Win XP boots OK but the blue screen takes a long time about "2 min" be

[ddz]

Win XP boots OK but the blue screen takes a long time about "2 min" before the desktop screen displays. I have 2 other XP PC's and they don't have the blue screen before completing. Can anything be done to reduce the time the blue screen takes before full boot up time of "4 min.".

 

[Chicano]

Long boot times are caused by to many processes starting up with Windows XP, and other junk files which are consuming high system resources. Steps 1 through 3 should get the problem solved... 5 & 6 are in case you haven't scanned since the problem started, as virus and malware can also take up high system resources, and steps 6 & 7 is for regular system maintenance to prevent future problems.

1) Start\Run\type: "%temp%" (no quotes) and hit Enter\and delete everything in the Temp folder

2) Go to C:\WINDOWS\temp... and delete everything there

3) Go to Start\Run\Type; "msconfig" and hit Enter\1. go to the Startup tab and uncheck all applications you don't need. Only leave checked the antivirus and any applications you need running right from the computer startup and click Apply.... 2. Go to the Services tab\mark "Hide all Microsoft Services" and uncheck any third party application services you don't need to have running right from the computer startup, click Apply and Accept to exit Msconfig.. Restart the computer for changes to take effect.

4) Scan the system with the Antivirus having previously updated it for best results.

5) Scan the System with a spyware application such as Malwarebytes anti Malware

6)Next download and install CCleaner to clean the Registry as well as unnecessary temp files and and other junk files... and to complement the system cleanup and tune-up install an application such ad Tune Up Utilities or freeware Glary Utilities.

7) Run the Defrag application and after that the disk check application from the System drive Properties\Tools tab.

In the remote chance the previous suggestions don't make much difference, check the following for other useful tweaks.

How to Tune up Your Windows XP PC
http://www.wikihow.com/Tune-up-Your-Windows-XP-PC

 

[Chicano]

Check the following if you want to remove the Blue Screen (Welcome Screen).

Welcome Screen in XP Pro
http://www.petri.co.il/disable_the_welcome_screen_in_xp_pro.htm

Disable the XP Home Edition Welcome Screen
http://www.ehow.com/way_5764838_can-windows-xp-home-edition_.html

How to turn on automatic logon in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315231/en

 

[ddz]

Hi Chicano,
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. All the diagnostics took a long time to run. I still have the blue screen that runs after the WELCOME screen and now takes 105 sec. Instead of 120 sec. So that is the 15 sec. speed gain I got. The first WINDOWS screen takes 30 sec. The second WELCOME screen takes 30 sec. The third ALL BLUE screen takes 105 sec. The DESKTOP screen takes 45 sec. for a total of 3-min.30 sec. instead of 4 min. as before.

I would like to see what is running during the BLUE screen running bootvis trace program.

Can you help me get Microsoft “bootvis.exe” to [turn on] tracing to save a TRACE_BOOT+DRIVER_1_1.BIN file?

I think the command is “bootvis –on” and I tried it on the “run command line” but it did not work. The help instructions are not helpful. Have you ever got this to run?

Thanks for all you help.

ddz

 

[Chicano]

No, sorry I've never used Bootvis... never had to. But if it doesn't work right, you should uninstall it with an Unistaller that can clean the registry after it removes it, (check below) and install it again on a clean registry. An alternate approach would be to enter the windows registry and delete the BootVis keys (after backing-up the keys with right click\Export) in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\BootVis and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\BootVis, then restart the computer for the keys to be renewed clean. To enter the Registry, Start\Run\type "Regedit" (no quotes), and hit Enter.

I searched for BootVis screenshots to understand it without installing it (will do that later), and it seems obvious to me from the Initializations screen, that the last to initialize during a boot and right after the Logon screen, is the Shell process.. so this must be what takes 105 seconds. The cause must be some corrupt profile setting or application in the Local Settings\Application Data folder. It may even be the very same BootVis application, so try the first suggestion(s) and hope that's all you need to do.

And if the problem persists, do the following:
1) Logon with another user account, to see if you can get a normal boot time...
a) If an alternate user account boots normally, you would have to see how large your user profile folder is, and if to large, it would be adviseable to reduce it's size, moving files to a folder outside of your Documents and Settings profile folder.
b) Unistall startup applications that you installed for exclusive use, and reinstall them for All Users... and if you don't want them to be used by other users, you can configure them for exclusive use through different means, including the Program files folder\Program folder\Properties\Security tab.

2) If nothing works, alternate account takes equally long to boot, you may want to unistall the BootVis application removing all it's the registry tracks, and installing it again on a cleaned registry. Revo Uninstaller does a good job cleaning the registry after every removed application.

3) You may also want to install a Startup Manager to have full control of what starts up with Windows XP. A-squared HiJackFree is very handy in identifying and disabling most hidden startup processes... and Startup Lite is very simple and easy to use.

4) HijackThis can also help identify and remove most hidden processes. You may want to scan with this application before following any of the previous suggestions.

Hope this works... and if not, make a list of you installed applications and running processes in the Taskmanager... or even better take screenshots of them, and upload them to an image sharing website so I can take a look at the number & which apps you have installed. Also take a screenshot of a HijackThis scan or make a log in .txt format and upload it to a file sharing website.

