slow start up

[caramba22242]

my computer takes about 3 minutes to start windows XP.

I have removed everything from the start up menu and in task manager when i click on applications it shows task mgr as the only program running. When i click processes in task mgr there are about 30 programs showing most using resources. Do I need these and if so how can i stop them loading up on start up???

thanks in advance

[aviator]

An easy way is to click "run" in the start menu and then type msconfig in the box, this should bring up a menu and the far right tab is "startup". select that tab and just deselect the things you dont want loading when you start your pc.

[Aquariel]

Those "30" running in the background are mostly system processes that are necessary for Windows to run properly, such as print spooler, internet connectivity, system monitoring, virus checker etc. and should not be disabled!

Slow boot up could also be caused by faulty devices not being recognised correctly.

You could try defragging your hard disc as that could also speed up booting and general loading times.

Where is the main delay? Is it on the "Windows is loading" screen or after the desktop has appeared?

[Space]

What does the system do during these 3 minutes?
Is it using the hard drive a lot, or just waiting silently during the "loading windows" screen ?

if it's the latter, I would blame drivers. reinstall or update them.

[commoner]

...mm...Aquariel mention devices as a possible problem...I had a usb card reader which wasn't working as it should and this made me have a similar long boot time..........I got a new one and the problem went away....go to device manager and check all your peripherals like printer scanner etc............commoner.

[caramba22242]

3 stars to all you guys.The delay is "windows is starting" box.

It has the "running cubes" going from left to right for about 3 minutes before it comes to Logging on screen

[caramba22242]

when you say reinstall/update drivers how?

I didn't get a windows XP disk when I bought the computer.

Check peripherals in device mgr?

How and what should i look for?

thanks once again

[Aquariel]

To get to device manager, go to Start > Run, type "devmgmt.msc" and press Enter (it's quicker than going through control panel).

If any of your devices are not working properly, you should see a yellow circle with an exclamation mark next to the offending item.

If any should have this exclamation mark, you can double-click on that device and there should be a "driver" tab on the box that appears, which will let you update it - sometimes it can be a case of just reinitialising the driver as it might have been corrupted by some dodgy install (or uninstall).

If you have any external peripherals such as usb printers, mp3 players, digital cameras, hard drives etc., unplug them all and see if that helps with boot time - if it does then plug them back in one at a time and reboot; if any of them are dodgy then this method should find it.

Good luck!