What would cause a PC to take 1.5 hours to boot??

I am working on a Dell Dimension 3000 P4/512MB/XP Home SP2 with 4 user log-ins. The computer takes 1-2 HOURS to boot (no joke). One it boots to Windows, it works fine. I have run several different registry programs and cleaned up old files, even adjusted the start-up programs to no avail. It is running Panda(?) anti-virus/anti-spyware software...if that matters.

The computer also boots to Safe Mode fairly slow (10-15 minutes or so).

Again, the system seems to work just fine once fully booted and does not run slow while in either mode of Windows, but it literally takes well over an hour to boot. I have not seen such a thing before, so I am asking for some expert advice...

Thanks in advance for any tips

 

When was the last time this machine was defragmented?

Not by the internal defragmenter.

But, a better one, like:
Diskeeper.
http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=1208

It is a trial, but, it also has a pagefile and system related defragmenter on boot.

 

overly long boot times are sometimes caused by 'buggy or corrupted', or severe 'resource hog' software (including drivers) that are configured to run on start up!

The fact that the times are greatly reduced (though still quite long) when booting in safe mode suggests to me a problem as stated above.

What version of windows are you running and is it legit?

My advice would be to uninstall any new applications that might be slowing down your PC, or Use System Restore to roll your system back to a good state!

Defraging is also a good idea....(theefool)!

Regards...

 

Also, I've seen hard drives that have caused the same issue. What manufacturer of your harddrive are ye using?

I've cloned systems similar to a new harddrive, and the system worked quite well after.

What I'm getting at, is using a hard drive diagnostic tool, from the manufacturer.

 

>> The computer takes 1-2 HOURS to boot (no joke). One it boots to Windows, it works fine. I have run several different registry programs and cleaned up old files, even adjusted the start-up programs to no avail. It is running Panda(?) anti-virus/anti-spyware software...if that matters. gogie1 <<

I'm inclined to agree with nitecrawler's statement; with regard to your problem here... "Overly long boot times are sometimes caused by 'buggy or corrupted', or severe 'resource hog' software (including drivers) that are configured to run on start up!"

From what you described in your post; it sounds to me like the problem is that one (or more) of the programs which are set to "start up" automatically - upon each boot up - might very well be the culprit and are more than likely running 'buggy or corrupted' especially since you stated once it finally "boots to Windows, it works fine."

The simplest way to check to see if it is your “start-up” which programs are causing this lengthy booting process start up problem: the next time the computer is finally up and running try the following steps to disable programs from automatically loading, follow the below instructions:

Click Start > Run and then type msconfig and press Enter. This will open the "System Configuration Utility" window.

Within this window click the "Startup" tab and uncheck each of the startup tasks you no longer wish to load. Untick any programs you don’t absolutely need in order to boot the computer without any interference. Basically remove all start up programs - except those programs which you defiantly need, and then click apply. Then attempt restart the computer again.

Since you are obviously uncertain as to exactly what or which startup programs are causing your issues, try un-checking all of the (startup programs) items and then slowly start checking each of the items until you determine the source of your issue.

Note: You could also use a small program like StartRight 1.32 or Startup CPL 2.8 to accomplish disabling the various startup programs. Both are freeware and are available here in the Process Management section at Major Geeks.

Some other Options: Also as forum member "theefool" suggested; run Defrag to help ensure that data is arranged in the best possible order. Then try deleting all files in the prefetch directory. These are prefetch files and can severely impair system resources if loading programs no longer being used.

CCleaner (also available here at Major Geeks) can be used to delete "Old Prefetch files." CCleaner; by default, does not remove these files - you need to chose this option manually. You should also run Scandisk or something equivalent to help ensure that there is nothing physically wrong with the computer hard disk drive. Be sure to verify that the device manager has no conflicts, but if conflicts are present, resolve them.

As a final note here; another thing you might try is to make note of all of the names of the programs which run at start-up and then entirely uninstall them and reinstall them again (including the antivirus program). Make sure to use a program such as the CCleaner "Issues" section afterwards in order to clean up all of the leftover registry entries after each uninstall.

