PC takes forever to boot and hangs on shut down

[joel z]

My PC takes at least 10 minutes to get to the windows
logo screen. After i select a user, it takes another 5
minutes to finish start up. I notice in task manager
that i have over 60 processes running after starting up.
How can i control what runs at start up ?

I am running Windows XP home edition.

Also, my PC hangs when i try to shut down. Could they be
related ?

 

[Unknown]

Click start---run--type in, msconfig click Ok. Click on start-up tab.

 

[austinpctech]

Yes, run msconfig but that's not all. You can review all
of the programs listed on the startup tab and uncheck any
that you don't want to run. This is really only a short
fix and you may find that programs that you need to run
no longer function properly as a result. The best thing
is to look in the bottom right-hand corner or tray to
determine what programs that you might not need. Then go
to your Control Panel, click on Add/Remove and uninstall
those programs you don't want. The items listed on the
startup tab in msconfig can also help you determine what
those programs might be as it will show a more complete
list of the programs being loaded at startup.

My suspicions are that if you have that many programs
running, then you likely have spyware and/or adware on
your machine. Particularly if you are experiencing a
large number of pop-up ads and unexpected toolbars on
your Internet Explorer. You should download a free copy
of Ad-Aware or Spybot Search and Destroy, scan your
system, and then quarantine what it finds. You can
download Ad-Aware at www.lavasoftusa.com. Be sure and
click on Check for updates before each new day that you
scan your system as new updates are posted often.
Repeatedly scan your system until it finds zero items.
If you have questions or difficulties getting rid of the
Spyware, you can get help through their forums at
www.lavasoftsupport.com

Good Luck

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem. Just downloaded and ran ad-aware. Over 400 items found. Should I quarantine everything, or are there going to be items listed that I may want? Please advise.

 

[austinpctech]

Generally speaking, you should delete everything it
finds. The worst thing that happens is that you lose
cookie that you may want. Like for me, it wants to
delete my excite.com cookie which stores my login
password. If you find an object like that that it wants
to quarantine, then you can right click on it's checkbox
and add it to the ignore list. Also, if you are running
Kazaa, it will kill the program and require
reinstalling. The bottom line is that it only puts
Spyware and Adware items on the list and despite how much
you might like Kazaa, it does come with Adware.

You should also scan your system multiple times until you
get to a point that it no longer detects anymore
spyware. If you get to a point that it deletes all but
just a few that won't delete, then post a message at
www.lavasoftsupport.com and someone will gladly help you.

Good Luck!

-----Original Message-----
I have the same problem. Just downloaded and ran ad-

aware. Over 400 items found. Should I quarantine
everything, or are there going to be items listed that I
may want? Please advise.