Slow Startup

[Guest]

My startup is really slow.

My user profile appears to be c. 4 Gb - contains (Itunes) music files,
photo's, documents etc. You name it, its there.

Assume I can speed up my reducing the size of my profile, but what's the
impact of doing it?

 

[Leonard Grey]

The size of your profile has no effect on how quickly your computer starts.

 

[Guest]

So, what are the potential causes? disk has been cleaned up/defragmented.

 

[Leonard Grey]

Hi again Dave:

There could be hundreds of reasons why a computer is slow to start. In
my estimation, these are among the more prevalent reasons:

Infection by a virus or other malicious software;
Insufficient system resources for the programs that are running; and
Misconfiguration by the user

 

[Daave]

[top-posting this time around because when in Rome...]

See:

http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm

Assuming you're truly malware-free and your hardware is fine, chances
are it's something that occurs during startup, perhaps a virus scan. To
take better control of your startup process, heed the advice given in
Step 13.

Also, what are the specs of yourPC?

And have you tried running Process Explorer? Link:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.mspx

 

[Jeff Daniels]

If your PC is slow to boot and you know your PC is spyware free, go start
run and type in MSconfig.
This will bring up your system configuration box, slect the startup tab and
this will display all your startup items that could be slowing down the PC
loading.
This process can be trial and error do not un-tick anything you dont know
about ask first or Google it.
Cheers
Jeff

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If your PC is slow to boot and you know your PC is spyware free, go start
run and type in MSconfig.

Before using MSConfig, or any similar utility, to disable
auto-starting items, one should check its Options to see if it has the
choice not to start (make sure you actually choose the option not to
run it, not just a "don't show icon" option). Many can easily and best
be stopped that way.

Only if that doesn't work, should you run MSCONFIG from the Start |
Run line, and on the Startup tab, uncheck the programs you don't want
to start automatically.

This will bring up your system configuration box, slect the startup tab and
this will display all your startup items that could be slowing down the PC
loading.
This process can be trial and error do not un-tick anything you dont know
about ask first or Google it.

Yes. Don't do this just for the purpose of running the minimum number
of programs. Despite what many people tell you, you should be
concerned, not with how *many* of these programs you run, but *which*.
Some of them can hurt performance severely, but others have no effect
on performance.

Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do
is determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what
the cost in performance is of its running all the time. You can get
more information about these at
http://castlecops.com/StartupList.html. If you can't find it there,
try google searches and ask about specifics here.

Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.

 

[LadyDungeness]

If you are using XP, create a restore point first. I prefer other
utilities over msconfig. I like RegCleaner by Vourio. It makes
backups so you can restore what you've removed, if need be.


Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but Great Legs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


On Mon, 06 Aug 2007 07:54:10 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP"

|On Mon, 6 Aug 2007 23:37:31 +1000, "Jeff Daniels"
|
|> If your PC is slow to boot and you know your PC is spyware free, go start
|> run and type in MSconfig.
|
|
|Before using MSConfig, or any similar utility, to disable
|auto-starting items, one should check its Options to see if it has the
|choice not to start (make sure you actually choose the option not to
|run it, not just a "don't show icon" option). Many can easily and best
|be stopped that way.
|
|Only if that doesn't work, should you run MSCONFIG from the Start |
|Run line, and on the Startup tab, uncheck the programs you don't want
|to start automatically.
|
|
|
|
|> This will bring up your system configuration box, slect the startup tab and
|> this will display all your startup items that could be slowing down the PC
|> loading.
|> This process can be trial and error do not un-tick anything you dont know
|> about ask first or Google it.
|
|
|
|Yes. Don't do this just for the purpose of running the minimum number
|of programs. Despite what many people tell you, you should be
|concerned, not with how *many* of these programs you run, but *which*.
|Some of them can hurt performance severely, but others have no effect
|on performance.
|
|Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do
|is determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what
|the cost in performance is of its running all the time. You can get
|more information about these at
|http://castlecops.com/StartupList.html. If you can't find it there,
|try google searches and ask about specifics here.
|
|Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
|decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.
|
|
|> |> > My startup is really slow.
|> >
|> > My user profile appears to be c. 4 Gb - contains (Itunes) music files,
|> > photo's, documents etc. You name it, its there.
|> >
|> > Assume I can speed up my reducing the size of my profile, but what's the
|> > impact of doing it?
|> > --
|> > Dave M

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If you are using XP, create a restore point first. I prefer other
utilities over msconfig. I like RegCleaner by Vourio. It makes
backups so you can restore what you've removed, if need be.

Most registry cleaners make backups. But if the result of a registry
cleaner's deleting something it shouldn't have is that the computer
won't boot, the backup doesn't do you much good.

 

[Daave]

Most registry cleaners make backups. But if the result of a registry
cleaner's deleting something it shouldn't have is that the computer
won't boot, the backup doesn't do you much good.

And that's the reason that RegCleaner is one of the better registry
cleaners. But as far as other registry cleaners that go overboard and
delete necessary keys, you are absolutely correct.

