This is my first experience with Vista and I'm wondering if it is normal to boot so very, very, very slow and for the screen to go black with only the mouse cursor visible (and moveable) during boot? Once it is up and running it seems fine, just the boot and shut down are slow.

HP Pavillion dv9500 notebook
Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
320 GB hard drive
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS
2048 MB DDR2

Any input would be much appreciated.

Yes, the blank/black screen is normal....if you'd rather see something on the 'boot screen',
you can do this:

Enable New Boot Screen:

1. Click on the start orb and type in "MSCONFIG" in the textbox.

2. Once the System Configuration tool loads, click on the Boot tab.

3. Under Boot Options check "No GUI Boot".

4. Hit OK and reboot to see the new screen.

Thank you so much for your response. As far as the screen going blank, there is nothing, no text nothing but a completely black screen and the mouse cursor. If this is normal in Vista, I don't need to change it. The slow boot is really my main concern. Is there something I can check to see if there is a hardware problem or a software glitch? I've been reading that a new computer with the specs on mine sould boot Vista completely in 90 seconds or less. (Although I have read that many people aren't getting near that speed.) If there is a problem that is not easily fixed, I can still return this computer....

You haven't said which version of Vista you have. If you have Symantic/Norton antivirus, that could be a reason for the extra slow start up.

Also, check to see if you have some services running automatically, that could be disabled, or started manually:
http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm

Thank you again for your reply. I have Home Premium and I unistalled the Norton trial immediately. I am using McAfee provided by Comcast instead. Thank you for the link. I went to the page and don't see anything wierd in the services, but honestly I don't think I know what I'm looking for. I did check my problems and reports area and it tells me:

Service CyberLink Background Capture Service (CBCS) hung on starting. I get this error at every boot.

Product
CLCapSvc

Problem
Service Hang Report

Date
8/23/2007 9:29 PM

Status
Not Reported

Description
Service CyberLink Background Capture Service (CBCS) hung on starting.

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: ServiceHang
Service Name: CLCapSvc
Image Name: CLCapSvc.exe"
Image Version: 0.0.0.0
Service Type: 110
Start Type: 2
OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Files that help describe the problem
Version.txt
minidump.mdmp

Could this be the problem? In case I didn't explain the problem correctly, when I boot I get to the welcome screen and then after a short while it fades to black for around 2 minutes with only the mouse cursor visible and moveable. After that it loads.

That's a legitimate service belonging to CyberLink PowerCinema. It's not required at start up, so you can set it to manual.

Thank you for all your help and patience. I only found an HP Cyberlink program in startup called QuickPlay but it doesn't have the name Name: CLCapSvc.exe. I also went back to services per your suggestion and saw that there is something called CyberLink Background Capture Service (CBCS) so I disabled it. I re-booted and I couldn't believe it started in less than two minutes. This is down from the over 3 minutes before. So, I'm feeling more confident that I don't need to return the computer, but I'm wondering if there could be a problem with the Cyberlink Program Quick Play? This is the only Cyberlink product on my computer. The QuickPlay program seems to be functioning OK with the service disabled, but I get the warning box in the notification area that start up services are blocked. It is pretty annoying so I would like to solve the problem. Any suggestions? In the meantime, is there a way to stop the blocked start up programs warning? Thank you again for all your help!

I don't use Quick play, but did you try setting it to 'manual' rather than disabled?

I didn't try setting it to manual. Honestly, I don't know how I would do that. I just clicked on the Services tab and unchecked it. I would appreciate if you could tell me how to set it to manual, that seems like it would do the trick.

Type services.msc in run, okay

When you are in 'Services', right click on the item, then click on properties. A Window will open ...you'll see 'path to executable and a dropdown box in the window...click on manual, apply, okay. Reboot and see if you get any messages

This post has been edited by Jacee: Aug 25 2007, 12:33 PM

Messages are gone. In addition, I was poking around in the QuickPlay program. I found there was an update. I downloaded and installed the update. It seems the combo did the trick. Thank you so very much for all your help!

Yay hey! You're welcome

I got the same problem, this forum really helps

Same here, this info is helpful, Thansk Jacee!

Hey whats up!! I also have a HP Pavilion, same issues.... This is really helpful info I became a memeber today because you guys and or gals, know what your talking about... Before reading this forum I already was suspicious of the Cyberlink, and disabled a few other startup programs... And, I chose to hide the Microsoft Services, and everything is fine now.... Thanks.