Windows XP SP3 slow to login

Question

I have Windows XP SP3, and after I login, I receive a blank screen for about 6-7 minutes. Nothing much appears in Task Manager during this time, then suddenly a new batch of processes appear, then the desktop appears.

I have avast! antivirus, Zone Alarm firewall, and I regularly scan with stinger. The PC is a standalone laptop.

Can you tell how to go about troubleshooting this, or the causes?

Solution 1

Enable boot time logging, then look at the data it collects

http://www.msigeek.com/6231/how-to-enable-system-boot-time-logging-using-process-monitor-tool

Have you run a chkdsk /f on the drive, might be a good idea.

Solution 2

An excellent freeware program specially made to reduce boot-up time is Soluto. It analyses the start up of your computer, tells you exactly which item takes how long to start, presents them all in a graph, categorizes the items as essential - doubtful - no-brainer, and lets you disable them one by one. http://lifehacker.com/5561303/soluto-is-an-awesome-tool-to-speed-up-your-system-boot-fix-system-slowdowns

Comments

[ChrisF]

It does seem a bit long to wait ;).

[Aki]

windowsreference.com/general/…

[Eric Kittell]

I think there are already questions about this: superuser.com/questions/13585/windows-xp-startup-profiling superuser.com/questions/49487/…

[Cerberus]

Good idea, but be careful about disabling services. I once disabled a bunch that I didn't need; then a year later I bought my first Bluetooth device, and it took me a month to realize why I couldn't get it to work. Besides, I have heard it said several times that disabling services looks nice but will usually not give you noticeable results, except perhaps the indexing service.

[Steve]

I have zero connections in My Network Places.

[Steve]

I have zero connections in My Network Places. The programs in the Logon category are all necessary, and can't really be removed.

[Steve]

My HDD is very fragmented. It is having trouble defragging as there is not alot of free space (although it should it should be enough, at 20%). Is there a boot defragger you recommend?

[Steve]

I notice if I turn the computer on, and ignore the computer for 30 minutes, when I come back to login, it logs in very quickly, so perhaps this indicates fragmentation is the problem.

[Steve]

I have already disabled non-essential services thanks.

[Steve]

Process Monitor is taking a long time to convert the boot log. See <img src="i112.photobucket.com/albums/n180/SRD001/screenshots/con‌​vert.jpg">

[Moab]

No image at that link.

[Steve]

Sorry, try i112.photobucket.com/albums/n180/SRD001/screenshots/convert.‌​jpg

[Moab]

I would make a post on the ProcMon forum...forum.sysinternals.com/forum19.html

[Cerberus]

@Steve: Okay, that is too bad. Looks like some bug on your PC then, good luck... P.S. Soluto took about 30 secs off my boot time.