my computer is so slow to start

Ken,

Many thanks for the advice offered, and I listen to what you say, my
computer runs lovely after it has booted, no real problems to speak of, I was
just concerned about the new start up time as Id never noticed it before, so
now I will switch on THEN go for my coffee and when I leave the pc just put
it in standby mode until bedtime. good advice and I thank you for it

"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:46:01 -0700, Gerald S
wrote:

I have 512 mb ram


It depends on what apps you run, but for most people that's
sufficient, so that's unlikely to be the problem.


this is a new problem, the only thing I have changed is the webcam, but if I
am honest I can not remember if it was slow starting before i added it or
after, I have updated the driver for it, creative vista webcam.


You didn't answer the question "Is it just slow in starting or is it
slow in everything it does?"

My personal view is that the attention many people pay to how long it
takes to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is
otherwise satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most
people start their computers once a day or even less frequently. In
the overall scheme of things, even a few minutes to start up isn't
very important. Personally I power on my computer when I get up in the
morning, then go get my coffee. When I come back, it's done booting. I
don't know how long it took to boot and I don't care.

Also tell us *which* programs start automatically.

Note that McAfee, along with Norton, is one of the worst and
worst-performing anti-virus programs that exist. That could be a good
part of your problem.

And you mention scanning for viruses, but you say nothing about what
anti-spyware protection you use. Spyware is responsible for a good
part of the performance problems you se around.


"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:18:00 -0700, Gerald S
wrote:

Apologies for not supplying enough details.

Windows XP home edition service pack 2 (build 2600)
3.20 gigahertz intel pentium 4
250.05 gb usable hard drive capacity
233.06 gb hard drive free space
antivirus full scan with McAfee today.
defraged and disk clean up performed this last weekend.
msconfig tells me there are 18 programs starting up



The number of autostarting programs is not important. *Which* programs
they are is what's important.

How much RAM do you have?

Is this behavior new, or has it always been slow to start?

If it's new, what have you changed recently?

Is it just slow in starting or is it slow in everything it does?



I found one driver for my creative webcam that I updated

not sure what other information to provide.

thanks for your help

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

Gerald S wrote:
could some one please offer some advice on my problem please.

I have windows xp home edition which is fully kept up to date, now
my computer takes so long to start up, from switching on I get the
screen with the loading bar crossing then I get a black screen for
2 whole minutes then I get my desktop with no icons for a further
minute all in all it is almost 5 minutes before I can use the
computer.

any suggestions would be gratefully recieved

Windows XP Home Edition... Okay.

- Service pack level?...
- Running on an 400MHz processor with 64MB memory and a 10GB HDD with less
than 50MB free space?...
- Last full AntiVirus scan was performed on?... (with?...)
- Last full AntiSpyware scan was performed on?... (with?...)
- Hardware drivers are all current from the manufacturer of each component
(not Microsoft updates)?...
- Last disk cleanup and defragmentation was perfomed on what date?...
- How many startup programs are loading?...

( In other words - more details, please. ;-) )

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html




--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Gerry,

I would like to thank you for all the advice and information you have given
me over the past few days, I am going to do as Ken suggests and just put up
with the long boot up time as my pc runs perfectly well apart from this.

all you assistance has been much appreciated.

McAfee has gone and I am using AVG. and no more System mechanic.


all the best

Gerald

"Gerald S" wrote:

Gerry,

Advice noted on the McAfee, and with only 1 month subscription left I will
do it asap. and recomendations on which freeware option to use, AVG ??? maybe.

Skype does not run on start up, I was using it when taking the information
down.

I dont not defrag or clean the disk that often, but have done it a few times
over the weekend while having the boot up problem, and maybe system mechanic
did some of it on a shedule weekly, I am not sure I know I use to see it
doing something weekly, but I have now removed the program all together.

I am not sure what I would un-check even if i were to see it, as I do not
understand what things do or what they are for. but i have saved the link
page you included and I may be brave enough one day to try it. I am a pure
amateur but I do try to sort things out.

kindest regards

Gerald

"Gerry" wrote:

Gerald

dfrgntfs.exe -that this should appear in your list with such a high
figure is a surprise. How often do you run Disk CleanUp and Disk
Defragmenter?

Mcshield. exe =McAfee. When the subscription expires I would opt for a
freeware anti-virus with a smaller footprint.

Skype. This could be part of your problem. There are known memory leaks
associated with skype. Stop it loading at start up reboot and observe
for effect.

