Norton Anti-Virus start up on XP!!!

ok, when i start my pc (XP) it starts pretty fast in like 40 secs but..when the desktop appears i look at taskbar and see my norton with a big red x on it which means its disabled for some reason. while that is happening i cant go connect to internet until it takes about 2 mins or so...after its enabled everything is alright but it sure takes alot of time. iam not sure but it might be a network problem???if so or not can u plz give me suggestions?? thx...

 

Dna2k3: I have the same problem as you're describing. My times are a bit shorter, though, maybe because my computer is quite new and fast. After I get to the desktop, it takes 50 seconds for Norton AV 2003 to get through doing whatever it's doing and I finally can start using the system. I'll be watching this thread to see if anyone offers a fix or if we're just going to have to live with that delay.

I also have ZoneAlarm (the free version) loaded, and I'm wondering if it has any effect on NAV's behavior at startup.

I have another issue with my NAV. Ever since I got this new computer in August, which came with a 90-day trial version of NAV 2002, I haven't gotten a single automatic update download. I'm pretty sure everything is configured correctly to get the automatic updates. I can get them manually, but that's the only way. Have you noticed the same thing?

 

I suspect that it may. Disable ZA's auto-start feature, reboot and see whether NAV loads any faster.

 

brett: I used Startup Cop to disenable ZoneAlarm at startup. After rebooting (warm), it took 85 seconds before NAV (or whatever it is that's causing the delay after the desktop appears) finished and I was able to use the system. I opened ZoneAlarm and found the "Load ZoneAlarm at startup" unchecked. Since the change didn't speed up the bootup operation, I checked that box again and also went into Startup Cop again and reenabled ZoneAlarm there. So, the experiment was promising but in the end didn't help.

BTW, in Startup Cop I found ZoneAlarm listed twice. Once as Priority 6 and once as Priority 7. Does that signify anything?

 

I'd suggest that you dabble with Startup Cop. Disable everything but NAV and see how long it takes to load after a reboot. If it's significantly faster, re-enable the other start-up programs one-by-one until you hit on the one that causes the slowdown in NAV's loading.

I don't use either program so have no idea! Maybe one entry refers to ZA's GUI and the other to the TrueVector service? Maybe someone else can confirm?

 

brett: I disabled the first 9 items in Startup Cop, rebooted, no improvement. Then I disabled 7 more, again no improvement. Finally I disabled everything (including NAV and ZA) except 4 items, all identified with just a *, that wouldn't permit being disabled. Rebooted, and again no improvement. In fact, the changes added 10-20 seconds, probably to deal with the changes themselves.

It appears that nothing I do will shorten that delay after the desktop appears. Puzzling.

 

Maybe you could post a question in the Symantec Support Forums?

 

I find this to be true in any version of Windows 95 and up.

No matter what I do in Win98 SE it still takes a minute or three AFTER the Desktop comes up for Windows to get FULLY loaded and settled down. And I do believe it may be Network related. I find that if one or two of the other machines are on it may take a little longer yet.

Attempting to do anything during this period has led to some undesireable restarts.

And this was before I installed NIS 2003 and got the little red X on the NIS in the systray. I do not think it has anything to do with Norton itself.

Myself I like the idea of the red X. As it is says WHOA WAIT !! I am not ready yet.

Even though the curser or no lights show anything Windows is STILL working in the background.

I have found it best to not get in a hurry. Give Windows time to settle down after the Desktop comes up before attempting to go on line.

And I also saw on the two machines that I have used with XP, that XP is worse than 98 in this area. It took XP about 5 minutes before I could even begin to get it on line. But that could be in the setup of the machine too. They were not mine so I could not experiment.

BOBBO

You are correct also. It does not seem to matter what you do with what loads at startup. I have tested that area also.

BillyBob

 

XP Services Tweaking

I've found noticeable-to-dramatic decreases in both startup and shutdown times using XP by turning off unneeded services...each system responds a little differently to the changes.

Go to Black Viper's site for a list of those services and recommendations for which can safely be disabled.

 

I have the same situation...XP, NAV, ZoneAlarm, etc...and a 2.5 minute time before everything's ready.

I actually ran [this little program and now I'm more confused than ever as it said my 'boot time' was 16 seconds! Using the program to optomize my boot time shaved some fractions of a second off the process.

At any rate, apart from a 40 second period when my hard drive seems to grunt loudly and repeatedly which I find ominous, I'm resigned to the time it takes for the system to be ready. And since everything works fine once its ready, I'm not sure I have much to complain about.

 

Miz wrote

That will make a difference to the Startup and shutdown. But it seems to have no effect on anything after the Desktop comes up. and I believe that is the area in question.

I do not think we have any control of that area at all. That is just Windows putting everything together and making it ( hopefully ) all work.

BillyBob

 

so i guess no one knows any fixes. but iam sure that its network related and bobbo would u happen to have a dell?anywayz..when i disconnected the networked pc with this one i stoped getting the x at startup so its definetly network/software issue. my frnd had the same problem now he doesnt have it because he simply uninstalled some softwares related to audio? so its really confusing we need like a patch or something to fix this. so until then i will keep looking for solutions.