WinXp hangs after logging on.

[waynecarr]

I have just installed Windows XP (SP2) on a new system. My PC often
hangs after logging on at the Welcome Screen.

This is what happens:

The system starts and the desktop and task bar appear.
Some of the tray icons don't appear.
After a short while hard disk activity ceases as if all is well.
The mouse responds to movement, but not to clicks on icons, task-bar
etc.
If I use the task manager to restart "explorer", it's often successful
and everything then runs fine.

Resumption from an S3 suspend is perfect, so of late I haven't been
shutting down the PC. I just put it to sleep.

Rebooting two or three times will eventually get the system started if
all else fails.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers,
Wayne

 

[Matt]

I have just installed Windows XP (SP2) on a new system. My PC often
hangs after logging on at the Welcome Screen.

This is what happens:

The system starts and the desktop and task bar appear.
Some of the tray icons don't appear.
After a short while hard disk activity ceases as if all is well.
The mouse responds to movement, but not to clicks on icons, task-bar
etc.
If I use the task manager to restart "explorer", it's often successful
and everything then runs fine.

Resumption from an S3 suspend is perfect, so of late I haven't been
shutting down the PC. I just put it to sleep.

Rebooting two or three times will eventually get the system started if
all else fails.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers,
Wayne

First of all, I'd try a chkdsk, it's probably not that, but it is worth
eliminating. Go to start->Run... and type in chkdsk c: /f then press OK
(if your main boot drive is not c:, change c: to whatever drive letter
it is) Windows will now pop up a window and ask you if you want to
schedule the check for next reboot, press Y. Now reboot, let the check
complete.

Still hanging on startup? Does it do it in safe mode? When you boot your
computer, hit F5 right before windows starts to load (after the post
screen when it says "press xxx to enter bios" but before you see the
Windows XP startup screen.

Do a full virus and spyware scan in safe mode if you can (see
http://www.top-windows-tutorials.com/ComputerViruses.html and
http://www.top-windows-tutorials.com/windows-spyware.html for some tips
and recommended packages).

If that does not help, try creating another user account if you can, it
may be that your current account is corrupt somehow...

If that still does not fix the problem, you may want to consider doing a
repair-reinstall of XP, post back if you need help doing this.

------------------------------------------
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FREE step by step guides, tutorials and
advice for Windows users. All our video
guides are full size and 100% advert free!
------------------------------------------

 

[Wayne]

First of all, I'd try a chkdsk, it's probably not that, but it is worth
eliminating. Go to start->Run... and type in chkdsk c: /f then press OK
(if your main boot drive is not c:, change c: to whatever drive letter
it is) Windows will now pop up a window and ask you if you want to
schedule the check for next reboot, press Y. Now reboot, let the check
complete.

Still hanging on startup? Does it do it in safe mode? When you boot your
computer, hit F5 right before windows starts to load (after the post
screen when it says "press xxx to enter bios" but before you see the
Windows XP startup screen.

Do a full virus and spyware scan in safe mode if you can (see
http://www.top-windows-tutorials.com/ComputerViruses.html and
http://www.top-windows-tutorials.com/windows-spyware.html for some tips
and recommended packages).

If that does not help, try creating another user account if you can, it
may be that your current account is corrupt somehow...

If that still does not fix the problem, you may want to consider doing a
repair-reinstall of XP, post back if you need help doing this.

------------------------------------------
http://www.Top-Windows-Tutorials.com

FREE step by step guides, tutorials and
advice for Windows users. All our video
guides are full size and 100% advert free!
------------------------------------------

Thanks for the suggestions.

I did a CHKDSK on all three hard drives and they're all OK. The system still
hangs sometimes as before. I hate intermittent faults.

I've run a complete virus check with AVG in safe mode and all is OK, but the
system still hangs.

I created a new account and it still hangs intermittently when logging onto
this account.

I really don't wish to repair the Windows installation, but if I have to I
guess I have to. Unless I hear of some better idea, I will do the repair on
the weekend.