Win XP startup issue

[ibex333]

I recently got a brand new PC custom built for me by a friend. It's a fairly modern computer with a fast AMD 64, lots of ram, good video and sound cards, and a large, fast HD.
When I first got this PC. as soon as I would get to the Windows desktop after bootup, I would be able to use everything right away: Launch programs, connect to the net, etc. But now, all of a sudden, something happened. When I get to the win desktop and try to launch a program or do anything, my system is not responcive. It's like it's "thinking" or "digesting" somth... Then after like 3-4 minutes everything I tried to launch earlier, suddenly pops up! I went to "msconfig" and disabled all startup programs. It seems like there is nothing dilaying the system and yet every time I turn on my pc, this problem happens. Any ideas what I might have done to cause this? or what I can do to fix my problem?

P.S: I have no viruses, and I'm pretty sure I got no worms or trojans either. I scaned my HD a million times.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Clear out your C:\Windows\Prefetch folder and reboot.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Could also be a network DHCP issue...try disconnecting the network and see if the problem persists.

 

[jayoinoz]

I second the network suggestion. We've a POS network where I work (still 100Mbps) and my machine ALWAYS does this at bootup. My solution is to restart my machine when I leave work so it's all settled by the morning [Our Big Broher IT manager insists we turn off our machines every night - security concerns <shrug>]

Anywho, verify with Bootvis (free from Microsoft - no longer supported on XP but still works OK). It's supposed to optimise the boot process but I don't really think it's all that special. But besides that, what it will do it monitor the entire boot process and write events to a file. You can then open this file in bootvis to see a graphical display of processes run during startup (and when!) as well as the SIGNIFICANT network delays I suspect you're getting.

 

[ibex333]

First I tried to unplug and plug in again my network cable. When I did this my system stoped responding for 3 min just like it does on startup. Cleaning my C:\Windows\Prefetch folder, worked like a charm. The only problem is, now windows asks me to install the driver for my printer. Did cleaning that folder remove my driver settings or somth? I thought that folder is responsible for what programs load at startup.... What did I do exactly when I cleaned that folder?? Because, except for the driver issue, the startup seems fast and flawless.

 

[MrChad]

Here's an explanation of prefetching. I suspect your printer issue is unrelated.

Also, remember that clearing your prefetch folder will make your boot time lightning fast on the first reboot, but it will gradually slow after continued reboots. It should eventually plateau at a reasonable boot time.

 

[ibex333]

Allright.. Thanx a lot for the info.

 

[Sforsyth]

I used Sypatico High Speed DSL and alot of people I know and this happens to them, A Ruater will solve the problem, but dosen't sound like it's your problem.

 

[BFG10K]

Check for startup programs, system tray icons and viruses/spyware.

 

[ibex333]

The only thing that helped for a short time was cleaning the prefatch folder, and now after a few restarts my system got back to where is was

 

[essential]

Can cleaning prefatch have any negative effects on the system?

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: essential
Can cleaning prefatch have any negative effects on the system?

No. XP will rebuild the prefetch folder on subsequent reboots.