SP2 installed...now FOREVER to boot-up! Why?

[John Arnold]

Well, I finally installed SP2 on my Dell 8200 2.8.

My system used to take 2-3 minutes to boot up...now takes about 12-15
minutes!!

I've got conventional programs (no games or such): Microsoft Office,
Photoshop CS, Neato, Nikon Scan, etc.

Also got Norton SystemsWorks 2004....AntiVirus is up-to-date and configured
to check e-mail incoming, etc.

Boot drive is what came with the Dell: 40 gb, of which 30 is used and 10 is
free.

Second 120 gb HD installed in the chassis.

Other external drives attached.

What can I do to make this boot up faster....or is 12-15 minutes something
that SP2 just makes normal. Can't imagine rebooting in the middle of the
day....it'll stop work forever!

Thanks for your help.

John

 

[R. McCarty]

Drive was fragmented, due to 2600+ modules being replaced by SP2.
The Service Pack also, adds an Uninstaller and ServicePackFiles folder
to your drive. Prefetch gets reset, so all Layout data is removed. After
several days of use, it will recreate/Re-layout the frequently used Apps &
boot driver code.

12-15 Minutes ?, never heard of an XP install taking that long to boot.
You should check MSConfig and see what kind of Startups & Watchdogs
Dell has polluted your PC with. They are notorious for adding "Junk" to
a brand new PC that loads it down. Many times you'll find Printer
monitors, MS-Money Billminder and all kinds of other unwanted "Fluff"
they add to their images.

You didn't mention memory, but I would look at TaskMgr, Processes &
see how heavy the memory loading is on the computer.

At best, even with Media Players,etc XP should finish booting within a
minute and a half. You may also have some Malware running that should
be detected & removed.

 

[John Arnold]

Thanks for responding so quickly....

I have 2 gb RAM on the Dell....The computer itself is 2+ years old.

Thanks for all your advice, although I must admit I'm a little intimidated
by your suggestions.

"MSConfig"....how do I get there, and then what do I look for and how do I
fix?

Looked at task manager...memory is running 4-10% when on-line.

So...is the first thing I should do is run disk-defragmenter...?

Thanks again.

John

 

[R. McCarty]

2.0 Gig, I'm impressed, but stumped why the boot time is so long.

Click Start, Run (Type) MsConfig [Enter], select Startup (Tab).
The startups will be listed (They load from different locations &
types) - A check box will enable/disable each one.

Defrag will help. Also, to see the "True" boot time of the PC do
a "Safe Mode" boot (F8 at transition from BIOS post/Splash to
the XP Splash). If Safe Mode finishes in 25-35 seconds then your
PC is lagging because of 3rd party drivers, Services or Apps.
If you don't use AdAware & SpyBot - download/update & run
both.

 

[Pivert]

His system was going up in a couple of minutes before SP2. So at first sight
shouldn't be a Dell problem, but something with SP2 or perhaps massive
fragmentation.
Suggestions :
- defrag C:
- what about loading time when booting in safe mode ( hit F8 when booting)
- is PC connected to network ? If yes : how long to boot if not connected
( unplug cable)
Pivert

2.0 Gig, I'm impressed, but stumped why the boot time is so long.

Click Start, Run (Type) MsConfig [Enter], select Startup (Tab).
The startups will be listed (They load from different locations &
types) - A check box will enable/disable each one.

Defrag will help. Also, to see the "True" boot time of the PC do
a "Safe Mode" boot (F8 at transition from BIOS post/Splash to
the XP Splash). If Safe Mode finishes in 25-35 seconds then your
PC is lagging because of 3rd party drivers, Services or Apps.
If you don't use AdAware & SpyBot - download/update & run
both.

Thanks for responding so quickly....

I have 2 gb RAM on the Dell....The computer itself is 2+ years old.

Thanks for all your advice, although I must admit I'm a little intimidated
by your suggestions.

"MSConfig"....how do I get there, and then what do I look for and how do I
fix?

