Device drivers - how to stop them being loaded

[bhd]

Hi,

I'm trying to troubleshoot a slow startup problem, and have been through all
the standard procedures (anti-virus, spyware, msconfig, selective disabling
of services and startup processes etc etc), and have established that the
only way to reduce boot time is to start in safe mode. From this I
concluded that the time is being taken loading device drivers, so tried
disabling as many hardware devices as I could in device manager and
rebooting - still no change to normal boot time.

Are device drivers still loaded, even if the device is disabled?
If so, would creating a hardware profile of just the essential hardware
restrict the devices loaded?
Alternatively, is there a way of stepping through driver loading during
bootup? (I seem to remember being able to do this in W95, though I could be
hallucinating...)

Thanks in advance,
bhd.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Are device drivers still loaded, even if the device is disabled?

Not if disabled.

If so, would creating a hardware profile of just the essential hardware
restrict the devices loaded?

It would, but simply disabling them should be sufficient.

Alternatively, is there a way of stepping through driver loading during
bootup? (I seem to remember being able to do this in W95, though I could
be hallucinating...)

I miss that confirmation boot (Win95/98), it was a nice way to troubleshoot
a driver related startup problem.

Things work better in Safe mode as your are not loading full driver sets,
just basic functionality. The problems can be twofold. A full driver set may
be corrupt, or could be in conflict with other drivers. Start by disabling
unneeded devices, then by reverting back to base drivers (standard VGA,
101/102 keyboard, etc.).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[bhd]

Hi,


Not if disabled.


It would, but simply disabling them should be sufficient.


I miss that confirmation boot (Win95/98), it was a nice way to
troubleshoot a driver related startup problem.

Things work better in Safe mode as your are not loading full driver sets,
just basic functionality. The problems can be twofold. A full driver set
may be corrupt, or could be in conflict with other drivers. Start by
disabling unneeded devices, then by reverting back to base drivers
(standard VGA, 101/102 keyboard, etc.).

Thanks for the advice - and your clarity )

bhd.