XP shutdown

Hi!

First, a warning that I have moderate computer literacy!

Though I did not initially have this problem, now XP takes forever to shut down or restart..... sometimes several minutes. What can I do?

 

The first place to start is to download Spybot, install it and run it. Tell it to delete all the spyware ( "fix all selected problems) that it lists in red and checked.

If that doesn't help, try disabling or uninstalling any software you installed right before the problem started.

Finally, as an overall XP system improvement, if you haven't already done so, go to Black Viper's site and follow the recommendations given for shutting down unneeded XP services. It's a little tedious but well worth the effort.

 

Also run Start-Programs-Accessories-System tool-Disk cleanup!

then

Browse to \windows\prefretch delete all files in prefetch.

Mike

 

Thanks! I'll give those a try

 

What are prefetch files for, anyway? What happens if I delete them (forgive me if this seems like a simplistic question)

 

You will boot faster.

What are they? Temp files (in way kind of like a cache) to allow faster booting, but then they get too plentyful and become invalid and cause a slow down of the boot.

Windows will automatically begin to build back a (hopefully) more valid prefetch.

Kill'em!

Mike