 

[Daave]

I prefer other utilities over msconfig. I like RegCleaner by Vourio. It makes
backups so you can restore what you've removed, if need be.

I believe you're confusing RegCleaner with Startup Control Panel.

Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

I like it, too.

 

[LadyDungeness]

You believe incorrectly. I am confusing nothing. Instead, you do not
know what features RegCleaner has, yet you write as if you do. Go
figure.

RegCleaner by Vuorio has a menu to view and selectively delete certain
items from startup. As well as other options. It's a tiny little
program that works well and it's free.

No need to download any separate program to tweak the startup options.

Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but Great Legs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 17:57:38 -0400, "Daave"

|[email protected] wrote:
|> I prefer other utilities over msconfig. I like RegCleaner by Vourio.
|It makes
|> backups so you can restore what you've removed, if need be.
|
|I believe you're confusing RegCleaner with Startup Control Panel.
|
|Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel:
|http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
|
|I like it, too.
|

 

[Daave]

I stand corrected. It's been a while since I used RegCleaner, but you
are absolutely right.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm searching for some answers regarding my laptop's slow performance.
I'm using a Sony Vaio laptop with 512Mb memory runing XP Home Edition. The
laptop is just over 18 months old. It was running quite well at one point.

It got slower after I installed Norton System Work. I have since removed it
and am now using a firewall and protection with minimum footprint. I have
tried every step mentioned below, for example:

1) MSCONFIG - I have but 0 program in my startup. I have 47 processes after
booting up. I have no junk program in the services. I checked against
available list on what each services is for and shut down any that I didn't
need.

2) Changed memory managment in Registry to setting 2

3) cleared out of TEMP directory.

5) Removed JAVA updates

6) Run Regcleaner, Ad-Aware and several others. Found no issue.

7) Took a day, but I DEFRAGGED my HD

8) Removed all unnecessary program in Control Panel

9) I have no unused network connections.

10) I have no virus or spyware. I can confirm this after several scans and
using online scans (such as Panda)

11) I have downloaded the latest Bootvis (37??). It shows that it takes me
406 seconds to finish loading !! However, when I select to optimise, it just
sits there and never finishes. I left it running overnight and nothing
happened.

I have exhausted all the usual FAQ type suggestions. So, can someone please
something else. Anyone know why Bootvis doesn't finish optimise on my laptop?

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I should add that I have no fancy background pictures etc. I have configured
the system for max performance.

The IE also takes a while to load as well. However, once it's loaded, it
works just fine. the CPU is not running crazy.

I'm just running out of ideas and helpful information I can find. Please
help.

Hi,

I'm searching for some answers regarding my laptop's slow performance.
I'm using a Sony Vaio laptop with 512Mb memory runing XP Home Edition. The
laptop is just over 18 months old. It was running quite well at one point.

It got slower after I installed Norton System Work. I have since removed it
and am now using a firewall and protection with minimum footprint. I have
tried every step mentioned below, for example:

1) MSCONFIG - I have but 0 program in my startup. I have 47 processes after
booting up. I have no junk program in the services. I checked against
available list on what each services is for and shut down any that I didn't
need.

2) Changed memory managment in Registry to setting 2

3) cleared out of TEMP directory.

5) Removed JAVA updates

6) Run Regcleaner, Ad-Aware and several others. Found no issue.

7) Took a day, but I DEFRAGGED my HD

8) Removed all unnecessary program in Control Panel

9) I have no unused network connections.

10) I have no virus or spyware. I can confirm this after several scans and
using online scans (such as Panda)

11) I have downloaded the latest Bootvis (37??). It shows that it takes me
406 seconds to finish loading !! However, when I select to optimise, it just
sits there and never finishes. I left it running overnight and nothing
happened.

I have exhausted all the usual FAQ type suggestions. So, can someone please
something else. Anyone know why Bootvis doesn't finish optimise on my laptop?

Thanks.

 

[Daave]

Comments inline.

Hi,

I'm searching for some answers regarding my laptop's slow performance.
I'm using a Sony Vaio laptop with 512Mb memory runing XP Home Edition.
The
laptop is just over 18 months old. It was running quite well at one
point.

It got slower after I installed Norton System Work.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Norton has been known to slow
systems down.

I have since removed it [snip]

How did you remove it? I wonder if any of its many tentacles remain.

2) Changed memory managment in Registry to setting 2

Please specify the key you altered.

6) Run Regcleaner, Ad-Aware and several others. Found no issue.

Identify the "several others." Did you run either Spybot Search &
Destroy or SUPERAntiSpyware?

7) Took a day, but I DEFRAGGED my HD

That's odd; defragging shouldn't take that long. Did you perhaps check
your drive for bad sectors?

8) Removed all unnecessary program in Control Panel

Control Panel? Do you mean msconfig?

I suspect your problem is with Norton remnants.

 

[Vince]

Much agreed. I had some systems that had System Works installed that had to
be reformatted because there was just no going back.

Comments inline.

Hi,

I'm searching for some answers regarding my laptop's slow performance.
I'm using a Sony Vaio laptop with 512Mb memory runing XP Home Edition.
The
laptop is just over 18 months old. It was running quite well at one
point.

It got slower after I installed Norton System Work.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Norton has been known to slow systems
down.

I have since removed it [snip]

How did you remove it? I wonder if any of its many tentacles remain.

2) Changed memory managment in Registry to setting 2

Please specify the key you altered.

6) Run Regcleaner, Ad-Aware and several others. Found no issue.

Identify the "several others." Did you run either Spybot Search & Destroy
or SUPERAntiSpyware?

7) Took a day, but I DEFRAGGED my HD

That's odd; defragging shouldn't take that long. Did you perhaps check
your drive for bad sectors?

8) Removed all unnecessary program in Control Panel

Control Panel? Do you mean msconfig?

I suspect your problem is with Norton remnants.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the response Daave.

I removed Norston System Work by using the cleanup tool provided by Norton .
I have read several posts where people mentioned that "uninstall" doesn't
clean things out properly. Hence, I used the tool provided by Norton. Is
that still not enough?

To answer your other queries. Yes, I didn run "Spyboy Search & Destry".

Regarding the registry change, I updated
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management\prefectchparameters
Changed "EnablePrefectcher" to 2
Changed bootime period from 30 seconds to 3 second.

I did CHKDSK my HD and found no bad sector, but I will double check.

As for Bootvis, I also read that it requires a few services, such as "Task
Scheduler" to be on to run. I did that and it still did not work for me.

Is there anything that you can suggest?

Thanks.

Comments inline.

Hi,

I'm searching for some answers regarding my laptop's slow performance.
I'm using a Sony Vaio laptop with 512Mb memory runing XP Home Edition.
The
laptop is just over 18 months old. It was running quite well at one
point.

It got slower after I installed Norton System Work.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Norton has been known to slow
systems down.

I have since removed it [snip]

How did you remove it? I wonder if any of its many tentacles remain.

2) Changed memory managment in Registry to setting 2

Please specify the key you altered.

6) Run Regcleaner, Ad-Aware and several others. Found no issue.

Identify the "several others." Did you run either Spybot Search &
Destroy or SUPERAntiSpyware?

7) Took a day, but I DEFRAGGED my HD

That's odd; defragging shouldn't take that long. Did you perhaps check
your drive for bad sectors?

8) Removed all unnecessary program in Control Panel

Control Panel? Do you mean msconfig?

I suspect your problem is with Norton remnants.

 

[Daave]

The Norton cleanup tool is *supposed* to work, but I know of a few cases
where it doesn't. You mentioned you ran RegCleaner. Was it Jouni
Vuorio's program? If so, under the Software tab, click the Author
column. Do you see any entries that say either Norton or Symantec? Do
the same with the Software column. And what is listed under the Startup
List tab?

The reason I suspect Norton is that your problems began immediately
after you installed Norton System Works (IIRC). But since your defrag
took a whole day, I wonder if it's starting to go. You should obtain a
program from the manufacturer of the drive that checks the health of
your hard drive. If you're not sure where to obtain it, post back with
detailed information about your laptop and hard drive.

It's possible you have malware, even though scans come up negative. If I
were you I would either try Clean Boot Troubleshooting (if you want to
get your hands dirty and have time to use the process of elimination) or
posting a HijackThis log (if you would prefer experts to analyze what's
on your PC) to an appropriate forum.

"How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP":
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

HijackThis:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/programs.php#hijackthis

"Online Help Forums":
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/forums.php

Thanks for the response Daave.

I removed Norston System Work by using the cleanup tool provided by
Norton . I have read several posts where people mentioned that
"uninstall" doesn't clean things out properly. Hence, I used the
tool provided by Norton. Is that still not enough?

To answer your other queries. Yes, I didn run "Spyboy Search &
Destry".

Regarding the registry change, I updated
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management\prefectchparameters
Changed "EnablePrefectcher" to 2
Changed bootime period from 30 seconds to 3 second.

I did CHKDSK my HD and found no bad sector, but I will double check.

As for Bootvis, I also read that it requires a few services, such as
"Task Scheduler" to be on to run. I did that and it still did not
work for me.

Is there anything that you can suggest?

Thanks.

Comments inline.

Hi,

I'm searching for some answers regarding my laptop's slow
performance. I'm using a Sony Vaio laptop with 512Mb memory runing
XP Home Edition. The
laptop is just over 18 months old. It was running quite well at one
point.

It got slower after I installed Norton System Work.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Norton has been known to slow
systems down.

I have since removed it [snip]

How did you remove it? I wonder if any of its many tentacles remain.

2) Changed memory managment in Registry to setting 2

Please specify the key you altered.

6) Run Regcleaner, Ad-Aware and several others. Found no issue.

Identify the "several others." Did you run either Spybot Search &
Destroy or SUPERAntiSpyware?

7) Took a day, but I DEFRAGGED my HD

That's odd; defragging shouldn't take that long. Did you perhaps
check your drive for bad sectors?

8) Removed all unnecessary program in Control Panel

Control Panel? Do you mean msconfig?

I suspect your problem is with Norton remnants.