[SFAdad]

My wife's lapptop takes about 10 minutes to start.
It stays on a blank screen for a long time. This screen is after the progress bars go away and just before the account login screen comes up.
The first time it did it I thought the computer locked so I killed the power and started over. At that point windows prompted me to do a restore or normal startup. I chose restore. It didn't help the start up speed. The computer seems to run ok after it starts.
Also the memory usage seems to be high at idle. Around 1.55GB.

Things I've done:
Malwarebytes: nothing found
Microsoft Security Essentials: Nothing found
Malwarebytes Anti-root Kit beta: nothing found
Malwarebytes Start-up Lite: found and fixed 3 issues
System restore to a point about 2 weeks back

System:
Vista Home Premium SP2 64bit
Dell Studio 1555 laptop
Intel Core Duo CPU T6500 2.10 GHz 2.10 GHz
4 GB memory

Any help will be appreciated.

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Hello SFAdad

Can you do the following for us to start with;

Go to Start then to Run/Search
Type in compmgmt.msc and click Enter
On the left side click on Disk Management
On the right side you will see your hard drive.
Now I need you to take a screenshot and attach it to your next reply.
Do the following to take a screenshot while the above is open and showing on your desktop.

To capture and post a screenshot;

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.

[phillpower2]

Hello SFAdad

Can you do the following for us to start with;

Go to Start then to Run/Search
Type in compmgmt.msc and click Enter
On the left side click on Disk Management
On the right side you will see your hard drive.
Now I need you to take a screenshot and attach it to your next reply.
Do the following to take a screenshot while the above is open and showing on your desktop.

To capture and post a screenshot;

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.

[SFAdad]

Thanks for picking up my post.

Here is the screen shot. No infomation shows when I click on Disk Management.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[phillpower2]

You are welcome

Rather odd not getting any HDD information but never mind we can get the details from the next step;

Please Run the PCPitstop.com OverDrive Full Tests

Here's how:

You must use your Internet Explorer for this procedure. (doesn't work so well in Firefox or others). If your machine is running Vista or Windows 7, you must Select IE to “Run as Administrator”. After completing PCPitstop OverDrive you can close your IE browser and re-open it Normally so that you are no longer running as administrator.

Go to: http://www.pcpitstop...pit/default.asp
Click on "Free Computer Check-up" listed below PC Pitstop OverDrive
In the User Login - Click on "Sign up FREE!"
You'll need to submit a valid email address and create your own password, then click - Create Account(button)

Now enter your email address and password to Log in, Select - Scan this system Now!(button)
You will then be asked to download an ActiveX component and allow it to install.
It is safe and does not compromise your privacy.
Follow the on-screen prompts to install the ActiveX and to allow the Full Tests to be run on your machine.

The Full Tests take about 2 1/2 - 3 minutes on most machines.
When complete, a Results - Summary - Recommended Fixes will be displayed.

Please post the URL internet address, from your Results, back here into this Topic Thread so that we can review the configuration and present performance levels of your machine.

Note: During the graphics 2D and graphics 3D testing, your screen will display some rapidly moving objects.
If you are sensitive to visual flashing, it may cause dizziness. Therefore, look away from the screen during that portion of the testing.

After reviewing the results we will be more informed and may be able to provide better recommendations for you to work towards improving your machine's performance.

While PCPitstop does offer a variety of Paid Products, the PCPitstop OverDrive testing is FREE. Please ignore the references to Paid Products. We prefer to provide manual solution instructions that you can apply directly to your machine.

Thanks to rshaffer61 for the PCPitstop information

NB: An example of the url that we require and the information that it leads to http://www.pcpitstop...?conid=25271813

[SFAdad]

Here's the URL

http://www.pcpitstop...?conid=25314195

[phillpower2]

While I go over the test results;

Please return to the PCPitstop results and address the items that have a red X against them, if you hover the cursor over the item you will be given a description of the issue and if you click on it you will be instructed how to correct the problem, post back when you have done this.

[SFAdad]

I've worked most of the issues now defrag is running. The defrag supplied with Vista doesn't show progress or supply a report, at least not that I could find. So I downloaded Defragler and let it run. So far it took 14 hours for the first run but the drive was still 41% fragmented so I started it again this monrning before I left for work. Depending on where it is this evening when I get home it may need to be run again. I"ll keep you up to date on the progress.
I've always run defrag regularly on my XP box but since my wifes machine runs Vista and the defrag is supposedly scheduled, I assumed everything was ok. Every time I checked it said the last scheduled run ran without any issue and the date was always recent. I never imagined it was this fragmented. Its hard to tell with the defrag utility supplied with Vista without the visual graphs and reports.

