Hi,

I have a Sony VAIO laptop with a 1.13G P3 processor, 30G hard drive, 256 SD ram, Windows XP, over a year old.

My problem is that when I start up the computer, it will load up as normal to the startup/desktop screen. Once it reaches the desktop, the hard drive/disk light stays on without blinking, and the hard drive continues to make a whirring sound. I'm able to move the cursor around, but if I try to click on Start or on any icon, it takes about 10 minutes for a response. Ctrl-Alt-Del will not work, so I have to push the on/off button to shut the computer down.

Can someone please help me with this problem? I would really like to not have to reformat my hard drive, as I have a lot of irreplaceable pictures and documents. Thanks in advance!

Are you on a network by chance?

try starting in safe mode and check Start/run /msconfig and see if any strang looking programs are starting when you boot [and uncheck unnecessary ones] .sounds like it to me !!!!!!:)

In reply to the first poster...no, I'm not on any network.

In reply to the 2nd poster...Thanks, I'll try that. I have to press F8 when it first boots up, is that right?

yes

QUOTE:" and the hard drive continues to make a whirring sound"QUOTE:
Sure you dont have a trojan of some sort?
Its time for some spring cleaning
and my bitrot line
[post=7207]BITROT DEF HERE[/post]

XP has a folder called "Prefetch" in the C:/WINDOWS folder. "Prefetch" launches a whole slew of .exe files whether you're going to use them or not.

To greatly speed up your boot time, simply empty C:/WINDOWS/Prefetch every once in a while.

I've done this to about 20 XP machines and never had a problem. Search Google for "Prefetch" if you have any doubts.

John

I just got this and installed it. When i booted up my computer, all it did was lag....SUPER LAG did this to my old memory stick when i replaced the 512 with my old 256 mb. Wut is the problem? can u tell me wut 2 do?

well, 1.13 gHz isnt that great,....have you defragged in a while? or cleaned your disk?
defragmenting helps to speed up
http://www.webattack.com/get/starter.html
that program shows you what is starting up [dunno if it will help]
p.s. is there a disk in your ROM drive? (whirring sound)

Program called Bootvis you can run on the machine to see whats making it hang. Most likely is the prefetch folder, I disabled this "feature" as I find it to be more a hindrance than a help. If you wanna disable it, do this:

1. run "regedit";
2. goto [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher];
3. Set the value to either 0-Disable.
4. reboot.

As for the bootvis program, microsoft does not have it on their website anymore, but you can find it all over the web. Got a link that work today at least, here: http://www.softpedia.com/public/cat/12/2/12-2-1.shtml

Once you downloaded it, just right click to install, and follow the instructions. Set it to run on next reboot, and it will keep a log file for you on what program started and how long it took. Helps for isolating particular drivers and programs. Hope this helps.

hey can you post a general description of "prefetch" i'd love to understand that better and add it to my repertoire of computer knowledge (it isnt that big)

Sorry for the long delay, just got back. Prefetch is kinda like it sounds. XP monitors files that load on startup, and in theory, after 3-5 boots, your machine will boot faster. This folder can get clogged however, and on my PC I actually notice the opposite effect in booting, goes from about 40-45 seconds to around 2-3 minutes. XP loads these files in the prefetch folder so they get priority on startup.

Hello:

Few things might be culprit. Had the same problem. Try cleaning the prefetch folder in window. Theres a way to set what to keep in prefecth folder, look for info in web. Check and fix registries with a registry appl. Check msconfig startup programs and services and uncheck what you don't need (to open: start/run/msconfig/ok. The most dangerous: HD might have bad surface sectors, and it might get worst till HD dies.

Hello:

Few things might be culprit. Had the same problem. Try cleaning the prefetch folder in window. Theres a way to set what to keep in prefecth folder, look for info in web. Check and fix registries with a registry appl. Check msconfig startup programs and services and uncheck what you don't need (to open: start/run/msconfig/ok. The most dangerous: HD might have bad surface sectors, and it might get worst till HD dies.

all good info, but this thread is over 6 yrs old

hi frnds i had this same problem of xp taking so long to show desktop screen after boot up .... i followed some advise of cleaning junk files , temp folder ,registry cleaner ..Nothing worked .... i deleted some registry folder in software folder in REGISTRY LIST which were'nt necessary for me .... I DELETED ADOBE FOLDER , SAMSUNG KIES FOLDER AND I RESTARTED PC AND IT BOOT UP IN 2 SEC .... THIS IS A REAL SOLUTION TRY ....
I HAVE THIS SOLUTION ITS VERY EASY BELIEVE ME ..JUST REMEMBER WHICH SOFTWARES OR HARDWARE U INSTALLED RECENTLY JUST DELETE THAT FOLDER FROM REGISTRY FOLDER ....REGISTRY CONTAINS IN ONLY SOFTWARES FOLDER AND THERE ARE 3 OR 4 FOLDERS OF SOFTWARE IN REGISTRY DELETE THEM ALL BY RIGHT CLICK (DELETE) AND RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.......

STEPS

1) Start , Run , regedit.exe

2) HKEY_CURRENT_USER , OPEN +SOFTWARE DELETE RECENT SOFTWARE

3) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE , OPEN +SOFTWARE
DELETE RECENT SOFTWARE

4)HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG , OPEN +SOFTWARE
DELETE RECENT SOFTWARE

AND RESTART YOUR PC .......
PROBLEM SOLVE NOW C YOUR SPEED WILL BE DOUBLE OF BOOTING

DONE THANKS

REGARDS
Punit_pandya@ymail.com

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