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Really Bad Bootup Time - Page 2

post #21 of 46
4/4/06 at 7:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by scotland
A combination of that and spybot won't go amiss (if updated reguarly)

Good idea as well is to get a good (updated) hosts list and put it in \windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Basically you can edit this file and add any site (ad sites) as in :-

127.0.0.110money.us
127.0.0.110s.com.br
127.0.0.110xmarketing.112.2o7.net
127.0.0.110xmultistreamincome.112.2o7.net
127.0.0.110xoneminmil.112.2o7.net
127.0.0.110xpowerglide.112.2o7.net
127.0.0.110xx.com
127.0.0.111.rtcode.com
127.0.0.1111.hitbox.com
127.0.0.1111porno.com
127.0.0.1117.235.linkey.ru

This is a small part of 1.7MB hosts file LOL

The addresses all resolve to your own PC. (for the uninitiated)

Dougie.
I'm sorry but I don't follow you on what you mean by "Hosts." I know computers pretty well but not this well apparantly.
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post #22 of 46
4/4/06 at 7:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zeonstar
I'm sorry but I don't follow you on what you mean by "Hosts." I know computers pretty well but not this well apparantly.
Well, you'll have the file I mention (hosts) no extension in :-

\windows\system32\drivers\etc

127.0.0.1 basically resolves to your own pc, a 'loopback adapter' so you can check your installed TCP/IP stack is functioning.

By putting a domain name in the format I showed in this file means that when windows goes to resolve an internet address it will check this file first to resolve the host address before referring to your DNS Server.

try putting www.microsoft.com in, in that file and then browse www.microsoft.com

This mechanism applies for all windows operating systems, all unix (Linux) systems etc though in Unix the hosts file is stored in the /etc subdir and requires root priveliges to alter (as does windows, but the first user is always 'root / Adminstrator')


Dougie.

edit: this is a common method of site hijacking e.g. :-

Spyware modifies your hosts file to read :- 123.123.234.234 mybank.com

where 123.123.234.234 is actually the hijackers home brew web site waiting to relieve you of your bank account details / sign in passwords etc.
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post #23 of 46
4/4/06 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scotland
I bet your 'buddies' still get a ton of crap on their pc. All m$ sponsored.

I can't believe anyone but a complete noobie would trust microsoft with 'ANYTHING' to do with computer security.

you have still yet to give any proof that MS AV does a bad job. I dont reccomend or use it, but I think its silly to reject it automatically because who created it. If you have any legitimate factual information (IE: not anti-MS blogs) I would be glad to see it, that way I can spread the word.

Or maybe your one of those "apple" people
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post #24 of 46
4/4/06 at 7:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pwain
you have still yet to give any proof that MS AV does a bad job. I dont reccomend or use it, but I think its silly to reject it automatically because who created it. If you have any legitimate factual information (IE: not anti-MS blogs) I would be glad to see it, that way I can spread the word.

Or maybe your one of those "apple" people
Why not run spybot / adaware on the buddies computer and see what they say ?

And hey, Apple no chance. I've been using m$ since version 1.0 of ms-dos. Used cpm/86 before that.

Made my living writing software and believe me, microsoft software is buggy in the extreme.

I'll dig up the articles that will convince you but right now in UK it's bedtime for me.
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post #25 of 46
4/4/06 at 8:08pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you again for the replies.

Just an update of things I have tried today. I happen to be at work but I brought my laptop so i have been trying what I can.

Installed and Ran Ad-Aware. Was not able to get the most current defintions but found and deleted about 55 items. No boot time change.

Installed and ran CCLeaner. Fixed a bunch of registry entries (after I backed it up). Still no improvement.

Tried both my 1 Gig sticks of Ram in slot A one at a time. Again, no change.

Every single time I boot up, once I am in Windows on the desktop there is a long delay (10-15 seconds) where nothing seems to happen. The hard drive isn't accessing. Then it does and it will continue to load my taskbar items. Sound, Nvidia, Mcafee, Bluetooth, Wireless Internet Icon, and finally Setpoint.

Just for kicks I temporarily turned off ALL McAfee's startup programs and the funny part is, boot time did NOT improve. Since that app loads like 5 things in startup I figured that would show some difference but it really did not.
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post #26 of 46
4/4/06 at 8:33pm
As far as Spyware goes the best one I have found is called Spy Catcher, You can do a search for it, I works way better than Adware and Spybot Combined.

It not only cleans any wares crap you may have already, it blocks any further attemps when you surf.

I recommend a clean install first, then install spy catcher. but it will clean a dirty computer as well, bit it may take a few sweeps & reboots to get it all.
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post #27 of 46
4/4/06 at 8:40pm
Thread Starter 
Dave, out of curiousty, what is your cold boot time? What speed is your RAM?

Does anything think my hard drive could be the problem? What's a good application to specificly test a hard drive?
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post #28 of 46
4/4/06 at 8:55pm
let me reboot and verify,

I have 2 gigs of 533 Mhz Ram Dual Channel.

Another thing to check, is your msconfig file, and select startup
see all the programs that are loaded at startup there, many are ones you don't really need, that are put there when you stall various apps. each one tends to add to your boot time.

the last thing thing, is by chance have you configured a Network connection that tries to establish connection during boot up, that also tends to extend the load times significantly.

My Boot time is about 65 seconds, I have several programs loaded at startup, including Spy Catcher, Norton AV, Skype, and Wireles connections, I9KFANGU ETc.

If I disable SkyPe, it takes about 12 seconds off, as it does not try to establish a conection upon boot up.
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post #29 of 46
4/4/06 at 9:07pm
Thread Starter 
I have been using Msconfig for years. That for a long time was the ONLY boot up improvement option I knew of.

