win7 64 bootup suddenly slow

Since this morning my computer is booting up pretty slow. I ran chkdsk on the c drive and it took about 20 minutes to run. I tried deinstalling the Win updates I installed yesterday which didn't change anything.

In the past couple of weeks I switched from 2gb to 4 gb RAM with no noticeable change in the speed of the comp. I switched out the CMOS battery because the machine was losing time and because it started shutting off suddenly after I installed a new logitech webcam. The shutdowns only occurred when I was using the webcam so I took it back and the shutdowns quit.

1) What I was wondering is how to see what RAM the comp is actually using?

2) Does the computer use RAM for booting up?

I've read recently that Win 7 pro 64 may boot up better with 1, 2 or 3 gb RAM than with 4gb but those threads were back from when 64 bit was new and Vista was just coming out.

3) Could a virus in the boot sector slow down the bootup speed?

Since the boot speed changed from one day to the next, I'm not sure if I should be looking at hardware or software. My system restore isn't working.

 

1) Right click Computer and select Properties. In the 2nd section System, it will show you total RAM and in parentheses usable. Some may be stolen from the 4GB by the video chip.
2) Yes. Take the RAM out and you get beeps.

Nonsense. Some people pit in 8GB and 16GB of RAM.
3) A virus in the boot sector would probably stop windows from loading.

You need to supply details as well as the brand and exact model of the computer.
Was the computer purchased with Windows 7 installed? If not, what OS was in the computer?
3)

 

Huh, when vista was around I was running 12GB of ram just fine on boot up.

If you were to click on start, then run, then type in msconfig, then select "selective startup" and uncheck "Load startup items", press ok. Restart. Does the computer boot faster to the desktop?

If so, we'll need what is running on startup.

Note: MSCONFIG is just a quick troubleshooting tool. It is not for fixing issues.

 

thanks you guys.

I right-clicked Computer and in properties it says installed ram is 4gb. It doesn't say anything in parantheses, so I think the RAM is okay.

My computer started out with XP pro around 2006. About three years ago I put in a new AS Rock motherboard, AMD Athlong (tm) II processor and a new graphics card (MSI R4350). Since they were relatively new and accepted VISTA 64bit, I decided to try Win7, which worked fine. Windows updates work fine. I've been using G-Data, it seems to update and work fine. When I bought the new ram (Corsair set of 2 pieces of 2gb each), I noticed no difference at all in the speed of my computer and regretted a bit having put out the extra money. None of this seems to have either caused or changed the recent hitch in my boot-up.

The boot-up changed the day after I installed the Windows update for Internet Explorer 11 and three other windows updates. I uninstalled them all one at a time and this didn't change anything. I also sent an email to the ACLU the day before the boot-up slowdown started and since I have a good imagination, I thought it could be related to that. I ran sfc /scannow the day before the slowdown occurred and one thing I noticed was that in the Recovery Console Help list, sfc /scannow is not one of the choices. It ran all right but I don't know why it's not listed as one of the choices in the console. Maybe it wasn't listed with XP either and I didn't notice. I ran chkdsk after the boot-up slowdown and it found nothing. I tried the MSCONFIG - didn't change.

Also, I noticed a rush of false addresses (one Russian, all dating kinds of names) appear in skype, so I figured I may have some kind of a snoop and changed the password.

The point where the slowdown is occurring is right after it says Windows is starting (something like that) but before the pretty colors float down to create the windows logo. I don't know what the computer is doing between those two points in the boot-up sequence.

I'm not quite ready to run combofix. Just don't have time at the moment for anything to go wrong and the comp seems to be working all right otherwise. It just bothers me that system restore went out. I don't like that.

 

thanks you guys.

I right-clicked Computer and in properties it says installed ram is 4gb. It doesn't say anything in parantheses, so I think the RAM is okay.

My computer started out with XP pro around 2006. About three years ago I put in a new AS Rock motherboard, AMD Athlong (tm) II processor and a new graphics card (MSI R4350). Since they were relatively new and accepted VISTA 64bit, I decided to try Win7, which worked fine. Windows updates work fine. I've been using G-Data, it seems to update and work fine. When I bought the new ram (Corsair set of 2 pieces of 2gb each), I noticed no difference at all in the speed of my computer and regretted a bit having put out the extra money. None of this seems to have either caused or changed the recent hitch in my boot-up.

The boot-up changed the day after I installed the Windows update for Internet Explorer 11 and three other windows updates. I uninstalled them all one at a time and this didn't change anything. I also sent an email to the ACLU the day before the boot-up slowdown started and since I have a good imagination, I thought it could be related to that. I ran sfc /scannow the day before the slowdown occurred and one thing I noticed was that in the Recovery Console Help list, sfc /scannow is not one of the choices. It ran all right but I don't know why it's not listed as one of the choices in the console. Maybe it wasn't listed with XP either and I didn't notice. I ran chkdsk after the boot-up slowdown and it found nothing. I tried the MSCONFIG - didn't change.

Also, I noticed a rush of false addresses (one Russian, all dating kinds of names) appear in skype, so I figured I may have some kind of a snoop and changed the password.

The point where the slowdown is occurring is right after it says Windows is starting (something like that) but before the pretty colors float down to create the windows logo. I don't know what the computer is doing between those two points in the boot-up sequence.

I'm not quite ready to run combofix. Just don't have time at the moment for anything to go wrong and the comp seems to be working all right otherwise. It just bothers me that system restore went out. I don't like that.