Looked at task manager...memory is running 4-10% when on-line.

So...is the first thing I should do is run disk-defragmenter...?

Thanks again.

John

 

[Guest]

did you turn off all programs when updating to SP2?? ie(ANTIVIRUS)

as the antivirus program is designed to prevent changes or modifications to
the OS files and settings, and thats what the service pack does. (changes and
modifies the OS's files & settings)

if the antivirus was not turned off you may have damaged the windows install
by not following the instructions.

12min boot up is not the norm for SP2, neither is 2-3 mins, most systems i
use boot between 45-90 seconds.

 

[John Arnold]

Thanks everyone for the help...

First off, yes....the Norton Antivirus was disabled up SP2 install.

Here's what I've done:

- Ran MSConfig and disabled a couple things that I could recognize as not
essential. For example, I saw an "iTunes" something or another running, but
I don't have an iPod nor visit Apple.com...so that's the kind of thing I
recognize to disable. Other things were a little fuzzy, so I didn't do
anything to them.
- HD disk was defragged (was 16% fragmented).
- Had run Spybot and Norton SystemsWorks check-up already. Just ran
AdAware.
- Rebooted....still took 14+ minutes to boot.
- Rebooted in safe-mode. Much quicker....2-3 minutes.
- Rebooted again, and it took 14+ minutes.

So, that is where I'm at now....stumped.

Thanks.

John

 

[Public posting]

Sometimes Windows just boots very slowly...

This can also be caused by some programs you have installed.

For example, VMWare can cause a lot of disk I/O and make booting take
several minutes.

Using "Norton Ghost" to restore a disk image can also sometimes make booting
slow.


Considering you are still having problems, I recommend something a little
drastic....

Try installing the latest chipset and video drivers. Try booting.

If that doesn't help, you could try looking through the "Services" and see
if there's anything that could be disabled that isn't Microsoft's.

Remove every program you've installed. Every special driver (graphics,
etc.) Try booting.

If that still doesn't help.... Well, at that point, all you really need to
do is save your settings, your favorites, and your mail, and you could try
reinstalling. (Or doing a 'repair' from the xp cd.)

 

[John Arnold]

Oh....forgot to mention.....when I rebooted for "Safe Mode"....when pressing
F8 at the very start the system froze with the beginning of Roxio GoBack (I
do not have Norton Ghost installed).

So I had to do a hard boot by shutting down the system....then I pressed F8
after the GoBack had run it's start bar...

John

 

[R. McCarty]

Time to approach this differently. You need to check Application
and System Event logs. Something is wrong with your system. A
2-3 minute "Safe" mode boot indicates a serious problem.
Check each log and look for and double-click any Red icons that
denote errors. Read the note the numerical Error ID code # and
the brief description. Logs are chronological in nature the latest
errors appear at the top of the listing.
What type of Internet connection do your have ? (Broadband or
dial up) Also which version of Norton SystemWorks is installed.
Symantec products are notorious for Service/Registry issues. If
I had to throw out a blind suggestion as to the boot delay, it would
be at SystemWorks.
Finally, take this process very slowly, it's easy to inflict even more
system damage by doing the "This-and-That" approach.

 

[John Arnold]

I have a Broadband/Cable internet access through a D-Link 802.11g wireless
router/access point.

Norton SystemsWorks 2004

I will look at Application and System Event logs.....where do I find 'em?

Thanks a million!
John

 

[R. McCarty]

Click Start, Run (Type) Eventvwr.Msc [Press Enter], Maximize
the window.Click the + to expand each sub-category. This might
be something where you'll need Remote Assistance to diagnose
the problem. Before doing too much, I'd stop and a do an Image
as a fall-back.

 

[Plato]

My system used to take 2-3 minutes to boot up...now takes about 12-15
minutes!!

Next time read this first. Most likely you had your 49 background apps
running whist doing a major OS upgrade.

http://www.bootdisk.com/xptop20.htm#1

 

[Plato]

I have a Broadband/Cable internet access through a D-Link 802.11g wireless
router/access point.

