Slow Boot up

Hi guys

My computer is acting funny, its booting up but slowly. I have run virus and malware scanners and nothing is found.

I also uninstalled a lot of things and it seems to have speeded it up a little bit.

It seemed to have started after i installed samsung kies software, i installed it and from there the comp was slow, i have since uninstalled it and again it has sped up a little

Thing is i have tried to run disk dfrag and when that loads up it wont scan, it just says not responding. I have also run disk clean abnd Ccleaner up which ran fine

are there any other scans i can do?

My system is
xp Home 2002
Service pack 3
intel pentinum {r}4 cpu 2.93GHz
1 gig ram
160 GB HD

cheers guys

 

Have you checked what programs are running at start up?

Open Ccleaner... got to TOOLS >> START UP and see what is listed ther.

Dont disable anything your not sure about.

 

it says just these but i dont believe it lol

Yes HKCU:Run ctfmon.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
Yes HKLM:Run SoundMan SOUNDMAN.EXE
Yes HKLM:Run ZoneAlarm Client "C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe"
Yes HKLM:Run Wireless Manager "C:\Program Files\Virgin Broadband Wireless\Wireless Manager.exe" startup
Yes HKLM:Run AVG_TRAY C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG10\avgtray.exe

 

Is that just the Zonealarm Firewall your running? (or are you using ther antivirus aswell?)


Also, has this problem just started happening recently?

How much freespace is left on the harddrive?

Is this a laptop or a PC?

 

i am using AVG and Zone alarm, zone alarm is running the firewall and AVG is doing the AV stuff but the resident shield is running.

The prob started like a week ago after i installed samsung kies.

I recently also posted here cleaning my malware off my comp where another helper like yourself suggested i buy more ram to speed up my comp. It did up until this thing happened a week ago.

Whats funny is that i wont let me run the Defrag

there is 55gig free and its a desktop

 

ok, when you say it is running slow, is that in all aspects or just when your online?

 

it was running slow in all aspects but now its just on boot up.

I have to select a user (owner) to continue booting up right, once i have selected a user (there is only 1 i can choose from) it goes to a blue screen which on a healthy computer would take like 30 secs yes?

Well on this blue screen it takes like 3-4 mins maybe more, this from the 30-1 min it took after the memory upgrade from 512mb ram to 1gig.

It was taking ages to get thro the Cmos and Bois loading but that seems to have subsided at the min

 

What i'd like you to try is to disable your Antivirus and firewall temporarily.

Before you do that though, you are going to want to disconnect from the internet (unplug a cable)


To disable your AV & FW go to RUN and type........

Code:

msconfig

Then go to the "Start up" tab and look for your antivirus and firewall, and UNTICK the box next to it.

Click ok and close the window and you should get prompted to reboot (if you dont just reboot manually)

Then see how it runs without them, once it has booted up try to run your defrag.


Make sure to disconnect from the net!!!!!

And make sure you can follow the steps again afterwards to enable your AV again.
(write them down if you need to)

 

hi

it did the same seems to be laboured in the opening packard bell screen you know when you get to chose an f key for the different boot options, then it goes to the select user screen pretty quick then once thats clicked it goes to a blue screen and thinks for like 3 mins. Once it was loaded up i tried defrag and it loads up the interface but then says not respoding when i click defrag, its like my whole system slows and the CPU starts pulling 100%

 

Hmmm...

Try booting into safe mode [tap F8 as your booting up]

If its affecting the initial Packard Bell splash screen, it is possible hardware problems.


If safe mode is the same try taking your RAM sticks out and testing the computer running one stick at a time.


edit: while your in the PC have a look around and check to see if anything is caked in dust.

 

ok cheers for your help

its prob going to be tomorrow when i get to it now tho as i am going to sleep, i will let you know what happens

 

I agree with Q on checking your RAM sticks one at a time. Or right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties and see if it sees all your RAM.

It seems to slow down on programs that access the HD. Maybe check the brand of your HD and then download the diagnostic tool and let it do the Short test and see what it says about the S.M.A.R.T. status (good or bad). Then do the Long/Extended test. See if it comes up with any errors or offers to fix errors.

 

hey guys cheers for the reponses

i took one stick of ram out but as i was doing it i found a samsung micro adapter that i had put in one of the front slots. I then took it out and booted with just one stick of ram, it booted up a lil slower but without the pause on the blue screen after i have chosen which user i want to load.

I figured that i may as well try the stick i took out, so i rebooted with it in and low and behold it booted fast this time. so it appears it is ok. I will still try and defrag my drive and stuff.

Could the samsung card reli be the cause? mean i am not even sure it should have been in that slot.

Cheers for all your help, i would have still been scratching my head with out you

I will let ya know if the defrag dont work tho

Tick

 

Glad your sorted mate.

BTW; What's a "samsung micro adapter"

 

Nice work on finding the real culprit!

Maybe the BIOS or the OS doesn't like the micro adapter?

If you add the micro adapter when Windows is running does it slow things down? Perhaps Samsung has an updated driver for that model adapter on their site.

If it were me, I'd just plug in the adapter when I needed it and leave it out during boot. Simple enough if you only use it occasionally.

 

Q i am not sure what a micro adapter is, i got it with my phone, from its apearance it looks like a memory card like the ones you get in cameras. Its too big for ma phone so i stuck it in my comp. Must have been trying to access it.

sach2 - i am gonna leave it out anyways till i find out what to do with it, its safer that way, its not like i need it to use my phone anyway

I would not have thought it was that until i looked for the ram so cheers guys



tick

 

Was it like this...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21-m7E9FDwL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

yeah but a samsung 1

quite annoying if you ask me lol

 

I reckon it is either a bad card/adapter or your card reader is buggy.

Neither is a big deal and both are cheap as chips, so not a bad ending really


edit: shame on me though

I should have had you pull all USB devices earlier on.

T'is more than common for USB based devices to mess with a computer.

 

no worries dude

we learn something new everyday

cheers for the help

 

That we do.... unfortunately i learned that years ago



Sometimes it is the simplest things that get overlooked.


edit: and your welcome mate, anytime.