Woodenhead

I've had this Dell Dimension 5100 for almost a year now, and everything has been flawless until recently. Now when I turn it on, it takes a long time to stop loading everything - it sits at the "Welcome" screen for 3x as long as before, then when the desktop shows up, it's only the wallpaper. Eventually the icons appear. After that it still takes quite a bit longer than earlier for the hard drive to settle down. Also, if I use standby, my computer becomes slower and less responsive (especially while surfing), eventually getting to the point where I just have to restart it. Sometimes it won't even turn off unless I hold the button down for 5 seconds. I have clicked on the "Turn Off" icon and left the house for work, only to return to the "Windows is saving your settings..." screen 9 hours later. Spyware/virus/HiJack scans produce nothing of significance. I have run WindowBlinds for months as well, with no issues until the same time recently when "the memory cannot be read..." errors started popping up. Re-install did nothing, so I no longer run it, and the errors are now gone. I'm at my wit's end. Any suggestions? Thanks a bunch...

willmon18

Well when you have windowsblinds using it to make you a desktop that uses up quite a bit of memory and makes your computer take a while to start up. Also you might have quite a bit of stuff in your start up. To check this click start run and type in msconfig and uncheck everything you don't need in start up. If you want to make it easier you can get a tuneup utilities trial and use the start up manager and delete any and all start up entries you don't need as well as restore them if you need them later. Also you might need to run the registry cleaner that comes with the trial of tuneup utilities. It would be easier to install it and just click on the 1 click maintenace on the desktop if you installed it and checked the option to put it on your desktop. Here is the link to it: http://www.tune-up.com/download/tu2006/ all you have to do is enter you email address and click the button and it will download. If you need any further help just reply.

Woodenhead

Hey, Willmon, thanks a lot for the reply.

- Windowblinds was not an issue for the first 2 months I used it; I have 2GB RAM, anyway.
- Startup items seem OK, and there's minimal apps.
- I have registry cleaners already (Advanced System Optimizer, System Mechanic 6, Registry Fix). I tried your recommendation anyway, and to my surprise, it found 1314 faults! My other sweepers rarely find more than 30. I repaired the problems (as well as others on subsequent scans as per the app requested) and I'll see how my computer responds for a day or so. I'll repost later to update. For now, though, startup is still way off... Thanx again!

willmon18

Well if you don't notice any improvements download hijackthis from this link http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip when you click on this it will download. Once you do that go to the hijackthis log forum and post your log there and wait for a reply. I am not qualified entirely to do anything with a hijack this log if I told someone to do something with a hijackthis log I would be thrown out of here. Anyway post back in here and tell me how it goes when you are finished with the hijackthis guy telling you what to do with your log.

Woodenhead

Thanx, I'll try that. It may be awhile before I repost, tho. BTW I noticed that we share the same last name...

Woodenhead

OK. Went through a series of checks in the HJT forum, and my system was/is clean. After running an app called "combofix" it was suggested that Windows may be corrupted, possibly from software conflicts (at one time I had a lot of anti-malware apps) or registry editing software... What next?

spongmonkey

what about downloading and running diskeeper lite to defrag the disk?

windxk

any idae what u recently install/uninstall any stuff?
i'm not sure what HJT or other does ( well, mostly i js run format :p LOL)
defrag is one of the way, and if not.... u have to chekc and "clean" ur memory stick (which is rarely got "connector problem")

Woodenhead

Ran Diskeeper defrag; no change, maybe a bit worse...

nickster_uk

Do you have your Windows installation disc?

May be worth trying the following command if you have:

sfc /scannow

Also, if that doesn't help, try a repair installation :)

Woodenhead

Unfortunately, I do not have a Windows install disk; it was already installed on my Dell...

Zazula

Do you have a folder named I386 in your system disc?

Woodenhead

Yes, I do. C:/i386

Zazula

1. Make sure you have the right I386 folder in your hard disc (the right one will contain close to 7,000 files, two of which will be winnt.exe and winnt32.exe).

2. Open the Registry Editor and go to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

3. Change the SourcePath entry to whatever you see in Windows Explorer as the path to your legit I386 folder, but without the "I386" in it; e.g. if it is at C:\I386, you put only C:\ as this entry's value.

4. Reboot and then Run sfc /scannow.

Woodenhead

Well, the entry is correct, and I had already run sfc /scannow earlier this morning, with no problems.

Zazula

Sorry then, I got misled by post #11...

Woodenhead

So... what next? Do I have to purchase an install disc or something, or are there other checks/scans I can perform to get to the root of the problem?

Zazula

If the Windows installation has become corrupted, it can be straightened out via a Repair Installation (but you'll need a Windows CD). This method will also deal with a Registry that has missing/corrupt entries referring to the Windows components.
If the Registry has become corrupted in entries that deal with third-party programs, then the Windows Repair Installation will not help. You'll need to uninstall/reinstall the software (but in this case you have to know which one is the culprit) or to backup all your data and start a clean installation of everything.
Since I understand you'd prefer to avoid both aforementioned options, I'll give you a few ideas as a last resort to nail something culpable, in hope that we'll eventually find it.

Zazula

1. Press Windows Key + R, type eventvwr.msc, press OK. Look for Error Events (esp. if they can be linked to your startup) and report what you found. Close the Event Viewer.

2. Press Windows Key + R, type devmgmt.msc, press OK. Select View menu > Show hidden devices. Look for anything that has a yellow question or exclamation mark and report what you found. Close the Device Manager.

3. Remove any USB devices that are connected during the startup (flash drives, external drives, keyboard, mouse, cameras, printers, scanners, etc), also remove any discs that might be inside your optical drives, and record your boot time to see if it is any faster than previously.

