winxp startup · DIGIT-ARC

T

i have an hp pavillion t250i pc with a 2.4 ghz intel pIV, 256 mb 333mhz ddr ram and an 80 gb udma hdd. i have winxp home installed, updated to sp2.

my problem is that it takes forever to start up! whenever i start the pc, it firstly takes 2 minutes to load windows, and then it gets stuck on the login gui interface at "windows is starting up". i am forced to restart manually. then, it gets to the user selection, and gets stuck there. i simply cannot select a user. and i cant even restart the pc from there, and have to do it manually again. on the third pass, it works fine. this problem has only started after i removed suse linux 9.1 from my pc. it was on a 12 gb partition, which i have now made into an extended ntfs. the boot.ini file is fine, i have scanned my hard disk for errors using the native utility as well as system mechanic pro 6. no errors, and no viruses, either. what could be the problem?

also, in windows, if i right click on the desktop, the menu appears after at least 15 seconds, with the hourglass busy cursor being the only sign that the pc is working. and this has been happening since i bought the pc 2 years ago...

try booting in safe mode by pressing f8.if it boots & then post here i'll guide u futhur. if not then u have format windows

T

it boots alright even without safe mode...im writing from my own pc. its just that it takes 3 attempts to get it to do so...

what do i do next?

It seems that the os files have get corrupted....U will have to re-install it..

T

okay...is there a way to detect and repair these files without having to resort to a re-installation?

formatting is always a good option dude....will clean ur system...since linux takes on ur booting system...it may have messed up wit ur system files while uninstalling....btw, checkout ur start-up services..may be one of em givin u trouble...try disablin all all at once...careful not d system services ok...

cheers

T

hmmm...i came up on the file signature verification tool in the system information applet. it told me that these files were not digitally signed :
setupsys.sys
pdfdd.dll
pdfddui.dll
pdfkd.dll
ad2krepi.dll
ad2kuipi.dll
ad2kuipi.ini
adist5.ppd
pscript.hlp

could these be the faulty files?

T

i realise that...hehehe...and believe me, i would've formatted and reinstalled without thinking, if it wasnt for the fact that since my pc is branded, most of the drivers for the hardware i have are jammed into the 14 cds hp provided as restoration cds. and worse, those cds dont work without an admin password, which is known only to the upper echelons of the local hp store...

start>run>typr 'sfc /scannow'
make u keep win xp cd handy

try defragmenting your hard disk and also scan it it for viruses or spywares. check the loose cables in the cabinet. i hope this will help u.

T

i guess all windows files WERE intact...it ran the scan, and then just closed...

T

i defragged (is that how you spell it?), i checked for viruses and spyware...all cable connections are intact...

whew! i'm pooped....

run scandisk and av scan, if it doesnt solve ur problem try to repair ur windows

If your PC is under warranty you can definitely call the HP service guy.
If nothing works format and reinstall Windows. If there are again problems,
you better call HP service center.

T

right...its not under warranty, though...

okay, formatting might solve the bootup problem. but do you know what i can do about the ages-for-right-click-on-desktop-menu-to-appear problem? thats been there since i got the pc, and doesnt go away no matter what i do...

S

Download PageDefrag (small file - 35kb) from www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/PageDefrag.html and run it - it will defragment your registry. Second, download TuneXP (medium size - 0.99 MB) from *www.driverheaven.net/dforce/default.php and install it. Here, it will give option to defragment boot files for faster booting.

Set your page file to a fixed size (setting max and min size to about 2 times the amount of RAM on the HD), preferably on a second HD. Ensure that the partition is already defragged before starting this.

Regarding the right-clicking on desktop, press F5 once (for Refresh), wait for a screen blink... Now, right-click will work fast... Also, download FreeRAM XP Pro (606 kb) from *www.yourwaresolutions.com/ and use it to free RAM regularly - could help too...

Arun

T

okay...i downloaded the utilities...and then discovered that system mechanic 6 already had them, and that i'd already run them. i still used them, though...to no avail, unfortunately...

and the refresh trick doesnt work. it still takes just as long...

format ur drive....

ps: call hp since ur in warranty....n they may try to fix it without formatting...dun go wit that...they just wanna save time n work...ive faced it...enforce them for doing a format n re-install xp...
gud luk

cheers