[phillpower2]

Coincidentally my next suggestion was to tidy up the data on your HDD, please follow the directions provided below starting with Autoruns http://technet.micro...ernals/bb963902

Disregard #3 if you have managed to defrag the HDD already**

1: Extract the Autoruns Zip file contents to a folder.
2: Double-click the "Autoruns.exe".
3: Click on the "Everything" tab
4: Go to File then to Export As or Save in some versions.
5: Save AutoRuns.txt file to known location like your Desktop.
6: Attach to your next reply.

2nd: Download and run TFC from http://www.geekstogo...ds&showfile=187 your computer should automatically re-boot on completion but if not do it manually.

3rd: Defrag your HDD http://www.auslogics...re/disk-defrag/ a tidy drive is a faster drive, please note that I am not suggesting that you use any other product or service at the link.
Couple of other things to consider are what size HDD do you have and how much free storage space is available, you should always have between 15 and 20% of the overall capacity available, do not have more than 1 AV program running as it causes slowness as the programs fight for control of system resources, this can lead to instability and/or crashes.

What AV do you use, some use a lot more system resources than others Norton and AVG are excellent but very demanding.

To speed up your boot times find any unnecessary programs linked to start up "how to" below;

START -> RUN
type MSCONFIG in the RUN box
then click OK

Click on the start-up TAB

Look at each line that has a check in the box, these are start-up items, with the exception of Windows programs and your anti virus software uncheck the ones you do not want to run at start-up.

**For the average user: Do not defrag a HDD too often as it can do more harm than good, run TFC weekly and defrag every 3-4 months and no more.

[SFAdad]

We us Microsoft Security Essentials for virus and Malwarebytes for malware.
The computer still starts slow and memory usage is still high at idle.
And the drive information still doesn't show up in disk management.

Finally got the drive defragged.

The autoruns text file is attached.

Attached Files

•  AutoRuns.txt   283.85KB   150 downloads

[phillpower2]

I will look at the autoruns log when I finish work later, can I ask if you have carried out all of the suggested steps.

[SFAdad]

I've done everything I could. In msconfig I tuned off several startups. The only thing I couldn't do is free up the memory as suggested on the PC analysis. I'm hoping you'll see something in the autoruns log that needs to go away.

Thanks

[phillpower2]

Sorry for the delay getting back to you.

First of all can I ask you to create a Restore Point and then check and ensure that both Vista and MSE are fully up to date.

I am a bit concerned about the lack of HDD information, do you have any idea how much free space that is available on it.

I tuned off several startups

Are you saying that there was only seven none Windows or Anti Virus program that were configured to run at start up?

Having looked at the autoruns log I can see a few items that should be stopped from running on start up but we need to come back to this in a while, the reason for this is you know what software you still use whereas I do not meaning that you can actually improve system performance yourself by getting rid of old unused programs, this will free up space on your HDD and ease demands on your Ram.

To remove any old programs that you no longer use first check if the software has it`s own uninstaller - if it does use that - if the software has no uninstaller it can be safely removed in the ADD/Remove Programs area.

Please follow the same procedure for obsolete drivers such as printers etc that you no longer have.

NB: If you are not sure of anything do not uninstall it let us know so that we can take a look for you.

Let us know when the above is done please.

[SFAdad]

Good morning/afternoon phillpower2,
I have some good news. Since the last time I was on my wife's computer (4/30) it is starting much faster. 1 to 2 minutes as opposed to 10 minutes.
Also the drive information is showing up in disk management now. See attached.

Memory usage is still around 1.5GB at idle but the computer seems to be running well now.

In MSCONFIG Startup I turned off:
Adobe Reader
Spotify
Office OneNote
Services I stopped:
Apple Mobile Device
Google Update
Rosetta Stone
Secunia (I usually run this manually)

This morning:
Created restore point
I uninstalled all unused programs.
Updated Windows
MSE is up to date

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[phillpower2]

Hi SFAdad

Thanks for the update and it is good to see that you have made progress

Can you do the following for us now please;

Open My Computer. At the top right, there is a search field...type pagefile.sys and click the search icon. In the search results, right click on the file (pagefile.sys) and choose Delete...confirm the deletion.

Restart your machine. A new pagefile will be created automatically when the machine starts.

Next check that the boot sequence is set to either the DVD/CD drive first and the C: drive second or vice versa;

To check the Boot Sequence in your BIOS;

Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) start tapping the appropriate button that allows you to access the BIOS (Esc - Del – F2 etc)
This will enter you into the BIOS/CMOS
Find the Advanced area and click Enter
Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to DVD/ CD drive
Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
Once that is done then click F10 to Save and Exit
You will prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit.
Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings.

Let us know how this goes please.

[SFAdad]

I had to set the virtual memory to no paging file in order to delete the pagefile. I turned it back on and rebooted after deleting it.

I couldn't figure out how to set the boot sequence. Once the BIOS was accesses I found the boot section but there was only a list.
The list was in this order:
HDD
USB
CD/DVD
Removable devises
Network

When I hilighted one the only option was to enable or disable.