Windows ME Booting Slow (Stuck on ME Screen)

Hi,

Windows ME, 128M Ram, P4 processor.

When booting the system, the Windows ME screen sits there for a while (about 5 mins.) before continuing to boot.

Once booted, the machine runs well. I did online scans in normal mode because I can't get into safe mode with networking (the option does not exist on this system).

Safe mode boot gets past the ME screen quickly. Normal mode does not.
No viruses appear, no spyware, adware. I didn't see anything strange in HJT.

Any clue why it takes so long to pass the ME screen?

 

It sounds like it's due to a process that it's having difficulty loading. Have you recently changed any hardware or software?? Sometimes it can be caused by Windows trying to load something that no longer exists!

My suggestion is to run 'msconfig' and see which process are being loaded when Windows starts. Another place to look would be in Startup (found on Start -> Programs -> Startup) as these programs are also loaded.

Try and load Windows with the minimum of processes it needs as it's a good way to check. It could also be a driver problem, but we can investigate this if it's not a process.

If you get stuck or anything, just post it up!

 

Thanks for responding.

I tried the minimum processes with msconfig before and it still stalls.

I wanted to do a step by step confirmation of the drivers, but I haven't figured out how. I do step by step, but all of the drivers are not listed. just one or two.

Any suggestions?

 

OK,

I think I may have narrowed it down to devldr16.exe.

This .exe prevents me from getting a clean boot. This exe is checked in startup even when I uncheck it in msconfig.

I can't get rid of it with HijackThis.

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks for the link. Actually I saw this information in sysinfo.org startuplist.

But following the directions, I can't remove it. Everytime I uncheck it in the startup tab in msconfig, it gets check when the computer restarts. Creative Miscellaneous Devices is not in my Device manager list options. To disable I would have to disable the soundcard.

 

OK, I disabled the card, that driver is no longer checked so I think I have acheived a clean boot. However, my problem still exists. It doesn't occur in safe mode, but it does occur with selective startup and no startup programs checked and no other items checked in the selective startup list.

Does this mean that there is nothing else that I can do?

 

OK, update.

I performed a logged boot (/bootlog.txt) and the following drivers failed to load:

[0007182E] LoadFailed = C:\WINDOWS\system\VMM32\vshare.VXD
[00071870] Dynamic load failed : [00071870] File not found

Could this be my problem?
How can I either fix this or remove these so that they do not try to load?