Windows 8.1 slow startup

[Rascal1]

As of recently desktop loading times have increased exponentially. The metro ui loads just fine but when I click on the desktop tile it takes almost 2 minutes to load the wallpaper and icons.

I've tried defragmenting the system drive, cleaning the registry, shutting down apps from startup and services through msconfig but nothing seems to be working. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

 

[Ketchup]

Run a virus scan lately? Is the hard drive light solid during the pauses?

 

[IGBT]

my i7 Dell desktop loads 8.1 in about 15 seconds.

 

[Rascal1]

According to Avast there are no viruses. Also checked for malware and no problems on that front either. Since I don't have a hdd light I wouldn't know, but the hdd seems to be working because I can run programs through the start menu.

I've tried repairing it with the installation disc, but that only made things worse because it brought back the automatic backup feature which takes up to 30% of cpu in the background lol. Shortly after I removed it from the schedule list but now I'm back on square one.

 

[Ketchup]

OK, start telling us about your hardware, and any external devices plugged in besides standard mouse/keyboard/screen.

 

[Rascal1]

Nothing out of the ordinary, 1 iphone lightning cable, 1 game controller, webcam and a printer. Those have been plugged ever since I upgraded to 8.1 and had no issues up until 10 days ago after which it gradually slowed down for some reason.

The easiest solution would be a system restore but unfortunately I don't have any. Also, Combofix is not supported on 8 and later, though I wonder if there may be any alternatives?

 

[Ketchup]

OK, but what parts are in the computer (or what model is it)? Have you tried booting it with the phone, controller, and webcam disconnected?

Also, see if there are any Windows updates installed around the time the slowness started.

 

[Rascal1]

It's a custom built pc, Q9550 overclocked at 3,8ghz with a Tuniq tower cooler, 4gb OCZ Reaper ram at 1066mhz, GTX 570 Sonic gpu at 850mhz, 2tb Seagate barracuda hdd 3gb/s, 640gb WD hdd 3gb/s, Chieftec 550w psu and a gigabyte EP45 UD3L mbo.

I've tried booting it without peripherals but that didn't change anything. Since I disabled automatic updates right after installing I doubt that's causing the issue.

 

[Gunbuster]

You can try Autoruns to more thoroughly disable start-up items. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

Though my theory would be a HDD going bad if you are experiencing lag or long pauses.

 

[Rascal1]

Thanks for the tip.

However, the pauses don't affect the performance. I was able to play Watch Dogs while the desktop was still loading. I'll try to create a new profile and see how that goes.

 

[Ketchup]

Thanks for the tip.

However, the pauses don't affect the performance. I was able to play Watch Dogs while the desktop was still loading. I'll try to create a new profile and see how that goes.

That is a good next step. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Rascal1]

As it turns out, the new account works just fine. Aside from the default programs in the background and missing elevation privileges it does boot quite fast. Now I have to figure out a way to transfer all the settings from my previous account.

Edit 1: After a few reboots the new account loads just as slow lol.

Edit 2: Finally managed to get it working with the installation disc but this time only lthe system drive was connected and that did the trick.

 

[denis280]

Edit 2: Finally managed to get it working with the installation disc but this time only lthe system drive was connected and that did the trick.

:thumbsup:

 

[Ketchup]

Glad you figured it out!