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Resolved Increased boot time.

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by Syncopator, 2012/03/31.

  1. 2012/03/31
    Syncopator

    Syncopator Inactive Thread Starter

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    My system is XP Home SP3 and all critical updates, which I have set to automatic.

    During start-up, the initial screens are presented rapidly, the Loading Personal Settings screen is displayed for around 34-35 seconds and then I get a blue screen which is empty except for the mouse cursor. This screen is presented for a little over a minute and a half, whereas before, it was displayed for a much shorter time (one doesn't measure these things when they are working normally).

    It started a week or so ago, but I can't think of any actions I have taken which may have provoked it.

    I have noticed, though, a couple of occasions when the PC seems to have rebooted itself in my absence. I invoke MailWasher Pro manually once the machine has booted, but on these two occasions MailWasher wasn't running - indicating a self reboot?

    I have looked at some of the "long reboot" entries in the FAQ section but haven't seen anything which seems relevant to my case.

    I must add that I'm not particularly computer savvy, but I'm not a novice either.

    Any help would be appreciated.
     
    Syncopator,
    #1
  2. 2012/04/01
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Hi Syncopator. I would go through your startup programs and disable each entry one by one until you find the culprit that is causing the increased the boot up time.

    Download and run Autoruns from here, Autoruns.

    Save the folder to your desktop. Right click the folder and click extract all to extract the folder. Once the folder is extracted open the folder. Run the Autoruns.exe program. Once the program opens click the Logon Tab to display all the startup programs that are starting up with your computer.

    Highlight each entry you want to disable and simply uncheck its checkbox to disable it. Reboot the computer after disabling each item and see if there is any difference.
     
    Last edited: 2012/04/01
    Evan Omo,
    #2


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  4. 2012/04/01
    Syncopator

    Syncopator Inactive Thread Starter

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    Ok Evan, I've done that.

    I now have all the entries under the Logon tab disabled but there has been no reduction in boot time.
     
    Syncopator,
    #3
  5. 2012/04/01
    SpywareDr

    SpywareDr SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    SpywareDr,
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  6. 2012/04/01
    Syncopator

    Syncopator Inactive Thread Starter

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    Unfortunately I can't. I recently flushed 'em all away with ADDCS Temp File CLeaner. :eek:
     
    Syncopator,
    #5
  7. 2012/04/01
    SpywareDr

    SpywareDr SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    Soluto may be able to help you reduce your computer's boot speed without having to do a lot of research.
     
    SpywareDr,
    #6
  8. 2012/04/01
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    I know you disabled all the startup items in Autoruns but sometimes the program won't show all the startup items.

    Click Start< Run and type msconfig and hit enter. When the Microsoft Configuration Utility opens make sure the Normal Startup option is selected. If that option wasn't selected previously then select it, click Ok, and go back into Autoruns and you should see a few more startup entries that you can disable.

    If the Normal option for startup was already selected, then follow SpywareDr's advice and download Soluto and see if you can pinpoint the cause of the startup delay.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #7
  9. 2012/04/01
    Syncopator

    Syncopator Inactive Thread Starter

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    Yes, a few more startup entries appeared after after switching to Normal Startup - I have no idea why it wasn't selected already.

    I again disabled everything in sight with the exception of Microsoft's Security Essentials, but noticed no reduction in boot time.

    Soluto is now installed. It tells me that there have been "No frustrations or crashes
    in the past 2 weeks" and gave me the option of disabling a few things. I disabled a Google update thing. The others have been running for months, as far as I know or remember, without problem.

    No reduction in boot time has been observed yet.

    I can't quite see the advantage of Soluto and have never heard of it before. Is there much, if any, advantage in keeping it?
     
    Syncopator,
    #8
  10. 2012/04/01
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Was there any other software change you made before this behavior started happening?

    If its not a startup program causing the delay in startup, its possible that a service is causing the problem. Try this, click Start< Run and type msconfig and hit enter. When msconfig opens click the Services Tab. Click the checkbox that says hide all Microsoft Services. Then click the Disable All button to disable all 3rd party services. Now click Ok to close the msconfig window and reboot Windows XP. Is there any change now?

    I've never used Soluto mainly because Autoruns does a good job at showing everything thats starting up with Windows already.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #9
  11. 2012/04/01
    SpywareDr

    SpywareDr SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    If it's not helping, uninstall it.
     
    SpywareDr,
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  12. 2012/04/01
    Syncopator

    Syncopator Inactive Thread Starter

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    I'm afraid that I can't remember if I made any software changes before this started happening, sorry.

    Ok, there's small improvement after disabling all 3rd party services.

    The blue screen after loading personal settings is now presented for about 1 minute 8 seconds, a reduction of nearly half a minute.
     
    Syncopator,
    #11
  13. 2012/04/01
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Ok. Now that a service appears to be the cause of the problem go back into the System Configuration utility, msconfig and enable each 3rd party service one at a time while rebooting in between each change until you find the culprit.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #12
  14. 2012/04/02
    Syncopator

    Syncopator Inactive Thread Starter

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    Since the reduction in boot time mentioned in my last post was not really impressive, I had visions of my patience being tested to its limit.

    So I had a think.

    I decided on a repair installation of XP.

    It has done the trick. The "Loading Your Settings" screen is presented for only 6 seconds and the desktop is loaded immediately afterwards. That's with all startup software enabled.

    Thank you both for your interest and help.
     
    Syncopator,
    #13
  15. 2012/04/02
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Your Welcome. Glad you were able to get your issue resolved. :)
     
    Evan Omo,
    #14

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