Programs Not Working for 20 mins After Boot Up

[MrMaestro]

Hey,

I've been reading these Forumz for a few years now, but it just occurred to me to ask about this problem, so its my first post. I dunno why it occurred to me to ask now since the problem has been occuring for a long time, probably a year, something like that. I guess I'm an idiot. Anyway...

I'm using a laptop, running WinXP SP2, and for about 20 to 25 mins after logging in, certain programs refuse to work, more specifically - open. But yeah, after 20 mins or so they work fine.

So, for example I'll try to open Internet Explorer, and it will appear but not do anything, it just hangs - my homepage not appearing, and if I leave it, after the 20 mins is up it will actually load the homepage and work normally. I use Firefox and the problem does not affect it, so I can use it from startup.

Another example, Windows Media Player - it will appear, but just hang for the 20 mins, just like IE, and then work fine. So while it hangs it has absolutely no functionality and to close it I have to end it through Task Manager.

Some other programs that will not work until 20 mins or so after logging in are:

Battlefield 1942
Xfire
Photoshop
WinDVD
Juice
Diskeeper

These aren't the only programs that don't function, but they are the ones I can think of at the moment.

Some programs that work fine from startup:

Firefox
LimeWire

Yeah, only 2, so I'm usually quite bored for the first 20 mins.

Like I said this problem has occurred for a lwhile, probably a year. Any help would be great, and I hope I was specific enough.


Thanks,

MrMaestro

 

[pscowboy]

The usual battery of questions need to be asked.

Have you ever emptied out the three temp files? That would be:
1. Start - Run - (type in) %temp%
2. C:\Windows\Prefetch
3. C:\Windows\Temp

Have you ever defragmented? And, much better yet with a 3rd party app like Perfect Disk?

Do you have anti-virus & anti-spyware apps of recognized top quality?
Do you use them regularly - like once a week? (They run so much quicker when used regularly)
Did you get any hits?

Have you ever done a full backup (again, with a 3rd party app), deleted all partitions, re-installed XP fresh, and then restored from your backup?

Often-times hd's just get sluggish from normal use, if they're not infected, and have to be renewed.

You should consider performing all of the above. There is no quick fix for your problem. My guess is you need to get on a regular maintenance track.

 

[MrMaestro]

Thanks for the reply, but no, it is not a maintenance issue. I defrag with Diskeeper usually every day (and I do a boot-time defrag along with checkdisk about once a week). I run spyware, adware and antivirus programs every once in while, and they never find anything serious, just tracking cookies and stuff mostly.

I don't think the HDD getting sluggish would explain why some programs would work perfectly from startup, while others don't, but then work fine after a certain length of time after.

Formatting is out of the question at the moment as I am not the owner of the laptop.

 

[shogunboy]

maybe its either a virus, spyware, or cpu issue? I may not be great on this topic, but its the best I can guess.

 

[pscowboy]

I'm glad that it's not a maintenance issue! Good job on your part.

It's quite possible that your anti- utilities are not aggressive enough.

There are malwares that target specific programs, some of which are very difficult to remove.

Get the free scans from SpySweeper:

http://www.spysweeper.com.au/free_scan/freescan.html

And from Panda; go to the bottom of this page:

http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/ActiveScan.htm

 

[MrMaestro]

Hey thanks for those links. I'm running 'panda activescan' now and its taking a long time. Still, it seems thorough, and even if the virus programs dont fix the startup problem they should clear a lot of crap.

I'll get back later anda report how they did. As for the programs i use not being aggressive enough, that's certainly a possibility. I have Norton Corporate edition on here and I hate it SO much. I can't update it so its useless, but I can't remove it cos I don't have permission! I'm administrator but its a company laptop so i think it may have to be logged on to their network to remove it or something.

Thanks again.

 

[pscowboy]

If you still have some problems, you should file a HiJackThis report on the SpywareWarrior website.

You should be able to disable Norton on your laptop. That way, you could install Panda (you CAN'T have two anti-virus apps up at the same time). Also uses a lot less resources.

You also should consider purchasing SpySweeper. I think it's the best going today. Just one note though (if you go for it) - BEFORE YOU REBOOT, AFTER THE INSTALLATION - go up into the SpySweepers' Options tab and uncheck the box that sets it up in the Registry. You want to keep this app passive. You run it manually yourself once a week, then shut it down.
The reason I advise this, is that this app - on some systems - has proven to be too aggressive & resource hungry. Keep it passive.

The first time you reboot, it will set up because SS placed itself in the Run Once key. Just right-click the icon and shut it down.

Good luck with everything!

 

[diplomat696]

what are the specs of your computer too? CPU, Ram and OS version especially, also do you have a lot of programs starting in the background take a look by going to run typing msconfig and then looking at the tab which shows that processes/applications are starting when you boot the pc. If some of these dont need to be started at boot time disable them there. Also look for any programs which you may not need or the owner may not need and uninstall those, then run your registry repair programs etc to clean up whatever you can.