Good Luck

 

holy hell 1-2hours? GOD DAMN!!!!
i would take a hammer to that lol.

 

Thanks for all of the replies

The computer is in its original configuration (except for a PCI video card), and the Windows XP Home OS is the original install and it is legal.

I have done a system restore back to October 1st - no change. I have done the defrag program that was recommended - no change. I am now waiting for the rediculously long reboot so I can check the items that COMPUABLE suggested.

It boots to Safe Mode within a minute or 2, so we know that the problem lies within Windows itself. I have noticed a couple of things during boot:

1 - The Windows XP start screen with the "progress bar" begins as it should, with the progress bar moving from left to right. But, once the keyboard & mouse "wake-up", the progress bar stops and then the major delay begins.

2 - During the long delay, there is no hard drive light activity, but the progress bar still moves every few minutes.. Before and after the long boot process, the hard drive light shows normal activity.

3 - After booting into Safe Mode and clicking "Yes" when the dialog box appears, the system locks-up very shortly after. No keyboard input, no mouse movement - a hard reboot is required and the fun starts all over again.

4 - Not sure if this is related at all, but one of the 4 log-on users has 13.5GB worth of music downloads and other stuff in his "My Documents" folder, whre the other 3 users have 70MB or so - could something in there be loading all of that data during boot? Just a thought.

Once more, after the system finally boots to Windows, everything seems to run fine, meaning it HAS to be something affecting only the startup process, right

Would backing-up data and reloading the OS be a quicker, more effective mothod of fixing this thing? I would really like to FIX it rather than just reload the OS if at all possible.

 

One of the user profiles may be corrupted!

 

Try downloading and using this program to see if your boot times improve

Bootvis

 

The Bootvis link did not work for me...

Yes, the ethernet cable is unplugged and there are no external devices attached excpet for the display, keyboard & mouse.

I was able to run msconfig, removed the startup programs and also selected the Diagnostic Startup. The system still hangs after the keyboard & mouse wake-up. No matter what I do, the system does not boot into Windows any faster than when I started.

I am out of options - anyone else have final suggestions before I wipe the drive and reload XP?

 

Sorry, didnt work for me either......
Heres an alternate link
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/BootVis.shtml

 

Re: What would cause a PC to take 1.5 hours to boot? - FIXED!

I was just about to save the data and reload XP, when I thought about uninstalling the "Panda" antivirus program...After uninstalling Panda and rebooting, the computer booted to Windows within seconds!! Damn Panda crap

 

>> I was just about to save the data and reload XP, when I thought about uninstalling the "Panda" antivirus program...After uninstalling Panda and rebooting, the computer booted to Windows within seconds!! Damn Panda crap <<

Bingo! At least you were finally able to discover the potential boot-up blocking culprit!

I wouldn't be so down on Panda, though. It is at least possible that the - now uninstalled - program was previously merely corrupted or otherwise somehow damaged and this was causing the problem that you were having. A "fresh" new Panda install (with a brand new installation file downloaded from the main site) might solve the problem altogether!

In any case, I would go directly to their forum and see if anyone else has had this problem recently - or in the past, by first searching the forum and then posting the problem if necessary.

Side Note: BTW, I forgot to mention earlier that IMO your currently installed 512 MB RAM is the absolute minimum for running XP. An additional 512 stick would work wonders; you can trust me on this one. A co-worker of mine has a Dell Dimension 3000 w/XP Pro and recently upgraded from a single stick of 512 RAM to a full gig (2 X 512 sticks of RAM). The computer works WAY better for him, particularly when running two or more programs simultaneously.

I believe he said that he only paid about 50-60 bucks for it (via e-bay); but he told me that it was WAY worth the money in all the time he no longer spends waiting for multiple applications to load! A word of caution however, should you decide to go the "e-bay" route... make absolutely sure that you choose a RAM dealer that has many successful previous RAM sales under his/her belt and a HIGH feedback rating with numerous recent positive feedbacks

Good Luck!