PC Starts up slowly

[Parabellum]

Okay, so here's the scoop. The wife and I have two PC's. Here's my spec:

Athlon XP2700+

1.5gigs of PC3200 RAM

512mb ATI X1600Pro.

Her spec:

P3650mhz. (Yes, you read that right.)

256mb ram

Some video card that I can't remember.

Now, here's the problem. If I start them both at the same time, hers will be loaded to the log-in screen about 2 minutes before mine. My PC sits there on that black Windows screen w/ the rolling widgets at the bottom for 2 or 3 minutes while booting up. I honestly have no idea why it would be doing that, but it irritates the snot out of me. Any ideas?

[Cpl Ledanek]

you know I'm not the Guru around here, but have you tried Specter's Tweaks?

I only have two on my Start Up, drivers for aging Epson printer and nVidia driver

Then I uncheck the Logon GUI something so I don't have to see that Windows splashscreen (suppose to take out 2 second off your boot--then again I just read that randomly somewhere )

[Militiaman]

Just guessing here. When is the last time you defragmented your hard drive? Do you have any anti-spyware software? When is the last time you ran you removed spyware from your system?

Have you tried putting your computer in hibernation mode instead of just turning it off? When you get to the shutoff menu in Windows XP hold down the shift key and the standby will turn into a hibernate option. Try using that mode to shut your computer down and see if your system will restart faster that way. When I hibernate my computer it seems to cut a few seconds off of the restart time.

[Dannik]

I'm assuming you, Para, use a wider variety of apps than your wife does. Sorry if that's incorrect, but working under that assumption, you may gain boot speed, at the cost of application load times, by wiping your prefetch folder.

Details here.

Basically, the prefetch folder loads parts of applications you commonly use during the boot sequence, so when you launch them, they take a bit less time. Over time, however, you'll end up with a system that prefetches way more stuff than you actually use.

Clean out that folder, and boot time should decrease, at least nominally.

[Parabellum]

Well, I got it sorted. I defragged, which helped some, and then I disabled ZoneAlarm on startup. Maybe I'm just not tech-savvy enough, but ZoneAlarm has caused me numerous problems. I've noticed that even when it's turned off, ZoneAlarm can (and does) still block programs. I have no idea why, but disabling ZoneAlarm on startup helped quite a bit.

Edited September 28, 2007 by Parabellum

[Dannik]

ZoneAlarm

'nuff said right there. Glad you got it sorted. If you need options, let us know.

[Militiaman]

Well, I got it sorted. I defragged, which helped some, and then I disabled ZoneAlarm on startup. Maybe I'm just not tech-savvy enough, but ZoneAlarm has caused me numerous problems. I've noticed that even when it's turned off, ZoneAlarm can (and does) still block programs. I have no idea why, but disabling ZoneAlarm on startup helped quite a bit.

I would recommend defragmenting your hard drive atleast once a week.

[KRP 56]

you know I'm not the Guru around here, but have you tried Specter's Tweaks?

I only have two on my Start Up, drivers for aging Epson printer and nVidia driver

That helps quite a bit as I also only have a few that start automatic and the others are manual or disabled.

[Parabellum]

ZoneAlarm

'nuff said right there. Glad you got it sorted. If you need options, let us know.

LOL. Well I have completely and utterly removed ZoneAlarm from my system, and the problem seems to have gotten better already. I got so tired of having to fire that damn program up every time I wanted to connect to the internet, or play an online game. Any suggestions for a firewall that doesn't suck? I'm behind a router, if that makes any difference.

[Whisper_44]

I might get flogged, but I use the Windows Firewall without any real issue, I too am behind a router, and feel pretty safe. Hardware in my mind is infinitely better security, than software.

Am I wrong?

[Dannik]

Any suggestions for a firewall that doesn't suck? I'm behind a router, if that makes any difference.

A router won't help with outbound connections; as in, if your system gets something nasty, the router won't stop it, but it will prevent a lot of incidental inbound issues.

As for a stately small footprint firewall, I recommend Sygate Free Personal Firewall. It will monitor inbound, outbound, per application and will warn if it detects application hijacks (like if app. X tries to open browser Y).

[Rocky]

LOL. Well I have completely and utterly removed ZoneAlarm from my system, and the problem seems to have gotten better already. I got so tired of having to fire that damn program up every time I wanted to connect to the internet, or play an online game. Any suggestions for a firewall that doesn't suck? I'm behind a router, if that makes any difference.

Zonealarm is great, used the free one for years never had an issue

I don't understand how you had to fire it up "every time", mine launches on startup and I never have to think about it. Maybe it's because I'm on an always on cable connection. I used to have a router and it worked fine then too.

I'd try and figure out why you were having issues rather than hunting after another FW, ZA really is good.

[Parabellum]

LOL. Well I have completely and utterly removed ZoneAlarm from my system, and the problem seems to have gotten better already. I got so tired of having to fire that damn program up every time I wanted to connect to the internet, or play an online game. Any suggestions for a firewall that doesn't suck? I'm behind a router, if that makes any difference.

Zonealarm is great, used the free one for years never had an issue

I don't understand how you had to fire it up "every time", mine launches on startup and I never have to think about it. Maybe it's because I'm on an always on cable connection. I used to have a router and it worked fine then too.

I'd try and figure out why you were having issues rather than hunting after another FW, ZA really is good.

I disabled ZoneAlarm at startup because the free version prohibited me from using my home network. In order for the 2nd PC to "see" mine, I had to turn the firewall off. ZoneAlarm would be great, I guess, if it stopped working when you turn it off. But it doesn't. I used to get so frustrated and wonder why in the world, for example, EverQuest2 couldn't connect at all. Then I'd fire up ZoneAlarm, and bingo... it would work.