4. Is this computer connected to a local area network? If yes, please give me all the details. Press Windows key + R, type ipconfig /all, press OK and copy the resulting message in your reply.

5. Perform a clean start (see how to do this here) and record again your boot time. After that, return your computer to its previous state in order to move on with the ensuing steps and reboot.

6. This time you'll have booted normally. As soon as you get in Windows, press ALT+CTRL+DEL to launch the Windows Task Manager. On the bottom left corner, see and record the number of Processes running.

7. Force a verbose startup. To do so, press Windows key + R, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK. Expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and then click System. In the right pane, double-click Verbose vs normal status messages. Click Enabled, and then click OK. Close the Group Policy Object Editor and reboot. Now monitor carefully the messages posted on the screen and find any steps of the booting procedure that make you think they take unreasonably long. Be vigilant particularly to messages starting with "Waiting for...".

8. (Applicable if the computer is part of a local network) Press Windows Key + R, type gpedit.msc, press OK. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon. Check out the value of "Always wait for the network at computer startup and logon". If it is not configured, it's the same as being disabled (unless the computer is a server - which is not). If it is enabled, your computer will be waiting for the network to be fully initialized before continuing with the logon.

9. Press Windows Key + R, type explorer, press OK. Go to Tools menu > Folder Options > View tab > Advanced Settings, and uncheck the box "Automatically search for network folders and printers".

10. There is always a small possibility that there is a corrupted file in the C:\Windows\Prefetch folder that causes this issue (this has reportedly caused startup times of 10 minutes or more). To eliminate this, delete the contents of the C:\Windows\Prefetch folder and restart the computer. Beware, though: you'll have to be patient until the Prefetch folder and the layout.ini file get populated again, until you re-gain in full the optimization provided by the prefetch function.

11. If you are familiar with backing up, editing and restoring the Registry (if you're not, then post back for further instructions), then press Windows Key + R, type regedit, press OK. Find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\MemoryManagement\PrefetchParameters, locate the EnablePrefetcher value, and modify its setting from 3 to 5 (decimal). Close the Registry Editor and reboot. (Don't expect miracles, but 10-15 seconds are a typical result of this tweak.)

12. Again in the Registry Editor, find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction and verify that the Enable value has a setting of Y. If not, modify it, exit the editor and reboot.

13. (Applicable if the computer is part of a local network) You can save some startup time by setting the IP address manually. (If you share an Internet Connection, do not follow this step as is, and post back for further instructions.) From the Properties of your NIC, on the General tab, double-click TCP/IP and set the IP address manually. You have to be careful not to use an IP address already existing in your LAN. If you bump into any negative implications from this step, post back.

14. In case you do not need/use the Remote Assistance and the Remote Desktop Sharing in your computer, right-click My Computer, choose Properties, click the Remote Tab, and clear both check boxes to disable Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop.

15. If you are using Outlook Express 6, you might opt not to launch the Messenger at boot time. Open OE6, select Tools > Windows Messenger > Options, click the Preferences tab, clear the "Allow this program to run in the background" check box and click OK.

16. Press Windows Key + R, type devmgmt.msc, press OK. Go to the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers and double-click on all IDE Channels (Primary/Secondary) - one at a time, of course. Go to the Advanced Settings tab, select the devices that are not grayed-out, and change their type from Auto Detection to None. You'll only need to revisit this setting and change it back to Auto Detection if you intend to add a device on the IDE bus.


17. I assume that you have optimized (that is, you've eliminated anything not necessary) in the Startup Programs (via msconfig) and Services area (via services.msc). However, if you have any questions there for some further optimization, do not hesitate to ask. I also assume that the amount of loaded fonts in your computer is not anything beyond normal, and that you do not have any active devices that are not actually needed/used. Finally, I assume that you have defragmented your system hard disc and you normally keep doing this every 10-15 days. If any of these assumptions are not true, please rectify accordingly or ask for assistance.

18. A trivial optimization (2-4 seconds) in the startup time is achieved by selecting the /NOGUIBOOT switch for the boot.ini in the msconfig; but you won't been seeing any messages in case something goes wrong during the startup, so I doubt it's worth it.

19. Significant time optimizations are achieved through the BIOS settings, namely: Floppy seek (->No), Quick POST (->Yes), Boot sequence (->C or HardDisc0), IDE peripherals auto-detection (->No), Boot virus detection (->No), AGP/PCI video card (->as applicable). If any of the above do not make sense to you, please post back for further instructions.

20. A cluttered Registry will always lead to unacceptably long boot times (among other things), but I generally do not endorse Registry Cleaners, and I leave this step here as part of this mini-guide, only for reference and advanced users.

21. The last resort (apart from a repair/clean installation, of course) is described in Microsoft's white paper Fast System Startup for PCs Running Windows XP, which again I cite here as an additional resource only - and I surely hope we'll straighten your issue out before we arrive at this step...

Woodenhead

Wow! That last reply alone earns a nice donation...

I went through the first 2 steps you listed, and found this error which looks like it occurs on every startup. Here's the related info I found from both the Event Viewer and Device Manager:

*****EVENT VIEWER*****

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7000
Date: 27/07/2006
Time: 9:57:53 AM
User: N/A
Computer: NAPOLEON
Description:
The ASCTRM service failed to start due to the following error:
The system cannot find the file specified.

For more information,

see Help and Support Center at

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

*****DEVICE MANAGER*****

ASCTRM

Device Type: Non-Plug and Play Drivers
Manufacturer: Unknown
Location: Unknown
Device Status:
This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have

all its drivers installed. (Code 24)
Device Usage: (enable)
Startup: Automatic

...could this be the culprit?