Startup drivers/services/programs not always loaded

I'm using win7 pro. Three screens for video editing and a professional audiocard for 16 channel optical audio input/output. It's a standalone machine without internet. Everything has the latest updates and drivers installed. There should be 12 sytemtray icons visible after startup. Each time windows starts I have a different amount of systemtray icons with a different order. I just continue restart (do nothing just goto menu start and choose retart) until all icons are visible. Sometimes it takes about 15 restarts. It's not sure that the programs that have no icon vivible are also not loaded, sometimes they are sometimes not. While restarting I somtimes get the message "error reading TrayIcon1" or "MMDriver not working" or both. It also happens that all over sudden without any reason my screen order is changed after a restart. All the desktop icons are moved to an other screen.
Reinstalling windows, hard- and software (tried twice) didn't help. I also tried an other harddrive without result. I think there's a timing problem on loading drivers and programs during startup.
The startup folder is empty, everyting is loaded by ini, init or the registry.
Is there an option to let windows load the second driver after finnishing the firrst?
The machine is working perfect when everyting is loaded, so no complaints about that.
It only take a verry long time to start, I can live with it but it's very annoying.

Suggestions are welcome.

Welcome to the forum

- If you don't have or use internet, change win update to manual on services and on Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Windows Update\Change settings and set it to Never check.
- run msconfig and on startup tab, disable all.
Reboot
If it boots normally, find witch start up is messing your boot.

And a really stupid comment.
Dont shutdown
Use hibernate or sleep options.

Roy

Tried several options. Doesn't realy matter which of the 12 programs I disable on startup. The startup sequence, that's making the problem, is NEVER the same !! I have to disable a minimum af 4 programs (can be any 4 out of the 12) to get a stable startup. I think loading drivers/programs interfere with eachother. Is there an option to start loading after finnishing an other?
And this is about another (a standalone machine) as i'm using now to write these posts.

Windows 7 itself has over a 100 programs/processes running, so why can't I have extra 12?
Read the first post! They are used for 3 video screens, 3 video cards, 2 video capture cards, 2x 8 channel optical light pipe and a 48 channel analog mixing console automation. And again ... it's not the machine i'm using to write these posts. When everything is loaded and running (after several restarts) it's all working perfect! No complaints. Only the startup sequence is never the same. Windows 7 is not consequent in handling the startup procedure. Is there anyone with an educated suggestion?

Your root issue might be programs, or might be hardware drivers. I'd start by assuming its drivers cuz you have so many devices. You might have incompatible drivers, or bad drivers, or even a bad bios. Here's the steps I would take to get things cleaned up and starting fresh ....

First completely uninstall either the amd or nvidia card, and drivers. Running these two brands simultaneously is not the cleanest way to start off troubleshooting, so best to eliminate one of them. I suggest just one monitor for now as well.

Then update your motherboard bios. If its not properly handing off its environment to windows, you are hosed before you start. A bios update will allow you to be confident that your bios is not the issue. A bad bios can manifest itself in intermittent windows driver errors, so lets check that off the list with a fresh update.

Then boot straight into bios and disable any integrated peripherals you do not use, such as onboard graphics, onboard LAN, onboard audio. This reduces the driver environment burden for windows.

Then re-install your motherboard drivers from your motherboard's website.

Then reboot and see if things run cleanly. If so, add back in the video card you took out.

You have a great deal of hardware devices running on a 4GB machine. Yes windows is supposed to be able to handle it, but its worth pointing out because it makes your environment unique. Your motherboard voltage regulators are stressed, your power supply is stressed. If you lose a couple bits every startup it can manifest itself in driver errors. If you take your car to the mechanic becuse it makes funny noise when you put 14 kids in the back seat, the first thing he'll ask is does it make the noise when there are no kids in the car. That's the troubleshooting principle I'm advising for you here.

Check your hard disk for errors.

Keep checking in device manager to make sure your drivers are loading correctly. Actually you might check that first.