V-e-r-y slow Windows startup

[Lobster]

A couple of days ago my machine (Win XP home) seemed to freeze during
start up for no apparent reason, however I left it alone and it
eventually loaded windows OK and ran fine. Next day and today, same
thing happened. The delay (2-3 minutes?) happens after the PC has
booted, and while Windows is installing (during the initial 'black
screen' phase). There does seem to be some very minimal hard disk
activity going on during this time.

No, I haven't made any recent changes to the PC at all.

What might the problem be? Shot hard disk? or Windows installation?
What I don't get is why it doesn't just fail to start Windowss, full
stop: how come it manages it eventually and then works OK?

Thanks
David

 

[John]

A couple of days ago my machine (Win XP home) seemed to freeze during
start up for no apparent reason, however I left it alone and it
eventually loaded windows OK and ran fine.

Try this.
Start > Run, copy & paste > msconfig & press Enter.
Click on the tab marked "Startup"
Uncheck all the items.
If the problem no longer persists, then one of the items in the startup
is the culprit, you just need to track it down.

=====================================

Try System Restore, I have had good results using this way or Safe
Mode, different to Last Known Good Configuration in Safe Mode.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/getstarted/ballew_03may19.mspx
System Restore is accessed the following way:

1. It's a good practice to shut down all other applications before
using System Restore, as it requires a full-system reboot to complete
the installation. Connecting to the internet is not required, however.
So shut all applications. Then click "Start."

2. Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore.
Then the program will load.
Here's a screen shot of the program-entry screen:
http://www.techbuilder.org/recipes/60402485

Or,

If System Restore doesn't work in Normal Mode, it might work in Safe
Mode.
Toggle F8 or Press Ctrl ( depends on your comp ) during bootup ( just
before, verifying DMI pool, message comes on )
Select Safe Mode.
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2001060608000039
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315222&Product=winxp
http://www.whtvcable.com/virusremoval .htm
http://www.techbuilder.org/recipes/60402485
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/getstarted/ballew_03may19.mspx

 

[Rob Hemmings]

A couple of days ago my machine (Win XP home) seemed to freeze during
start up for no apparent reason, however I left it alone and it
eventually loaded windows OK and ran fine. Next day and today, same
thing happened. The delay (2-3 minutes?) happens after the PC has
booted, and while Windows is installing (during the initial 'black
screen' phase). There does seem to be some very minimal hard disk
activity going on during this time.

No, I haven't made any recent changes to the PC at all.

What might the problem be? Shot hard disk? or Windows installation?
What I don't get is why it doesn't just fail to start Windowss, full
stop: how come it manages it eventually and then works OK?

Have a look in the Event Viewer - it *may* give a clue,
otherwise try John's suggestions.
FYI, each network port that is enabled for DHCP but isn't
connected to a working DHCP server (like on most ADSL
modem/routers) will add 30 seconds to startup time while
windows searches for a DHCP server. In other words,
it best to disable all unused ethernet ports, either in the
BIOS (onboard ports) or in Device Manager.
I had 2 unused ports on mine and disabling them in the
BIOS improved startup time by almost exactly 1 minute.
HTH

 

[Guest]

I had a similar problem that was caused by a bad printer driver. Right
click on "My Computer" and choose properties. Look for device manager under
the hardware tab. Are there any yellow exclamation points in there?

Also could be from a botched Windows update ,look at your update history and
see if there was one installed around the time your problem started. If so
try uninstalling it.

 

[Lobster]

Try this.
Start > Run, copy & paste > msconfig & press Enter.
Click on the tab marked "Startup"
Uncheck all the items.
If the problem no longer persists, then one of the items in the startup
is the culprit, you just need to track it down.

[snip lots of good advice]

Thanks to you both for the help.

Unfortunately things have rapidly gone from bad to worse, before I
could test the above.
The machine now no longer starts at all, even in Safe Mode (it scrolls
through a long list of drivers on screen, then hangs). Also tried
booting from my Win XP installation CD; it loaded the drivers into
memory then when it said "Starting Windows" on the blue MS-DOS screen,
again it hung.

I'm a bit stuck now. Is this likely to be a software problem that a
reformat and new installation of Windows would cure? Or is a hardware
fault more likely: in which case what?

Thanks
David

 

[Rob Hemmings]

Try this.
Start > Run, copy & paste > msconfig & press Enter.
Click on the tab marked "Startup"
Uncheck all the items.
If the problem no longer persists, then one of the items in the startup
is the culprit, you just need to track it down.

[snip lots of good advice]

Thanks to you both for the help.

Unfortunately things have rapidly gone from bad to worse, before I
could test the above.
The machine now no longer starts at all, even in Safe Mode (it scrolls
through a long list of drivers on screen, then hangs). Also tried
booting from my Win XP installation CD; it loaded the drivers into
memory then when it said "Starting Windows" on the blue MS-DOS screen,
again it hung.

I'm a bit stuck now. Is this likely to be a software problem that a
reformat and new installation of Windows would cure? Or is a hardware
fault more likely: in which case what?

Sounds like a probable hardware fault to me now. The first
thing I'd suspect would be the RAM - if you have 2 sticks, try
removing one (unplug from the mains before doing this - switching
off via the front panel switch or a windows shutdown means
some power is still being supplied to the mobo (5VSB)!)
and see if it boots OK. If no-go, put that one back, remove
the other and try gain. If only one stick of RAM, you'll need
to borrow someone's PC to make a boot floppy/CD of
memtest86:
http://www.memtest.org
and run it for at least a couple of hours - any errors mean
your RAM has almost certainly gone bad. In your case,
I'd expect it to show errors within minutes.
Other things I've seen cause similar symptoms are the PSU
going bad and motherboard faults like leaky capacitors (let's
hope it isn't that!)
HTH

 

[Lobster]

Sounds like a probable hardware fault to me now. The first
thing I'd suspect would be the RAM - if you have 2 sticks, try
removing one (unplug from the mains before doing this - switching
off via the front panel switch or a windows shutdown means
some power is still being supplied to the mobo (5VSB)!)
and see if it boots OK. If no-go, put that one back, remove
the other and try gain. If only one stick of RAM, you'll need
to borrow someone's PC to make a boot floppy/CD of
memtest86:

Well, just done that (I do have two memory sticks). Worked fine albeit
a tad slow with 128Mb RAM! Then repeated the process with the 256Mb
stick, just to confirm it was duff - but that worked fine too.
Replaced both sticks; PC now working fine! So, probably just a case of
reseating the memory, don't you reckon? Anyway - fingers crossed it
holds. I've already got a floppy with memtest86 so I'll probably give
that one a whirl anyway.

Many thanks for your help and setting me on the right track, anyway!

David

 

[John of Aix]

Well, just done that (I do have two memory sticks). Worked fine
albeit a tad slow with 128Mb RAM! Then repeated the process with the
256Mb stick, just to confirm it was duff - but that worked fine too.
Replaced both sticks; PC now working fine! So, probably just a case of
reseating the memory, don't you reckon?

Could be. It's always a good idea to reseat things in such cases, moive
cards to other slots etc. Another thing is to check to heat transfer
from the processor, make sure that the fan is turning, that the contact
between the proc and the radiator is good. Thermal paste (?) cost justs
a few bob and often perfoms miracles. Changing drive cables is easy too.
It is best to eliminate lall these possible dumb mechanical reasons
first before buying a new PC/changing the memory/formatting the disk
etc.

 

[Redman]

Have you tried rolling it back to an earlier time using the system restore
facility?

Redman