Windows XP SLOW boot times

[Ryan220587]

ok, so i have my new power supply up and running...i will post in my blog a little later.

i have noticed that my computer is now booting up very slowly. the windows loading screen stays on for a VERY long time. i am not sure what is causing this. i have 2gb total of DDR2-667 (4 x 512mb) and an am2 3000+. i also have an 80gb seagate sata hdd. my only thoughts on this are that i may need a fresh installation of windows, it has been a while. i am only using about 50gb of the total 80gbs.

i have a brand new psu, so it's definitely not that. i am about to run a memtest but again, my thoughts are that it's highly unlikely. something is telling me that it's either the hdd or my copy of windows.

any input greatly appreciated.

Ryan.

[Steve R Jones]

Did the slow boot start right after you added the new psu?

What's the story behind getting a new psu? Did the old one crash n burn and maybe mess up something else?

[Ryan220587]

steve,

thanks for the reply.

the slow boots were happening on the old psu, and still seem to be happening on the new one. the old one did not burn, it was just replaced with a better one. i have just done a fresh installation of windows so i don't think it is my OS. the only thing i can think of now is that it might be the cpu. i have checked the temps on my cpu in the bios and they are fine (~30's).

i really am starting to run out of ideas for this, i have a test cpu i can swap out but it's a sempron, slowe than the one in there now. perhaps it's worth a shot, just to see if windows loads faster? i am willing to try anything at the moment, but i don't want to have to replace every single part, only to find that it's still happening.

cheers,
ryan

[Keymaker]

BIOS not configured correctly? What kind of board? RAM may be to blame. Incompatibility, etc.

http://www.memtest.org/

[Ryan220587]

can test the ram when i get home, and might even do a sector test of the hdd. you make a good point about the bios though, and it only just crossed my mind late last night. unfortunately i lost the computer to the other half, and haven't been on it since. it's running F1 bios!!! i will update bios as soon as i get home.

the ram seems to be working fine, but a memtest wouldn't hurt. thanks for the help.

[Keymaker]

http://www.hdtune.com/

[Ryan220587]

right guys,

i've updated the bios to f11f (from f1) and i've run HDtune, which returned no errors. i am yet to run a memtest but i will let you know. highly unlikely that it's the ram, i am still leaning towards the cpu for some reason...

still gotta swap out the cpu with a sempron i've got here, and run the memtest. will report back soon.

[Ryan220587]

i have run a memtest and there is also no problem with the memory. i went into one of the stores i used to work at, and spoke to a few guys there. one guy had no idea what it was, the other guy was convinced that it was the hard drive (apparently a faster hdd with a bigger cache makes all the difference). i was in the market for a bigger hdd anyway so i bought a brand new wd 500gb sata (which i got VERY VERY cheap) and threw it in. still no luck.

that little blue bar that goes across on the windows loading screen? it goes across about 37 times before going into windows. i am no noob and i don't think that is normal. however another thing i have noticed is that it takes a very long time for my mobo to detect hdds and burners on booting. i think that while this is an apparent motherboard issue, it still wouldn't be causing the slow boot times would it?

what do you guys think?

any help would be appreciated. i have replaced pretty much every part in my computer except mobo and cpu. my new ram will be here in about a week or 2.

regards,
me.

p.s it could still be a bad windows disc too, as i just installed linux onto my old p4 s478 and it flogs windows on startup times. i know linux is "different" but the difference is rather vast when you've got a slow xp happening.

[KarmaKiller]

Hi Ryan.
I've had this problem a couple of times, so let me see if I can offer any suggestions.
First off, have you checked the RAM timing? When playing with mine, I've noticed drastic load time differences. Maybe that's the culprit.
Or another time it was a bad install on motherboard drivers. Have you double checked to see if your running the latest chipset and sata drivers? Don't just use windows. (I'm sure you know that, but I had to say it anyways!)
Check those, and report back any findings!!
Good luck!

[Rootstonian]

And double check all your cables; unplug them and plug them back in.

When you reinstalled the OS, did you do a complete format of the disk to NTFS (not the quick format)?

When you hit that splash screen, your past the BIOS Post

I just rebooted my XP Pro box (3.4ghz cele, 1.5 g ram). Got 6 "blue bars" and then my login. And this is 4 month old install.