Norton SystemsWorks 2004

Then get rid of crashworks 2004.

 

[John Arnold]

Mr/Ms R. McCarty,

Thanks for your help and time on this...

Ran the log...

Under "Application", the log says:

MSiInstaller
"Windows Install proxy information not correctly registered"

Under "Systems", the log has many error messages/alerts/logs:

"This device did not register ... within the time out period" (sbp2port)

That's all I can figure out.

Click Start, Run (Type) Eventvwr.Msc [Press Enter], Maximize
the window.Click the + to expand each sub-category. This might
be something where you'll need Remote Assistance to diagnose
the problem. Before doing too much, I'd stop and a do an Image
as a fall-back.

I have a Broadband/Cable internet access through a D-Link 802.11g wireless
router/access point.

Norton SystemsWorks 2004

I will look at Application and System Event logs.....where do I find 'em?

Thanks a million!
John

 

[R. McCarty]

It's Mr. ( & A fairly old one, As well).

Your problem(s) are going to be service related. Timeouts occur when a
Service tries to start and cannot because of a problem or dependency on
another service. The Sbp2port is related to "Firewire" drivers.
There are just too many entry points to solve this on the newsgroup. One
area to concentrate on would be BIOS enabled devices on your MB that
may not be necessary (Sound, NIC)
This can be drivers that need updating, Turning off unnecessary services
& all manner of things.
The best thing at this point is to re-enter Event Log clear both Application
and Service logs (Right Click). Reboot and then re-examine the logs to
find out what and how many errors occur in a single boot sequence.

Mr/Ms R. McCarty,

Thanks for your help and time on this...

Ran the log...

Under "Application", the log says:

MSiInstaller
"Windows Install proxy information not correctly registered"

Under "Systems", the log has many error messages/alerts/logs:

"This device did not register ... within the time out period" (sbp2port)

That's all I can figure out.

Click Start, Run (Type) Eventvwr.Msc [Press Enter], Maximize
the window.Click the + to expand each sub-category. This might
be something where you'll need Remote Assistance to diagnose
the problem. Before doing too much, I'd stop and a do an Image
as a fall-back.

I have a Broadband/Cable internet access through a D-Link 802.11g
wireless router/access point.

Norton SystemsWorks 2004

I will look at Application and System Event logs.....where do I find
'em?

Thanks a million!
John


Time to approach this differently. You need to check Application
and System Event logs. Something is wrong with your system. A
2-3 minute "Safe" mode boot indicates a serious problem.
Check each log and look for and double-click any Red icons that
denote errors. Read the note the numerical Error ID code # and
the brief description. Logs are chronological in nature the latest
errors appear at the top of the listing.
What type of Internet connection do your have ? (Broadband or
dial up) Also which version of Norton SystemWorks is installed.
Symantec products are notorious for Service/Registry issues. If
I had to throw out a blind suggestion as to the boot delay, it would
be at SystemWorks.
Finally, take this process very slowly, it's easy to inflict even more
system damage by doing the "This-and-That" approach.

Thanks everyone for the help...

First off, yes....the Norton Antivirus was disabled up SP2 install.

Here's what I've done:

- Ran MSConfig and disabled a couple things that I could recognize as
not essential. For example, I saw an "iTunes" something or another
running, but I don't have an iPod nor visit Apple.com...so that's the
kind of thing I recognize to disable. Other things were a little
fuzzy, so I didn't do anything to them.
- HD disk was defragged (was 16% fragmented).
- Had run Spybot and Norton SystemsWorks check-up already. Just ran
AdAware.
- Rebooted....still took 14+ minutes to boot.
- Rebooted in safe-mode. Much quicker....2-3 minutes.
- Rebooted again, and it took 14+ minutes.

So, that is where I'm at now....stumped.

Thanks.