[CR6]

I might get flogged, but I use the Windows Firewall without any real issue, I too am behind a router, and feel pretty safe. Hardware in my mind is infinitely better security, than software.

Am I wrong?

It really boils down to your surfing and downloading habits.

I know some people who just always visit the same safe websites, and never had a virus despite not having any anti-virus installed, and others whose computers are so infested with spyware (because they innocently downloaded some screensaver) that the only cure is a fresh reinstallation of Windows.

Dannik is right that technically, a software firewall+hardware firewall (ie. router) is optimal, and better than hardware firewall alone because a software firewall is the only thing that will tell you that malware has been installed on your computer and is calling home.

I've used ZoneAlarm for years, but 2 things have made me stop using it lately:

1) I went to a LAN party and for some reason no one could see my LAN rig on the network, even thought I shutdown ZoneAlarm. The only thing that fixed the problem was when I totally uninstalled ZA.

2) At home, I also sometimes had problems with my networked computers seeing each other if ZA was installed. Furthermore, I am running AVG anti-virus and ZA sometimes prevented it from updating - I'm sure if I fiddled with it enough, I could have got it working, but I just uninstalled it again.

So Para, I think you are pretty safe as long as your systems are behind a router, you have WinXP SP2's version of Windows Firewall, and you run a decent antivirus/antispyware software (although I tend to avoid Norton as I've seen that cause major slow downs)

The major issue is that with the exponential increase in malware floating around the 'net, computers need more and more horsepower to run all these security programs in the background (Vista is an example of a more secure OS but a real resource hog), and your older systems might be choking on them. One answer is to do a fresh reinstall, but you'll find things will be much faster if you get a new system.

[Ben Ciari]

Well, I got it sorted. I defragged, which helped some, and then I disabled ZoneAlarm on startup. Maybe I'm just not tech-savvy enough, but ZoneAlarm has caused me numerous problems. I've noticed that even when it's turned off, ZoneAlarm can (and does) still block programs. I have no idea why, but disabling ZoneAlarm on startup helped quite a bit.

If you have a router, you have no need of ZoneAlarm, nor any of those software firewalls which are finicky as hell, a pain in the keister to keep up, and severe resource hogs.

All routers these days have built in hardware based firewalls and NAT for protection.

The use of a router, a program called Spyware Blaster by Javacool (Link in Specter's Spyware Removal Guide), and AdAware SE Personal, and you will have all of the protection you need.

For the most part for home users, viruses aren't the real threat anymore that they once were. Spyware and malware are.

I don't even use an anti-virus program. In fact, I never have.

I use:

Linksys Router

Spyware Blaster, which locks down IE and Firefox, keeping 95% of spyware and malware out

Ewido Anti-Spyware

AdAwareSE Personal

That will give you all the protection you need, and free up a ton of resources that software firewalls and anti-virus programs would otherwise tie up. Not to mention eliminate the trouble installing software and running some programs and games that firewalls and AV can sometimes cause.

Also, a router will lock down all of the ports that access your PC from the outside.

You would be really surprised how easy it is to protect your PC's, without all of the aggravation from firewalls and AV. For the most part, they really aren't necessary for the home user. As a rule, crackers aren't interested in home users. Home users really don't have stuff on their PC's that crackers want.

Spyware and malware are the worst threat these days to folks like us. I have been doing this for years, and don't use AV or firewalls on any of my clients, family, or friends machines. It gets to where they are almost more aggravating than getting cracked, and just as much trouble. Just another money making gimmick by the software makers. IF you were an enterprise, that would be different, and I would still recommend other means of protection besides AV, and I would set up a 2 routers with a dead zone for you that would do the job with little to no aggravation.

If you need any help, feel free to PM me or email me. I'll be glad to help.

[CR6]

For the most part for home users, viruses aren't the real threat anymore that they once were. Spyware and malware are.

Also, a router will lock down all of the ports that access your PC from the outside.

You would be really surprised how easy it is to protect your PC's, without all of the aggravation from firewalls and AV. For the most part, they really aren't necessary for the home user. As a rule, crackers aren't interested in home users. Home users really don't have stuff on their PC's that crackers want.

Dude, I'm sorry to say that you are giving some bad misinformation and advice. Viruses are worse than ever, and a REAL threat to home users. Hackers ARE interested in unsecured home users' computers to set up dummy terminals to distribute their pr0n or whatever (I had a friend whose broadband account was shut down because his computer was inadvertently distributing this)

If you actually read what Dannik and I wrote, you can see why a software firewall is useful and important. What I said is depending on your surfing habits, you can possibly avoid using a software firewall (although I advise all people use the Windows Firewall in SP2 as a minimum) but this definitely does not apply to everyone.

An careless attitude towards computer security is what keeps the bad guys in business (not to mention all the computer stores that make a lot of their money cleaning our infected systems).

[Rocky]

<snip entire post of bad information>

Sam, if you are going to try and sneak back in here using a new account, you'll need to do better than posting the same old rubbish that you posted before you were banned.

You really need to take a telling.

Stay OFF my websites. Do NOT contact me by any medium.

[Militiaman]

People with bad motives are interested in your Personal Computer. If you access bank information online they would love to get their hands on it. If you have ever purchased anything online you likely used a credit card. Someone would also love to get their hands on your credit card information.

[Parabellum]

<snip entire post of bad information>

Sam, if you are going to try and sneak back in here using a new account, you'll need to do better than posting the same old rubbish that you posted before you were banned.

You really need to take a telling.

Stay OFF my websites. Do NOT contact me by any medium.

Wow, what did I miss? lol.