Start-up time was 1 minute, now it's 5-10 minutes?!

[Mike3667]

I don't know what happened! My PC has been crashing and the boot up time has increased by so much. My PC speed is still fast it's only the boot up time that really is affected. I don't really download anything on this computer so I highly doubt that it's a virus. I have a separate computer for all my downloading needs. Is anyone else getting this? Is there a way to fix it or should I just re-install windows, even though I just did like 1 week ago.

 

[Disk4mat]

There are many contributing factors to slow boot time. Installed software, startup applications and services, drive fragmentation, USB devices + drivers (that you didnt have previously). Just to name the common possibilities.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Type msconfig in the search box near the start button.

When it pops open, go to the startup tab.

List everything in that tab that has a checkmark next to it.

 

[seekermeister]

I don't have an answer for this problem, because I previously posted a similar question, without finding a solution. My boot time has always consistently been ~ 80 seconds, which is better than 5 - 10 minutes, but my time occurred on the intial boot, before anything was installed other than by the W7 installation itself. Since your boot time worsened, the previous suggestions might be helpful to you.

 

[Mike3667]

Kaspersky
Catalyst control center <--- I think it's this for some reason.
ATI custom
Java
Adobe CS4
Google Update
Windows Live
Microsoft Operating System
Daemon tools.

I'm positive the crashes have been because of my graphics card. But would that slow down my boot time..? It always stays on. "Starting windows." And that black screen with the windows logo takes ages.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Uncheck catalyst control center, save, and reboot.

See if your problem goes away.

You can uncheck whatever you like in that list as an experiment.

 

[Mike3667]

I can't.. That's my graphics card drives. IF those are gone my graphics card overheats and it crashes my PC

 

[ignatzatsonic]

If catalyst control center is causing your problem and you choose not to disable it, then you get to live with slow boots. Take your pick.

I have no idea if it is causing the problem, but you can find out in 60 seconds. I doubt if your graphics card is going to explode in 60 seconds of operation.

I have an ATI video chip and don't use catalyst control center at all.


Or uncheck everything else one by one and see if the situation improves.

 

[Disk4mat]

Sounds like good advice ignatzatsonic. If Catalyst is a service then can it be set to automatic delayed startup?

 

[kegobeer]

Perhaps if you updated your system specs, we could better assist you. The link is in my signature.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

As far as I know, Catalyst Control Center is a video card supplemental application available for download from your ATI video card manufacturer (Sapphire, Asus, etc). It is not the driver. It is an add-on doo-dad. It provides some advanced functionality that I don't need, so I quit using it--3 or 4 years ago.

I don't know if it insinuates itself into services. I have no reason to believe it does, so I don't know if it can be defeated in Windows services.

If you are heavy duty into gaming, maybe it serves some purpose. I am not.

If you just blindly download and install the typical download packages available for ATI cards, you may well end up with Catalyst, even though you don't want it or need it.

 

[Mike3667]

Updated, hopefully that'll help
Well, occasionally it crashes on the start-up and when I hop onto any game, my pc crashes almost instantly. I think it helps keep my graphics card's temperature under control.

 

[kegobeer]

I think you put the motherboard info in the CPU block, and vice versa.

When did this start happening? Was there a Windows or driver update installed around the time this started?

 

[Mike3667]

This started happening 2 days ago. It was random but it crashed and ever since that it's been really slow. I was playing Sims 3 I think.. There were no updates to my knowledge.

Windows 7 7600 RTM never crashed on me.
But onces I got the actual windows 7 it started crashing more. The drivers helped a bit but everyday it usually crashes once.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Why would you need Adobe CS 4 in startup?? Or Google Update? Or Daemon tools. Or etcetera?

 

[Mike3667]

That's what I thought, so I turned them off.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

What is left with a checkmark?

Do you know that you have the most recent version of the Catalyst package?


http://tinyurl.com/yme9su

 

[Mike3667]

Yeah, I downloaded it not too long ago. I doubt there's a new one. I'll check anyways. Everything but Daemon, Google, and Adobe are checked.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I'd keep unchecking stuff. Windows is going to start even if you uncheck everything.

That is the test to see if your slow boots are related to these apps.

I have exactly 2 items checked: my backup program and my antivirus.

 

[Mike3667]

Well, now my PC doesn't even turn on. It's not my motherboard or anything. Because I hooked up this spare harrdrive that has Windows 7 beta 7100 build just to see if it was my actual PC and it wasn't it. So it's the harddrive itself. I'm going to have to reformat and reinstall 7 I guess.
-----------------------
I fixed it.. Somehow..
I ended up just replugging my hard drive in.. It's pretty weird but my boot up time is back to normal. Maybe it somehow became loose and I didn't realize it. Anyways, thank you everyone for your help