Solved Windows 7 locks on start-up

[rboltz]

I'm not sure this post is in the right section so if not, please advise or move it;

My new windows 7 PC on my office network has been trouble plagued since new a month ago. I had a thread going about printer sharing also and had some luck on that.

When starting windows up those 4 colored dots that swirl and form the windows logo stop about 1/3 the way and the PC locks up. Even when it doesn't lock up, those dots stop for a second before moving on to a successful start. The failure to start happens about 1 in 5. I used the start-up manager to move all start-up items to a delay with no success. I have used "system restore" to move back 3 weeks, as far back as I have restore points, with no luck. I have also tried the recommended "windows failed to start" diagnostics with no luck. All that was recommended was go back to an earlier restore point which as mentioned, did not do anything.

Suggestions?

 

[Golden]

Perform a clean startup to determine if there are any processes/services that are causing the delayed start/hangup:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ation-conflicts-performing-clean-startup.html

Norton can be a culprit in this area - uninstall it for testing purposes only and reboot to see if anything changes.

 

[rboltz]

USB

I think I've fixed this. Turned out to be a USB memory card reader. When removed, it starts without hesitation.