Windows XP Extremely Slow Bootup

Hello,

I'm hoping someone can help me out with this. I did some searching and couldn't find anything else similar so here's the symptoms:

My computer is relatively fast (2.2 GHz) but boots very slow and very strange. When I first start it, it goes through the usual stuff like press (whatever) for CMOS, (whatever) for system restore, etc. Then it goes to the Windows "Welcome" screen. So far, so good. The Welcome screen appears for about 15 seconds. Still so far, so good.

Here's where the problem begins. Next it goes to a Wallpaper screen without any desktop icons. This screen stays for about two minutes with extremely little hard drive activity (the hard drive access light blinks occasionally).

After about two minutes, there's a lot of hard rive activity and icons start to appear on the desktop. Another two minutes and the computer is booted.

So the problem is this. Why is my desktop staying blank (except wallpaper) and barely any hard drive activity for about two minutes? When this first started happening I thought my computer wasn't going to boot at all. I'm not sure exactly when it started but I noticed it a couple of months ago. I'm pretty sure the problem started before SP3 was installed via Windows updates.

OS is Windows XP, SP3
Computer is Emachine with AMD Athlon 64 2.2 GHz
RAM is one gig

Thanks for any help.
Dalan

 

How long has this problem been with you? Has it been coming gradually, or was everything OK one day, and then just all whacked the next? First thing to do is to read this guide to basic system maintenance and do what it says. If that doesn't help, read this guide and follow the steps EXACTLY to check your PC for viruses/malware. If you have malware that isn't cleaned by the steps in the guide, you'll need to post in the malware removal forum and let the experts there give you a thumbs up. If you have no malware, post here again with answers to the questions I asked earlier, along with some info about how your maintenance went, and we'll go from there.
Good luck!

[dlb]

 

dlb,

I'm not really sure when this problem started. This is a computer I use at my "cabin" away from home (I take the hard drive with me when I'm not here). I noticed it a couple of months ago and I think it started after Windows installed a bunch of updates. Since this computer only gets used once in a while, ther'e usually a dozen updates waiting for me.

I ran CCleaner on both my hard drive and my registry. It found quite a few errors in the registry. I'm not a big fan of registry cleaners but I went ahead and let CCleaner fix the problems it found.

I tried rebooting my computer after running CCleaner and it was a little better but that long waiting period after the wallpaper shows up, lack of hard drive activity, and no icons isn't right. Now it remains in that state for about 1 minute, 45 seconds instead of 2 minutes.

I have McAfee which catches most malware, spyware, etc. and I also run Spybot at least once a month. I don't think a virus, malware, or spyware is my problem but I will run all the tests tomorrow you have suggested here http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407 and get back to you.

dalan

 

same thing happend to me
it turned out it was a malware prob
i got rid of it using malwarebytes

also if that fails can you show us what is running on your computer after boot up?

 

I know there's a lot of crap running on my computer that's causing part of my slow bootup. That would be the time my hard drive starts to get a lot of activity (after the wallpaper without icons). That takes about two minutes. It's the time when "NOTHING" happens that I'm worried about.

Anyway, I will run all the suggested malware programs tomorrow and see if that helps. Thanks for your reply.

You said, "Also if that fails can you show us what is running on your computer after boot up?" Are you referring to the processes running in the task manager or a hijackthis log?

dalan

 

Mark,

Yes, I understand troubleshooting a problem requires eliminating "possible" problems one at a time. My work for 30 years required the same thing.

One problem I have is this computer only gets used occassionally and I cannot run it from home unless I haul the thing home with me. As I said, I usually only take the hard drive home with me.

Second problem, forget about 'sfc /scannow' because I am prompted for a Windows XP Pro Service Pack 3 CD. My SP3 was added via Windows updates.

Third problem is my time here is very limited.

I will scan for malware and spyware. If that doesn't fix the problem, I will have to live with it for now.

Once again, I appreciate your replies.

dalan

 

both or just HJT

but seriously hurry with the hjt log of start up processes
that way we can help you before it is to late

 

The links provided by dib would be helpful for me at least someone who is trying to figure out the finer points of PC experience. Also wanted to ask another thing, in many of the software related forum I have come across the "Hijack This" process. Please give me a link or a thread in this forum itself reading which can make me understand the process better. This much I learned whenever there are some software glitches this process helps the experts to figure out the exact problem.

