Why is my computer so slowwwwww booting up? VANITY

[Blogger]

Several months ago, my computer crashed on me. Wouldn't even get to the beginning stages of boot up. Lights flickered if you hit the button, but beyond that, nothing. So, I took it to Best Buy where I bought it and where it was still under warrantee. They determined it was a fried motherboard. Consistent with the warrantee, the Geek Squad replaced it. Ever since that time, it takes about 2-3 minutes to boot up. Everything else seems to run fine, but boot up is excruciatingly slow. Any ideas why what normally took 30 seconds or so now takes 5 times a long?

[La Lydia]

Save.

[Blogger]

It looks like it is selective startup.

I do have a lot of “Services”

Things like Microsoft.net Do I need that?

[TheCipher]

While you are in MSCONFIG, uncheck Ready Boost and Superfetch under Running Processes ( Applications ) - I think that is what it is called. I have a Chinese Operating system so am not sure of the tab names. Although these are not the problem with startup, once you are running, things will go smoother. These use a lot of memory and it will clear that up for you. They are services that are not really needed.

[Blogger]

They are running.

[Blogger]

If I disable them all won’t I not boot up?

[ConservativeMind]

That would be the first time the Geek Squad did underground work.

[Minn]

reach around behind and UNPLUG from the internet, then turn off those protections and reboot. Do not replug until you have your firewall and virus protection back in place.

Then tonight, before you to bed, be sure to check the lock on each door and window in your house at least 10 times. And whatever you do, don't go near any vehicle; especially cars, trucks, boats, trains or planes. You just never know.

Seriously, disabling protective software for a short time while you investigate performance issues is highly unlikely to get you infected. It may allow currently existing malware to phone home, but if the malware was already able to get itself installed, and is responsible for your current problem, your protective software isn't worth much anyway. Anti-virus software and firewalls aren't the best way to keep your computer infection free. Keeping kids away from your computer is.

[cva66snipe]

How much RAM do you have? Click Cotrol-Alt-Delete ONCE Click on the Performance Tab and check your CPU Usage. When the Motherboard fried it may have fried a RAM chip as well that they didn’t catch. Sometimes with low RAM they’ll chug along slow or sometimes a bad RAM chip will give a BSOD.

[advance_copy]

I’d bet a dollar that the problem isn’t with the OS, or anything on the disk. I’d consider settings in the BIOS, boot sequence, low power CPU clock setting that doesn’t get fixed until the OS gets in and figures it out, or something like that.

Remember, the problem started with a fried MoBo.

BIOS settings may not be set right by Geek Squad when they replaced it. It’s worth going into setup at (press F2 or some other key at initial boot time) and checking the boot sequence. Could be it’s trying to boot off of something that’s waiting for a timeout, like a non-existent floppy or CD.

Also, there may be a flash upgrade for the MoBo. Check the manufacturers web site. Go there and plug in your comp’s model number and look for a BIOS flash upgrade.

If there is an upgrade available, go ahead and do it. But read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully. Flash upgrade isn’t usually hard to do. Self-service is fine if you are careful.

[gitmo]

If you don’t currently need .Net framework, you will before long. I’d keep it. Most new programs rely on the framework.

[mmichaels1970]

You'll still boot. I'd leave on any that might have to do with your video card, or sound card. On laptops, I'd also leave any touchpad programs running. Sounds like you already looked through them though. Some that aren't immediately necessary would be things like Adobe Acrobat quickstart, Microsoft Office startup, instant messenger programs, etc.

I'd say your biggest risk to disabling all of them might be a boot up to VGA video mode.

Somebody else mentioned the CMOS silent/fastboot type utilities which might be worth a check. However, if you're getting to a blue startup-type screen, you're probably beyond CMOS. From there you have programs in your "startup" folder, your msconfig startup tab, and your services that are set to automatic.

I'd be more careful about which services you might want to try disabling. If you boot up sometime and you notice your internet connection doesn't work, for example.

[gitmo]

You’ve gotten a lot of good advice on this thread. One other thing to check ... does your computer have multiple modes of accessing the internet turned on? I’ve seen devices that are using WiFi, Phone Cards and a wired connection and they are all battling each other for dominance. Turn off the extraneous modes and it boots a whole lot faster.

[Blogger]

Okay disabled all startup programs except for my virus protection.

What I have left is
Virus protection
Microsoft Configuration Utility
Microsoft Userinit Login app
Microsoft Windows Explorer
and something called
soft thinks launcher

[ccmay]

[mmichaels1970]

It may allow currently existing malware to phone home, but if the malware was already able to get itself installed, and is responsible for your current problem, your protective software isn't worth much anyway.

Minn might be on to something there. You mentioned that your computer crashed, the geeks determined your mobo was fried, and replaced it. What if your computer actually crashed due to some malware that was just replicating and replicating?

Maybe the replacement was enough to get things going again, but you may still have some malware issues that weren't cured. I've also seen two different problems occur that appear to be unrelated.

I'd say it would be worth a shot, in any case. Download the anti-malware tool from malwarebytes.org and do a quick scan on your system. See if it comes up with anything.

[the_Watchman]

Make fun if you want, but please unplug if you want to be safe. Two years ago I was rebuilding my father-in-laws XP system. The installation disk came with SP1, but SP2 wasn’t in place. I thought I’d go ahead and download SP2 before I got the virus software in place. It took all of 45 minutes for a worm to infect the beast. I had to wipe the drive and reinstall.

Take a look at your router history some time. There are probes from the wild internet CONSTANTLY. I run a web site and I have to monitor the logs. I only allow SSL input authenticated by WEBAUTH/Kerberos. (I also beat on my user base about the strength of their passwords.) Most probes are somewhat benign, but many are looking for specific weaknesses. Why take a chance when unplugging is so easy?

[ConservativeMind]

That is only true if you have a router acting as a firewall that you plug into for the internet.

Otherwise, you will be pwned in under ten minutes.

[the_Watchman]

Of course this would make sense IF the Geeks preserved your data and disk. On the other hand, if he got a freshly loaded system, then the prior occurrence was probably unrelated.

[AFreeBird]

No disrespect to you or Blogger, but, he's dealing with Best Buys and the Geek squad. You're asking for things to be done by Blogger that the supposed "Geek Squad" should have done. And lets face it, the fact the Geek Squad was involved is because he probably doesn't know (nothing wrong with that) what you're talking about.

Blogger: I can't say without looking, there's a number of factors that can be causing the slow boot times. If it has changed since the Geek Squad had their hands on it, then they can fix it. They probably changed some things, or didn't reset or tweak some things, BIOS settings, drivers et al, for a new motherboard. There can also be starup programs that were not there before, can't say. It's never easy to diagnose 'puter problems in these forums. If you have a geek squad type friend perhaps he can come over and correct it for you. If not, you might have to take a trip. Another option down the road would be learning more about your system, because, despite the best efforts of M$, Dell, HP and others; it's not an appliance, and they're all different. It is an intricate, complex tool. Learning more about it, and how it works is never going to be a bad thing.

[Captain Beyond]

bump thanks for the check list and the Avira info.