Autoruns lists additional start-up items to those you have seen in
msconfig.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sys.../Autoruns.mspx

With Autoruns you can uncheck an item, which disables it from starting,
or you can can right click an item and then delete it. If you uncheck
you can recheck to re-enable the item. It is a much safer approach than
editing the Registry. Another useful feature of the programme is that
you can right click an item and select Search Online to get information
about the item selected.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gerald S wrote:
Gerry,

dfrgntfs.exe 74,464
TeaTimer.exe 33,012
Mcshield. exe 28,340
SkypePM exe 20,728
Skype. exe 31,320
svchost.exe 15,520

I hope these are the fiqures you meant ?

I managed to do a disc deframent even though it did say the volume
did not need doing, however it appears that when I want to veiw the
report this is when the program stops responding, so I am unable to
veiw report,s also have the message some files on this volume could
not be defragmented.

The system restore memory got completley wiped when I preformed the
clean boot up yesterday, I did put the settings back to start up in
normal mode after completion of the test.

McAfee. I now have the problem that it is working and protecting, but
for some reason when I try to open it it does not appear, I get the
opening flash shot and then it does not open, so I am unable to give
you the information on which version it is, I know it runs out next
month but is fully up to date.

System Mechanic has now been uninstalled as per the recomendations, I
try to listen to good advice and take heed, this used to have a pop
up blocker accociated with it and as I never got bothered with any
pop ups I thought it was good. should I now buy something else to use?

regards

Gerald
"Gerry" wrote:

Gerald

What is the precise version of McAfee you have? McAfee does require a
fair amount of memory.

You should be able to gather more information from Task Manager. With
the Processes tab open select View, Select, Columns and check the
boxes before Peak Memory Usage and Virtual Memory size. What are the
figures for the 6 processes using the largest amounts?

After trying the Clean Boot method did you reset the system to boot
in normal mode?

Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state
1.Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
The System Configuration Utility dialog box appears.
2.Click the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device
drivers and services, and then click OK.
3.When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

You need to be able to get Disk Defragmenter to work.

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp
to Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gerald S wrote:
Gerry,

you must have the patience of a saint.

Total.528016
Limit. 1528284
Peak. 578416

There are no yellow question marks in device manager.

I have done the clean boot method also followed step for of that and
un checked "Load System Services"

My disc deframenter keeps giving me the message that is is not
responding. I am unable to give you that report.

from all my restarts on following these instructions, I have checked
the error logs and i have posted these below, if they shed any light
on the problem.

cor I will be an expert of finding my way round a computer before
long, if I wasnt so long in the tooth.

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Userenv
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1517
Date: 29/07/2008
Time: 19:39:28
User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer: MR-08408BD18B88
Description:
Windows saved user MR-08408BD18B88\G Stubbs registry while an
application or service was still using the registry during log off.
The memory used by the user's registry has not been freed. The
registry will be unloaded when it is no longer in use.

This is often caused by services running as a user account, try
configuring the services to run in either the LocalService or
NetworkService account.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Hang
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1001
Date: 29/07/2008
Time: 19:15:28
User: N/A
Computer: MR-08408BD18B88
Description:
Fault bucket 126818269.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 42 75 63 6b 65 74 3a 20 Bucket:
0008: 31 32 36 38 31 38 32 36 12681826
0010: 39 0d 0a 9..

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Hang
Event Category: (101)
Event ID: 1002
Date: 29/07/2008
Time: 19:15:12
User: N/A
Computer: MR-08408BD18B88
Description:
Hanging application mmc.exe, version 5.1.2600.2180, hang module
hungapp, version 0.0.0.0, hang address 0x00000000.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 41 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74 Applicat
0008: 69 6f 6e 20 48 61 6e 67 ion Hang
0010: 20 20 6d 6d 63 2e 65 78 mmc.ex
0018: 65 20 35 2e 31 2e 32 36 e 5.1.26
0020: 30 30 2e 32 31 38 30 20 00.2180
0028: 69 6e 20 68 75 6e 67 61 in hunga
0030: 70 70 20 30 2e 30 2e 30 pp 0.0.0
0038: 2e 30 20 61 74 20 6f 66 .0 at of
0040: 66 73 65 74 20 30 30 30 fset 000
0048: 30 30 30 30 30 00000 Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Hang
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1001
Date: 29/07/2008
Time: 19:14:13
User: N/A
Computer: MR-08408BD18B88
Description:
Fault bucket 126818269.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 42 75 63 6b 65 74 3a 20 Bucket:
0008: 31 32 36 38 31 38 32 36 12681826
0010: 39 0d 0a 9..
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Hang
Event Category: (101)
Event ID: 1002
Date: 29/07/2008
Time: 19:13:58
User: N/A
Computer: MR-08408BD18B88
Description:
Hanging application mmc.exe, version 5.1.2600.2180, hang module
hungapp, version 0.0.0.0, hang address 0x00000000.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 41 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74 Applicat
0008: 69 6f 6e 20 48 61 6e 67 ion Hang
0010: 20 20 6d 6d 63 2e 65 78 mmc.ex
0018: 65 20 35 2e 31 2e 32 36 e 5.1.26
0020: 30 30 2e 32 31 38 30 20 00.2180
0028: 69 6e 20 68 75 6e 67 61 in hunga
0030: 70 70 20 30 2e 30 2e 30 pp 0.0.0
0038: 2e 30 20 61 74 20 6f 66 .0 at of
0040: 66 73 65 74 20 30 30 30 fset 000
0048: 30 30 30 30 30 00000