[Ryan220587]

thanks for the replies guys,

i will first try to get the latest chipset/lan/sata raid driver from the gigabyte website, see how that goes. *no i didn't just use windows but i would imagine the drivers on the mobo would be outdated by now*

as for ram timings, it's doubtful because once upon a time i got fast loading times and i've never played with ram timings ever. however, i have recently put in an extra 2 x 512mb to total 4 x 512mb sticks of ram, so maybe it's worth a look.

roots, i have checked and double checked all cables. i even used the fresh new power cable i got with my psu to ensure i'm getting clean power. however you make a good point about the ntfs format. i have ALWAYS used quick, because i was told that it really doesn't make a huge difference - does it? if yes then i will look into this as well.

will get back to you soon.

cheers,

ryan.

[Keymaker]

however you make a good point about the ntfs format. i have ALWAYS used quick, because i was told that it really doesn't make a huge difference - does it? if yes then i will look into this as well.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302686

When you choose to run a regular format on a volume, files are removed from the volume that you are formatting and the hard disk is scanned for bad sectors. The scan for bad sectors is responsible for the majority of the time that it takes to format a volume.

If you choose the Quick format option, format removes files from the partition, but does not scan the disk for bad sectors. Only use this option if your hard disk has been previously formatted and you are sure that your hard disk is not damaged.

If you installed Windows XP on a partition that was formatted by using the Quick format option, you can also check your disk by using the chkdsk /r command after the installation of Windows XP is completed.

Probably no difference then sense you checked the drive with HDTune. I alwyas use the regular format though.

You may have a crappy motherboard. What kind is it???

My brother has an Asus and it does this same thing. He bought a Gigabyte motherboard and loads fast!

[Ryan220587]

KM,

i am using an m55sli-s4 motherboard, revision 1.0.

i have just tried a frsh installation of XP Pro onto the 500gb hard drive and i got that stupid "hal.dll" error. anyone know what this error is about?

if i could just get xp installed onto the bigger hdd, i can compare the 2 installations. then i will know whether or not it's the hard drive causing the problem. cheers.

ryan.

[quickoldcar]

forthe hal.dll error it's a hosed boot.ini file.

You can use hirens boot cd to boot windows.

I use the original xp cd, then when at the installation promp you hit "r" for the recovery console.

You pick which installation (is usually C)
Enter administrator password (if there is none just leave blank and hit enter)

I usually do a "chkdsk -r" at this point to recover any lost files.

After this I do "fixmbr" which repairs the master boot record.

do "y" for yes and enter

then type "exit"

This should do it for you

[quickoldcar]

I also wanted to state when loading more than one operating system on more than one drive it's best to load xp with just the harddrive you are loading the operating system on. Then plug the old one back in afterwards.

So just use the 500 gig only, and load xp onto that, since it's over 120gig need to use the software cd from western digital as well. Download it and burn one If don't have it.

It seems when you have 2 harddrives and 1 already has xp and then want to load another harddrive with xp, the 2 drives become dependent on one another.

[quickoldcar]

I know you originally said about the slow loading times, this is more of "what is starting and drivers loading inside windows".

I had my xp2600 mobile able to reboot from inside windows and ready on the net in 5 seconds flat by tweaks.

Here are some tweaks, some do actually work, others could hurt. Depends on preferences.

http://www.tweakxp.com/performance_tweaks.aspx

This I always use to stop some programs that are never needed from starting at boot.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/AbsoluteControl_d545.html

If you really want to be a speed demon try setting some services to manual instead of automatic, some entirely disabled.

These guys I trust as a guide.

http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm

[Ryan220587]

thanks QOC,

i will get rid of that hal.dll error as soon as i get home, then i will have 2 drives with xp on each drive. if the xp loading times are still slow, it might be time to have a look at those tweaks and stuff.

i think between windows and linux installations on the 500gb hdd, it hasn't ever had a fully working OS on it yet. all my linux cds seem to be giving me a lot of trouble, but on my old p4 rig linux worked first go. i have tried newer versions with no luck too.

i think the motherboard or the cpu has something to do with the slow loading times. my gut feel from the beginning has been that it's the cpu, but everything within windows seem to go pretty quick. i am so confused about it all. i have done a full format on the 500gb and will keep you posted once i have xp installed on it.

thanks

[quickoldcar]

spamming your "to buy" software on a 3 year old thread isn't gonna fly here