Long boot pause (xpsp2res.dll, Shell Hardware Detection service)

Hi all! I've had a long boot pause problem. Searching for a solution I came to this thread: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=69658 and found a fix. I just want to share some details of my situation for posterity.

A few days ago I reinstalled motherboard and video drivers (to Omega Drivers), did some tweaks with CleverCache and tweaked Windows services (following one of the online tweak guides). Interestingly this has improved Windows performance quite noticeably. But this (or something else) may have cause a new problem - a long boot pause.

I ran BootLogXP and quickly found that a 80-sec pause occurs after loading of xpsp2res.dll by explorer.exe. After reading this thread I realise that disabling Shell Hardware Detection service might help me. I don't have (and never had) Zone Alarm installed.

I disabled the service and the boot delay disappeared.

I don't remember if the service was on before I tweaked services. I don't have an optical drive in this computer and I think I disabled autorun, but may be through settings, not by disabling the service.

 

I had the same problem with a long boot pause right after my wallpaper appeared. Finally found a thread on another forum that indicated that zone alarm can cause this problem. I downloaded Comodo firewall and then removed zone alarm. Problem solved! After reading your thread I checked my services and hardware shell detection is on automatic and started. I then went to Black Viper's site and copied this:


Shell Hardware Detection
Default Description:
Provides notifications for AutoPlay hardware events.

Additional Information:
Used for the auto play of devices like memory cards, CD drives, etc. Also, set to Automatic if you are experiencing problems with laptop docking stations. In "My Computer," you may not see your hardware (example: DVD drive) displayed as a "DVD Drive" if this service is disabled. However, all functionality still exists. In addition, when checking the properties of an "auto play" device, such as a DVD drive, you will not have an auto play tab displayed or available. This service also allows the option of selecting what action you wish to take with a particular "type" of file. If you enjoy the auto play function of CD's and DVD's after inserting them into your drive, leave this service on Automatic.

Whatever works is good and letting people know on this forum is good also. Thanks for your thread.