BootVis 1.3.37.0
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/BootVis.shtml

Revo Uninstaller (Installed or Portable works the same).
http://www.softpedia.com/dyn-search.php?search_term=revo+uninstaller&x=13&y=0

A Squared HiackFree
http://www.brighthub.com/computing/smb-security/reviews/51725.aspx?cid=parsely_rec

Startup Lite
http://www.brighthub.com/computing/smb-security/reviews/25457.aspx#

HijackThis
http://www.filehippo.com/es/download_hijackthis/

 

[ddz]

Hi Chicano,
I want to thank you for all your help and good ideas and utilities. Your suggestion to make a second user was helpful. Two things were noticeable first the blue screen was just the default for a “NONE desktop background” on my original user and it changed to the MS default background with the new second user. The new user desktop lasted 1 min and had about 25 program icons. That was faster by 1 min than my original user. My original user called “user” has 218 programs installed and maybe 150 program icons on the desktop. With a Startup manager I reduced the number of programs running to 3 in the Startup Toolbar. I did a lot of cleanup and updating on all my programs using the utilities you listed and some good ones I had and a new ones I found. My user desktop background, which I changed to an army green, is running about 90 sec about 30 sec faster and I may have to live with that because of all the icons on my desktop. I use “Advanced SystemCare Pro 5” which I like a lot and have used for a year. Another great program called “TuneUp Utilities 2012” free to try for 15 days and no restrictions. I like it so much I will probably pay for it after the 15 days trial is up.

Thanks again,
ddz

 

[Chicano]

Hi Chicano,
I want to thank you for all your help and good ideas and utilities. Your suggestion to make a second user was helpful. Two things were noticeable first the blue screen was just the default for a “NONE desktop background” on my original user and it changed to the MS default background with the new second user. The new user desktop lasted 1 min and had about 25 program icons. That was faster by 1 min than my original user. My original user called “user” has 218 programs installed and maybe 150 program icons on the desktop. With a Startup manager I reduced the number of programs running to 3 in the Startup Toolbar. I did a lot of cleanup and updating on all my programs using the utilities you listed and some good ones I had and a new ones I found. My user desktop background, which I changed to an army green, is running about 90 sec about 30 sec faster and I may have to live with that because of all the icons on my desktop. I use “Advanced SystemCare Pro 5” which I like a lot and have used for a year. Another great program called “TuneUp Utilities 2012” free to try for 15 days and no restrictions. I like it so much I will probably pay for it after the 15 days trial is up.

Thanks again,
ddz

OK… as it seems, the "user" account must be damaged... I imagined something would turn out and it seems the “user” account is the cause for the long boot times.

You don’t have to live with the 90 second boot… you could try any of the following options:

Option 1:
To repair the profile by restoring the ntuser file if it’s backup file named ntuser.gbak is dated prior to the start of the problem (that’s if you can determie what date that was). If you can determine the date, and the date of the hidden file named ntuser.gbak (both file are in the Documents and Settings\user folder), and if the date is appropriate, start by renaming the ntuser.dat file to ntuser.old and the ntuser.gbak file to ntuser.dat, and next restart the computer. The “user” profile should be repaired and boot in 1 minute.. the only inconvenience is the changes done between the date of the ntuser.gbak file and present, would be gone.

Option 2:
If the date of the ntuser.gbak file is not convenient, you can make the new user account use the “user” profile folder including the Desktop folder with it’s 150 icons, and it should have all the “user” My Documents files, user start menu, history, etc., and boot in 1 minute. I have personally used this option and prefer it to restoring the ntuser.dat file because ntuser is like restoring the system on the specific user account and data between dates (as explained following) is lost.

To start, you first need to identify the user accounts SID (Security Identifier numbers), so download the application named Get Sid and one at a time, type each user account name, and computer name… and the SID for each account will be shown.

Next look in the registry for the SID numbers as follows:

Start\Run\type: regedit and hit Enter, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\”ProfileList”. In the Profile List key (folder), exchange between accounts, (accounts identified according to the SID numbers), the information in the “Expandable String Values” (Reg_Expand_SZ) named ProfileImagePath… this information is the path to the location of each user profile folder… EG: exchange the data between HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\SID number (representing “user”) and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\SID number (representing “new user”)

Next restart the computer and logon with the new user account… the boot time should be 1 minute and you should see the “user” account Desktop icons. If you use the application Outlook Express, see if your mails are where they are supposed to be, and after you are convinced everything is as before, then you can rename the "user" profile folder to the new account's name, next restart the computer a couple of times, and delete the unused “user” account and profile folder previously making sure it doesn't contain files pertaining to the new user account. The recommended way to delete a Windows XP user account is from Control Panel\System\Advanced\User Profiles\Settings\select the user account and click Delete, this should delete the account and it's profile folder... if the profile folder remains, restart the computer one more time and it should be deleted after loging on again... and if not, it should delete manually... just make sure you don't forget important files in it.

FORGOT to mention that both Options should be done from the Administrator account. If you don't have the Administrator account in the Welcome Screen, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete simultaneously twice.


Read here the procedure to edit the registry if you have any doubt.
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/userpath.htm

Download “GetSid”
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Other-Internet-Related/GetSID.shtml