John



did you turn off all programs when updating to SP2?? ie(ANTIVIRUS)

as the antivirus program is designed to prevent changes or
modifications to
the OS files and settings, and thats what the service pack does.
(changes and
modifies the OS's files & settings)

if the antivirus was not turned off you may have damaged the windows
install
by not following the instructions.

12min boot up is not the norm for SP2, neither is 2-3 mins, most
systems i
use boot between 45-90 seconds.





:

Well, I finally installed SP2 on my Dell 8200 2.8.

My system used to take 2-3 minutes to boot up...now takes about
12-15
minutes!!

I've got conventional programs (no games or such): Microsoft Office,
Photoshop CS, Neato, Nikon Scan, etc.

Also got Norton SystemsWorks 2004....AntiVirus is up-to-date and
configured
to check e-mail incoming, etc.

Boot drive is what came with the Dell: 40 gb, of which 30 is used
and 10 is
free.

Second 120 gb HD installed in the chassis.

Other external drives attached.

What can I do to make this boot up faster....or is 12-15 minutes
something
that SP2 just makes normal. Can't imagine rebooting in the middle
of the
day....it'll stop work forever!

Thanks for your help.

John

 

[Pivert]

Is GoBack full SP2 compatible ? Check on Symantec's website.
Try to uninstall it.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Well, I finally installed SP2 on my Dell 8200 2.8.

My system used to take 2-3 minutes to boot up...now takes about 12-15
minutes!!

Installing SP2 leaves files scattered around and undoes all the
optimisations that have gone on - it accordingly deletes the PreFetch
folder, and that has to be rebuilt. Defrag the system, and then reboot
two or three times during the next week, so that data on boot
accumulates in PreFetch along with that on programs you load, and the
every-three day optimisation will start to improves things pretty soon

Admittedly that amount of slowing seems odd; you should make a check
that nothing has got to start up that you were not aware of, or that say
an 'AV scan at boot' has not got turned on

 

[John Arnold]

Again, thanks for everyone's interest in helping on this....

I've followed every suggestion, except those for which I'm technically inept
(I'm a TV commercial director and still photographer, so while having had
computers since 1983 - yes, those DOS days - I'm not technically
trained...just picked up a couple things here and there in fixing problems).

I have rebooted several times, defragged, run Spybot and AdAware, looked at
what loads at startup...

The only things that I'm started to hone in on are: Norton SystemsWorks
2004...the AntiVirus portion of which I had disabled when I installed SP2
(at least I clicked "Disable" and the red "X" went through the icon in the
systems tray) and the Sony Artisan monitor calibration software. I didn't
disable the calibration software during installation because I didn't think
it a) ran in background, or b) needed disabling anyway.

However, during boot....the Artisan software calibration comes on late in
the ballgame....most of the desktop is already on-screen...and it alone
takes 3-4 minutes.

Wonder if this is it?

Thanks again.

John

 

[R. McCarty]

Very likely it. On Nav - One note, there is a newer version of Live
Update that Live Update itself won't download/install. I would get
this newer Live Update, install and then reboot and run Live update
until it's satisfied all pending/available updates.
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/files/lu/lu.html
The 1st entry in the list is the one you'll want to download & install.

Again, thanks for everyone's interest in helping on this....

I've followed every suggestion, except those for which I'm technically
inept (I'm a TV commercial director and still photographer, so while
having had computers since 1983 - yes, those DOS days - I'm not
technically trained...just picked up a couple things here and there in
fixing problems).

I have rebooted several times, defragged, run Spybot and AdAware, looked
at what loads at startup...

The only things that I'm started to hone in on are: Norton SystemsWorks
2004...the AntiVirus portion of which I had disabled when I installed SP2
(at least I clicked "Disable" and the red "X" went through the icon in the
systems tray) and the Sony Artisan monitor calibration software. I didn't
disable the calibration software during installation because I didn't
think it a) ran in background, or b) needed disabling anyway.

However, during boot....the Artisan software calibration comes on late in
the ballgame....most of the desktop is already on-screen...and it alone
takes 3-4 minutes.

Wonder if this is it?

Thanks again.

John