to see what process/application or service is the cause
of the spike.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

 

[Kelly]

In addition:

Run the Task Manager, go to View/Select Columns, and turn on the following
columns: "I/O Read Bytes" and "I/O Write Bytes." This will give you details
as to which process is accessing the disk.

Although many processes will be accessing the disk, look for one with a high
total or a fast rate of increase, especially when you hear the drive being
accessed.

One further suggestion regarding Task Manager stated by Ron Martell:

In the Processes tab if you click twice on the column heading for any
column then the list will be sorted in descending order based on the
value for that column. This helps to identify which processes have
the highest values for any given item.

Suggestion: Run the undo on line 367 (right hand side):
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Hard Disk Performance Is Slower Than You Expect
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q308219

Restore View/Columns - Task Manager (Line 337) Right hand side
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Last but not least - Go to Start/Run/Msconfig/Startup and uncheck all not
needed to boot/wake on boot and also under Services/Hide all MS Services.

Good luck!

--

All the Best and Happy Turkey Day,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

 

[Mike]

i see logonui.exe but seems like a normal file.... no cpu spikes elsewhere..
ran MRT and symantec antivirus... also spybot and spyware doctor, no
viruses/malware.... this issue only appears to occur when using the welcome
screen and no other time....any other ideas? thanks for your input..

 

[Mike]

the only thing i see usin lots of read n write btes is smc.exe i have
symantec endpoint protection 11.... could that be it?? and if so, why does
this only happen (the delay) just with the welcome screen and not the
standard classic login prompt? fyi i have xp sp3 pro

 

[Mike]

i disabled everything in msconfig.. same issue. nothing seems to resolve this
problem other than not to use the welcome screen....

 

[JS]

If Endpoint runs as a service you could try stooping that service and then
see if the delay occurs.

JS

 

[JS]

Has this delay just started to happen or has there always been a delay?

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

 

[Mike]

disabling endpoint and everything else did not make a difference... i
reformatted and ever since then it has been happening.. no idea what
changed..but like i said, only when using the welcome screen.... logs in
instantly on classic login..

 

[Mike]

another note..... when i do window key L to go to welcome screen... the light
blue screen appears for a moment before i see it.... like another delay... :/