Very slow startup

[pedro]

My laptop started to get very slow on a restart or startup, it usually takes
three minutes just displaying the windows xp logo and in most cases once the
three minutes are up, the computer starts as normal and every application
works OK.

What could it be holding this computer?

Please advice.

Thanks!

 

[JS]

You may have too many applications that load during bootup,
like more than one Anti-Virus software application both set to run
in the 'Boot Scan' mode, which will slow things down.

If you want to dig deeper:
Try Autoruns from the MS Windows SysInternals site:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

AutoRuns will show/list all apps/etc. that load/run when you first boot ...
(the 'Boot Execute' tab),
when you logon (the 'Logon' tab) and other programs that load
(grouped by labeled tabs) for easy viewing.

It also provides the ability to selectively allows you to stop
(use with care) any program that you don't want to load.
You can undo any changes you have made.

Note: To get additional details on an item in the list you can't
readily identify you may need to highlight the item (right click) and use
the 'Search Online' option to get the details,
especially useful for the more obscure items in the list.

Probably one of the most noticeable slowdowns when
booting can be caused by AV software. Some products
now include "Boot Scans" and "Quick Scans"
(when you log on), compound this with other programs
that load when you first log on and you can see a noticeable
slowdown from a PC that you just re-installed XP to the
same PC after one or more AV products are installed on.

This doesn't explain away excessively long Boot
times but the more icons you see at the right hand end of the
Taskbar means the longer your left hand has to wait.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My laptop started to get very slow on a restart or startup, it usually takes
three minutes just displaying the windows xp logo and in most cases once the
three minutes are up, the computer starts as normal and every application
works OK.

What could it be holding this computer?

Two answers for you:

1. My personal view is that the attention many people pay to how long
it takes to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is
otherwise satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most
people start their computers once a day or even less frequently. In
the overall scheme of things, even a few minutes to start up isn't
very important. Personally I power on my computer when I get up in the
morning, then go get my coffee. When I come back, it's done booting. I
don't know how long it took to boot and I don't care.

However if you do want to address it, it may be because of what
programs start automatically, and you may want to stop some of them
from starting that way. On each program you don't want to start
automatically, 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. If that doesn't work, run MSCONFIG from the Start | Run
line, and on the Startup tab, uncheck the programs you don't want to
start automatically.

However, if I were you, I wouldn'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 with google searches and asking 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.

2. If this is a sudden, new development, it's extremely likely that
you are infected with malware.

 

[HeyBub]

My laptop started to get very slow on a restart or startup, it
usually takes three minutes just displaying the windows xp logo and
in most cases once the three minutes are up, the computer starts as
normal and every application works OK.

What could it be holding this computer?

Please advice.

Thanks!

The computer could be waiting for a network connection before timing out.

As a last resort, "Hibernate" instead of "Shut down." Subsequently, the
computer should start in less than five-ten seconds after power on.

 

[Gerry]

Pedro

Is your system error free?

Have a look in the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for
Errors and Warnings and post copies here. Don't post any more than 48
hours ago.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

What is the CPU and how much RAM does the computer have? Right click on
the My Computer icon on the Desktop and select Properties to get this
information.

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the Performance
Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit and the Peak?


--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~