Windows takes 3-5 times to properly see the login page

thehay · 11 Sep 2010

Hi all.
so i've been running windows 7 for over a year now on a 1.5 year old laptop.
recently i've noticed that my laptop has been taking a LOT longer to load.
starting about 1 month back. at first i dismissed it as i thought it was a one-off thing but the problem is not going away and it appears to be getting worse.

basically, i boot up my laptop, i see the "starting windows" screen with the windows icon. and then it turns into a black screen with my mouse in the centre. it sits for about 30 or more seconds before it basically restarts and boots up my laptop again. this process repeats for about 3-5 (it varies) times before i can finally see the login page.

im not sure if this problem is related but when i hibernate my laptop. and try to boot it up again. it leads me to a completely black page. and doesnt respond to anything. i have to force shut down.

ive seen a lot of reports about people getting this "black screen of death" or whatever. but i dont know if its the same problem becuase i do eventually get somewhere..

any help would be great thanks

richc46 · 11 Sep 2010

Run anti virus
Download and run malwarebytes. Run the long scan and update before the scan
Then try the clean boot
How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

If the above do not help at all try in safe mode and report back

thehay · 11 Sep 2010

ohh.. okay.. doing the scans now.. theyll take a while..
but this is a malware/virus problem? i thought it was like.. a video card problem or something..

richc46 · 11 Sep 2010

If it is a video card problem we have time
If malware, lets stop it before it gets worse.
Ill be here we will work on this togehter.

but you could go to device manager, look for yellow warnings markers and make sure that the driver is up to date.

thehay · 11 Sep 2010

thanks
device manager looks clean except for one portable device drive F:\ ??
i dont think i have anything connected at drive F:\ anyways..

for the scans.. is it okay to do them at the same time?
im running a McAfee full scan at the moment and wondering if its okay to run the malwarebytes scan at the same time

richc46 · 11 Sep 2010

I would not do that, it will slow everything down and could cause conflicts. You can use the computer during the scans.

thehay · 11 Sep 2010

okay. so after both scans and removing all found infected items, it appears to be better.
well, i restarted it twice, and both time the login page was seen the first time
ill post up my log for malwarebytes.. not sure where to find the log for mcafee

richc46 · 11 Sep 2010

The malwarebytes log seems to show that there was malware and it seems to have been quarrantined. I would run it again to make sure it says all clear. If your computer is running ok, now and the next MB log shows all clear; just go and enjoy

Mcafee log, click on destop icon
view recent events
view log

thehay · 12 Sep 2010

running second malwarebytes scan now
i can see a very simple log of the mcafee scan. doesnt allow me to copy and paste or save but the main detail is:
Total files detected: 15
Total files quarantined: 13

should i be worried about the 2 files not quarantined?

richc46 · 12 Sep 2010

We are an all purpose forum. Go to the security forum. Dont mention the old problem. Just say that you have 2 viruses. We have real experts there, they will help you. I will mark this theread closed, if you give me the go ahead.