And yes my computer does try to connect to a network, my home wireless connection. Well I should not say it "tries" it DOES connect to it.

But still... from what i see, some of my loadup items seem to just... hang. I only have the 4-5 I mentioned above loading. (Virus, Nvidia Icon, BT icon, Logitech Setpoint, Windows sound speaker, windows wireless network icon.
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post #30 of 46
4/4/06 at 9:15pm
the only thing left is spyware, then.

Give that program Spy Catcher a try, see what it picks up.
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post #31 of 46
4/5/06 at 11:49am
Thread Starter 
What was your boot time Dave?
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post #32 of 46
4/5/06 at 12:14pm
Did you check the memory with something like memtest86? Memory *should* be good from the factory... It's often something environmental that causes the problems, so it might be possible you have a couple bad modules... but I doubt it.

Might be time to consider re-formatting.

What were the programs ad-aware found? Mainly cookies, or did it find any actual programs? If it found anything that can be identified as a trojan, backup what you need to keep, wipe the machine and start over, no question. When you're compromised this is the only way to make 100% sure you're clean.

Then make sure to run a resident spyware scanner. I'm not interested in debating MS's motives, as it's worked very nicely for me, and that's all I really care about... choose one that suits you.
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post #33 of 46
4/5/06 at 1:45pm
Thread Starter 
I'm gonna try the memtests tonight. I have not really been home in 2 days. I had work and school and just stayed at my GF's. If I recall the ad aware scan just took out some cookies and stuff, no programs i noticed.

I cant see why i would need a format again, its only been a month since I got this thing but... I dont know maybe something didnt work right during the first one. I think I mentioned that even when I did the first clean install format, I noticed there was that windows hanging problem at startup, which leads me back to thinking I have a HDD problem... even if just a minor one. I'm gonna see about reformatting when I have time. Maybe this weekend.
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post #34 of 46
4/5/06 at 3:30pm
The Ultimate Boot CD is a bootable ISO image which, when burned to a CD, is super useful for troubleshooting hardware problems. It has memtest86 plus many other tests for memory, CPU, hard drive, and more.
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post #35 of 46
4/5/06 at 3:56pm
Thread Starter 
Yikes new problem I noticed this morning.

All of a sudden my fans, particularlly the video card fan aren't kicking on to keep the gpu cool. I have the X-Treme G Drivers and my card is overclocked and even though I am jus idle, the temp is slowing climbing way too high.

But the good news is I had used CCleaner and thank God I thought to backup my registry because I restored it back and the fan seems to be working again.

Bad part is, now I have all these invalid reg entries again. Does anyone happen to know which Reg keys might of controlled the fans so I can make sure not to delete those?
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post #36 of 46
4/8/06 at 4:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scotland
I've been using m$ since version 1.0 of ms-dos.
There is no such thing as "version 1.0 of ms-dos"... the first version of MS-DOS was 1.25. It was released about 9 months after IBM PC-DOS 1.0 (August 1981) and at the same time as PC-DOS 1.1 (May 1982).
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post #37 of 46
4/28/06 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 
Hey all

I have never resolved this problem, been too busy to persue it but now I really want to get this fixed. My Startup has only the essentials: BT, Mouse driver, and mcafee stuff. I have rearraged the boot files... everything.

I don't think a dual core laptop with 2 gigs of ram should be taking over a minute to boot!

I can't state this for sure because I can't honestly remember but I think it took a long time to boot even when I got it and formatted and put windows back on. I just didnt think much of it because I had not optimized it yet. Could another format and reinstall possibly help? I don't wanna waste my time and fool with all that if it would not matter. I keep thinking I have a bad hard drive but... if that was so I would see other performance issues with the drive besides slow boot up wouldn't I? I don't, the drive runs fine as far as I can tell.

Is there a more comprehensive hard disk tester app out there?

Before I wrote this post, I booted up my computer to check the times.

From the moment I turn on the power it takes 10 seconds for the Windows XP screen to apppear.
Following that, it takes 26 more seconds for the Blue splash (welcome) screen and the desktop to start loading.
It takes another 34 seconds - we're up to a minute total now! - for the startup tray icon apps to load. (Nvidia, Mcafee, Logitech, wireless, etc) and the HDD access light does not stop blinking with things fully loaded til 1:35 after I have first pressed the power button.

Sorry to drudge this thread but I would really love to resolve this or call Dell if a part needs replacing.
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post #38 of 46
4/28/06 at 5:12pm
i have the same "pause" on my 6000. it sits sometimes for about 10 seconds once i punch in the password. no blinking HD light, nothing. im going to do a reformat tonight, i think the image i have is junk.

ill post back.
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post #39 of 46
4/28/06 at 5:55pm
Okay, I'm not sure about the rest, but I know what's causing the task tray icons appear to hang. That's the no HD activity. For me, one or two apps will load and then it'll pause 15-30 seconds and then wham everything shows up.
I had the same problem and traced it down to the Intel Wireless card. You can verify this by disabling your network card (BIOS) and booting. I was able to minimize the problem by not using the Intel Wireless Software.

You should also look at a program called bootvis. It's an old Microsoft app that measures boot times. It doesn't make things faster, but it will show you the exact time a process/driver is taking to start.

Here is an article describing how to use Bootvis:
http://www.weethet.nl/english/hardware_bootvis.php
(Please note that you want to look at the graph to see what is causing delays - The optimize function is fine, but it won't just solve your problem)

Little more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BootVis
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post #40 of 46
4/28/06 at 8:14pm
thought bootvis has an "optimize mode"

ive used it and it trimmed about 8 seconds off for a while.
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