Startup Delay after Welcome Screen

Hello,

Windows 7 is booting normally and after I type my password in the login window the text 'welcome' shows up for 8 seconds or so. Then the screen fades to black. At this point, the only thing I see is the mouse pointer (which I can move). Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del doesn't work (does not respond). This black screen lasts for about 40 seconds, then Windows finally progresses to the desktop. Before this problem occurred, Windows faded directly into the desktop after the 'welcome' text. Does anyone know how to solve this?

A while ago, I thought I had the solution to the 40 seconds delay by disabling the Workstation Service. But now I notice some things do not work anymore like filesharing via Hamachi or via standard Windows Networks, or joining a Domain. How can I fix the 40 seconds delay without disabling the workstation service?

Thanks in advance

To confirm that it's something network-related, log in with the network cable unplugged and see if the issue goes away.

Thanks for your answer, Kilton. Logging in with/without the network cable does not make any difference.

I've noticed something more: When Workstation Service is enabled, after entering username and password, the icon in the upper left corner of the welcome screen disappears. But when the Workstation Service is disabled, the icon does not disappear. I don't know whether this is anyhow related to the problem, but I thought it was worth mentioning it.

Very strange, do you have alot of programs set to startup- when windows starts? Could be loading programs but still shouldn't have a black screen. Megalos welcome to sevenforums. Fabe

Mercurial said:

is you're windows copy activated? and is it activated legally? I think its something related to Microsoft software Protection thingy :P! I had a somewhat similar problem don't wanna discuss it though lol!

My Windows is still in the trial period, no crack or what so ever.

thefabe said:

Very strange, do you have alot of programs set to startup- when windows starts? Could be loading programs but still shouldn't have a black screen. Megalos welcome to sevenforums. Fabe

I do not have much items that start up with Windows, only AntiVirus (Norton 2009) and a couple of other things. Moreover, the same problem occurs a couple of days after Windows is freshly installed, with no non-windows startup items at all. I had the same problem with my prior OS (Vista 32Bit).

And thanks for welcoming me!

The problem started after a couple of days after a fresh install of Windows 7. The problem first occurred way before I installed Norton, so I do not think it is Norton related.

Megalos said:

The problem started after a couple of days after a fresh install of Windows 7. The problem first occurred way before I installed Norton, so I do not think it is Norton related.

1. Was the machine domain-joined before the problem started?
2. Have you perhaps disabled "DHCP Media Sense"? (Can it tell when you insert and remove the network cable while it's just idling?)
3. Does the same delay happen if you boot to safe mode?
4. What about [safe mode + net]?
5. What about a different user account? This is especially important if you use a domain account normally - try logging on with a local account.
6. Is there another box on the same network? You could use it to generate a sniffer trace (www.wireshark.com) of the logon sequence. Analysis of the network activity during that period may show what the box is waiting for during the 40sec delay.

H2SO4 said:

What about a different user account? This is especially important if you use a domain account normally - try logging on with a local account.

I would do this first. The shortest path to isolating a network issue vs a local issue.