 

Mark,

Attached is a zip file containing the files and dumps you requested. I tried several things today and I'm back to square one. I ran all the malware tools suggested. I uninstalled a couple of programs I know I'm not going to use. I also uninstalled Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader and Java, then installed the latest versions.

This eMachine computer shuts down fast and boots slow - it's almost like the computer is doing everything backwards!

You will find a lot of stuff running on my computer but it's either stuff that I use or stuff that I can't delete. For example, QuickTime always reinstalls itself as a startup item and so does OmniPage Pro. You'll also see a program called "Snagit" which is a trial version and I'm just trying it out.

BTW, when I boot and my computer "stalls," 46 processes are running. Once the computer starts again and is fully booted, there are 66 processes running.

You said, "But running the malware scans is still doing the stuff backwards." I thought this is what dib suggested. Am I misinterpreting his post?

dalan

 

Hi dalan,

Please re-read Mark's post #6 where he asks you not to post a HJT log, especially in this forum. We discourage this, for a couple of reasons. The links below will help you understand why. Also the logs are specialized and require an Authorized Malware Fighter to review them. This is why malware logs should only be posted in the restricted Malware Forum.

Let me know if you have any questions

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=38752

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

 

Sorry but I misinterpreted Mark's post, and "I HATE MALWARE" requested a HJT log so I was a bit confused. You can delete the previous zip file. I am attaching screenshots of Task Manager processes and a Startup menu from CCleaner as requested by Mark.

 

Yes, that's quite a list of "junk" in my startup programs! I had a problem with the startup_CPL yesterday but I think I figured it out. There are two versions of this program floating around, both by Mike Lin. One program you manually start when you want it and the other one resides in your control panel (as you said). The file, "StartupCPL_EXE.zip," contains the file "startup.exe" and it's a free-standing program that you start manually (not in the control panel). The other one is the one at here at Major Geeks and the zip file name is "startupcpl.zip" and contains the file "startupCPL.exe." The latter one is the one that screwed me up last night. I installed it but it didn't appear that anything happened. It wasn't running and there weren't any icons to be found. Now I see it resides in the Control Panel!

Enough said about that. Now I will try and stop all my crap from loading when I boot and see what happens. I'll let you know.

Thanks for the info about Mike Lin's Startup program. I would never have figured it out if you wouldn't have mentioned my Control Panel!

dalan

 

Mark,

I unchecked EVERYTHING in the Start Up CPL. This included HKCU/Run and HKLM/Run programs. There is still a two minute period during bootup when my computer "stalls." This is always just before the wallpaper screen shows up and before any icons appear. As I've said before, the hard drive is pretty much idle except for a couple of "hits" now and then during this two minute period. I'm attaching another screenshot of Taskmanager with everything disabled. McAfee finds a way to load even though it's not checked in the Start Up CPL. BTW, anything starting with "ati" are video drivers. I'm running Apache and Mysql but my problems with booting up started long before that, and I can't disable them with the Start Up CPL anyway.

I'm guessing but it appears the computer is searching for something when it stalls. Maybe it's looking for some hardware and doesn't find it (???). I don't know what's going on but luckily the computer works very well after it boots (knock on wood).

dalan

 

Sorry Mark but I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me. McAfee is installed on my system and I do use it whenever my computer is running. If I disable it within the Start Up CPL, it still loads at start up. I will send you another screenshot from CCleaner of my startup menu for whatever it's worth.

 

I was simply letting you know McAfee loads whether I disable it with CPL or not. I never said or implied that you wanted me to disable it.

It doesn't matter because McAfee loads anyway.

So let's get away from the McAfee issue. My problem a an extremely slow bootup. Do you have any other ideas?

dalan

 

The rationale was to disable **everything** and see if the computer booted any faster and work backward from there. If you want to disagree with that, it's OK with me.

It *does* and it *has* since I finished my testing.

Well, *thanks* for your time and effort anyway.

 

Mark,

The screenshot was the right one but I had McAfee disabled (again) since it loads anyway. Thanks again for your help. Maybe you can find someone else with a problem that's fixable!

dalan

 

Unbelievably simple! See the attached screenshot. My desktop icons were always highlighted when I booted. I searched and found a fix for that and it also cured my slow bootup. The "Lock Web Items on Desktop" has to be unchecked. There are several ways to do this but the easiest is to right click on the Desktop, the Arrange Icons By, and a drop down menu appears with the option to uncheck "Lock Web Items on Desktop."