Event Type: Error
Event Source: DCOM
Event Category: None
Event ID: 10005
Date: 29/07/2008
Time: 19:46:37
User: MR-08408BD18B88\G Stubbs
Computer: MR-08408BD18B88
Description:
DCOM got error "The service cannot be started, either because it is
disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it. "
attempting to start the service McMSCSvc with arguments "" in order
to run the server: {03082469-BA75-44A5-89CB-D187F313E572}

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.



"Gerry" wrote:

Gerald

Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete to select Task Manager and click the
Performance Tab. Under Commit Charge what is the Total, the Limit
and the Peak?

On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 06:51:02 -0700, Gerald S
wrote:

Ken,

Many thanks for the advice offered, and I listen to what you say, my
computer runs lovely after it has booted, no real problems to speak of, I was
just concerned about the new start up time as Id never noticed it before, so
now I will switch on THEN go for my coffee and when I leave the pc just put
it in standby mode until bedtime. good advice and I thank you for it


You're welcome. Glad to help.




"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:46:01 -0700, Gerald S
wrote:

I have 512 mb ram


It depends on what apps you run, but for most people that's
sufficient, so that's unlikely to be the problem.


this is a new problem, the only thing I have changed is the webcam, but if I
am honest I can not remember if it was slow starting before i added it or
after, I have updated the driver for it, creative vista webcam.


You didn't answer the question "Is it just slow in starting or is it
slow in everything it does?"

My personal view is that the attention many people pay to how long it
takes to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is
otherwise satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most
people start their computers once a day or even less frequently. In
the overall scheme of things, even a few minutes to start up isn't
very important. Personally I power on my computer when I get up in the
morning, then go get my coffee. When I come back, it's done booting. I
don't know how long it took to boot and I don't care.

Also tell us *which* programs start automatically.

Note that McAfee, along with Norton, is one of the worst and
worst-performing anti-virus programs that exist. That could be a good
part of your problem.

And you mention scanning for viruses, but you say nothing about what
anti-spyware protection you use. Spyware is responsible for a good
part of the performance problems you se around.


"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:

On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:18:00 -0700, Gerald S
wrote:

Apologies for not supplying enough details.

Windows XP home edition service pack 2 (build 2600)
3.20 gigahertz intel pentium 4
250.05 gb usable hard drive capacity
233.06 gb hard drive free space
antivirus full scan with McAfee today.
defraged and disk clean up performed this last weekend.
msconfig tells me there are 18 programs starting up



The number of autostarting programs is not important. *Which* programs
they are is what's important.

How much RAM do you have?

Is this behavior new, or has it always been slow to start?

If it's new, what have you changed recently?

Is it just slow in starting or is it slow in everything it does?



I found one driver for my creative webcam that I updated

not sure what other information to provide.

thanks for your help

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

Gerald S wrote:
could some one please offer some advice on my problem please.

I have windows xp home edition which is fully kept up to date, now
my computer takes so long to start up, from switching on I get the
screen with the loading bar crossing then I get a black screen for
2 whole minutes then I get my desktop with no icons for a further
minute all in all it is almost 5 minutes before I can use the
computer.

any suggestions would be gratefully recieved

Windows XP Home Edition... Okay.

- Service pack level?...
- Running on an 400MHz processor with 64MB memory and a 10GB HDD with less
than 50MB free space?...
- Last full AntiVirus scan was performed on?... (with?...)
- Last full AntiSpyware scan was performed on?... (with?...)
- Hardware drivers are all current from the manufacturer of each component
(not Microsoft updates)?...
- Last disk cleanup and defragmentation was perfomed on what date?...
- How many startup programs are loading?...

( In other words - more details, please. ;-) )

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html




--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup