Slow XP logon

[Guest]

I'm having a very frustrating problem with XP logging on. Here are the
details:

Computer: Dell Latitude D410

O/S: XP Pro, SP2, all patches, service packs, etc installed (thank you
WSUS), configured to connect to a W2K3 domain.

Symptoms:
a) User has NO problem connecting to the domain, mapped network drives, etc
when connected at the office.
b) When user is away from the office, login can take anywhere from 2 to 5
minutes. Boot-up to login box takes about 20-25 seconds; after entering p/w
it takes 1:45 to 2min, or longer.
c) Slow login is only experienced from boot; once the computer has been
booted and logged into once, you can log in / off in very quickly as long as
you don't shut it down.

Resolution: I've tried the following:
1. Having user turn off wireless prior to booting computer (all my other
users do this and it solves the problem of the login process trying to find
a DNS server). Wireless on significantly increases the boot time.
2. Setting GroupPolicy / Computer Config / Admin Templates /Logon/ "always
wait for the network" to "enabled".
3. Turning off the "WebClient" service. Found this suggestion on Google and
it worked for the first couple of logins, then logins returned to their slow
state.
4. I'm caching the previous 15 logins (this user travels a lot).

Other symptoms:

When I first logged in to this system using my admin credentials, it logged
in quite quickly; after re-booting a couple of times, the login times
degraded to those being experienced by my user.

Of course, this isn't just any user whose having these issues - it's our
president and while she's a pleasant lady, her patience is wearing thin. Any
help with this issue would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Don

 

[Guest]

When you say "Slow XP Logon" are you talking about initial logon to start
the machine or are we talking about logging into the domain from outside the
office??

 

[Guest]

logging in to get a desktop. I'm not worried about connecting to the domain
from outside - that we do via VPN, and it works fine.

 

[Guest]

I know this might be something you have already checked but what processes,
services and programs are starting during startup?

 

[Guest]

I've been able to determine that once the user enters their credentials and
starts the logon process, it's XP searching for a domain controller that's
taking the time. I havent' been able to find any way to stop it from doing
that, or at least to shorten the time-out period. Using the laptop's "Fn-F2"
toggle to turn off the radio doesn't help; I have to disable the wireless
connection before it will login quickly. This isn't an acceptable option
however as you have to be an Administrator to enable / disable the wireless
connection and that is NOT and option. So finding a way to shorten the
Domain Controller search time-out would be the best option.