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Is my desktop running scandisk on startup?

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I have two computers - a desktop and a laptop.

When booting up they both take around the same length of time to display the desktop and icons. However, after that the laptop proceeds to load all startup programs and connects to the router in less than a minute; while the desktop takes between 3.5 and 4 minutes. All this time you can hear the hard drive working away.

I've run anti-spyware programs on both; they are both loading up roughly the same startup programs - I've knocked out all the unnecessary ones using msconfig, so it crossed my mind that perhaps the desktop is doing something like running scandisk every time it boots up, which might explain the long boot up time. Is there any way I can check this? If it's not scandisk, is there a way to track down what is making the desktop take so long to boot up?
"The trouble with quotations on the Internet is that you never know whether they are genuine" - Charles Dickens

Comments

  • Exo
    Exo Posts: 176 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Hi, which operating system are you using and how much ram is installed
    XP uses CHKDSK not Scandisk which comes with Win9x.
    It is normally obvious when CHKDSK is running.

    The time it takes to get to a useable desktop will depend which programs it has to load at startup.
    AV programs will often update at startup.

    I agree that 4 minutes to start is somewhat lengthy.
    After rebooting the desktop computer, check task manager and note how many processes are running.You do not want much more that 30-35.
    Have you used Disk Cleanup and defragged recently?
    Let us know the answers to the above questions.

    Exo
  • spud17
    spud17 Posts: 4,433 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Any chance you have got your anti virus set to do a quick scan on startup?

    The programs may be the same in msconfig, but you could have different options ticked.

    e.g. Avast has a quick memory scan option, ticked by default.
    Move along, nothing to see.
  • which operating system are you using and how much ram is installed
    XP uses CHKDSK not Scandisk which comes with Win9x.
    It is normally obvious when CHKDSK is running.
    Apologies for these omissions; both machines use XP SP3; desktop has 1GB of memory.
    AV programs will often update at startup.
    Both machines have ZoneAlarm installed and as far as I can see, are configured identically and shouldn't update at startup.
    After rebooting the desktop computer, check task manager and note how many processes are running.You do not want much more that 30-35.
    I have 45 on the laptop and 46 on the desktop.
    Have you used Disk Cleanup and defragged recently?
    I do both of these once a month. Last done about three weeks ago, but the problem has been there for several months
    "The trouble with quotations on the Internet is that you never know whether they are genuine" - Charles Dickens
  • Exo
    Exo Posts: 176 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Hi, to be fair, all is not equal when comparing a laptop to a desktop computer. The BIOS and hardware may/will differ.
    The BIOS in one may be set to do a memory check whilst the other is not.
    In relation to the programs loading at startup, are they identical on each?
    Are they being loaded from just one hard drive on the desktop or is Windows having to seek more than one hard drive in order to load.
    SP3 does appear to have caused some problems with some computers but not others. Not sure if this will effect the boot time but is something elsle to bear in mind.

    So there will be many variables which may account for differing boot times.

    As I mentioned above, 4 minutes to get to a useable is quite lengthy.
    46 processes loading at startup is also quite a lot and is normally associated with the number of programs automatically set to start with Windows.
    For diagnostic purposes, ensure you are disconnected from the internet.
    Open the MS config utility program and use Selective startup on the General tab.
    On the Startup tab, use the option to Disable All, Apply the changes and reboot the computer. (Note which programs are enabled so they can be enabled again).

    Now select Start/ Turn Off Computer/ Restart.
    Now time how long it takes to get to a useable desktop from the moment the computer starts to reboot. Make a note of the time taken and let us know.

    Return to msconfig utility and opt to use the Normal start and enable your original programs on the startup tab and Apply the changes and reboot.

    Post back if unsure how to use the msconfig utility program.

    Exo
  • Hungerdunger
    Hungerdunger Posts: 964 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    In relation to the programs loading at startup, are they identical on each?
    Not identical but broadly similar. The desktop has a couple of extra ones to load.
    Are they being loaded from just one hard drive on the desktop or is Windows having to seek more than one hard drive in order to load.
    From one drive.
    SP3 does appear to have caused some problems with some computers but not others.
    I've had this problem for over six months, but have been to lazy to try to sort it out. My start up instructions would be: (1)Turn machine on. (2) Make a cup of tea. :D
    Open the MS config utility program and use Selective startup on the General tab.
    On the Startup tab, use the option to Disable All, Apply the changes and reboot the computer. (Note which programs are enabled so they can be enabled again).

    Now select Start/ Turn Off Computer/ Restart.
    Now time how long it takes to get to a useable desktop from the moment the computer starts to reboot. Make a note of the time taken and let us know.
    Normal start up from switch on until all startup programs have loaded, connection to router made and all hard drive activity stopped is 5 mins, 50 secs. After disabling all startup processes and disabling connection to router it is 3 mins 45 secs - somewhat quicker but still quite slow IMHO.

    Incidentally, should it be relevant, the number of processes in Task Manager when I disabled all startup processes reduced to 32, of which 8 were svchost.exe
    "The trouble with quotations on the Internet is that you never know whether they are genuine" - Charles Dickens
  • Exo
    Exo Posts: 176 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    3 mins 45 secs - somewhat quicker but still quite slow IMHO.

    Yes, I agree.
    Incidentally, should it be relevant, the number of processes in Task Manager when I disabled all startup processes reduced to 32, of which 8 were svchost.exe
    Apart from the processes that Windows requires in order to operate, any additional processes will be directly related to programs you have running, either at Startup or those manually selected. 32 processes running is still quite high, especially as everything was disabled in Startup. I have 28 running, 6 are svchost.

    Some further checks.
    Open Task Manager/Processes and note the CPU usage and System idle Process and let us know the result.
    Double check the svchost processes running. Anything showing as scvhost is a trojan.

    We both agree that booting to a useable desktop is taking a long time.
    Now an awkward question for you.
    Is the BIOS taking about the same length of time to boot before commencing to load Windows or is it Windows taking a long time to load up?
    If it is Windows, check in Event Viewer and see if any problems are being shown.

    You state you've had this problem some time. Do you recall making any chages or installing anything around that time.

    Exo
  • Hungerdunger
    Hungerdunger Posts: 964 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Some further checks.
    Open Task Manager/Processes and note the CPU usage and System idle Process and let us know the result.
    With Firefox, Task Manager and Event Viewer open, CPU Usage varies between 8% and 29%.
    Double check the svchost processes running. Anything showing as scvhost is a trojan.
    No, everything is svchost.
    Is the BIOS taking about the same length of time to boot before commencing to load Windows or is it Windows taking a long time to load up?
    If it is Windows, check in Event Viewer and see if any problems are being shown.
    It's Windows; as I said in my original post, the boot-up time to the stage where the Desktop and Desktop Icons appear is about the same as for the laptop - it's after that that the machine seems to be taking its time.
    In Event Viewer there is a regular Warning which gives me this message: "Windows saved user [Computer Name\User Name] registry while an application or service was still using the registry during log off. The memory used by the user's registry has not been freed. The registry will be unloaded when it is no longer in use.

    This is often caused by services running as a user account, try configuring the services to run in either the LocalService or NetworkService account."


    You state you've had this problem some time. Do you recall making any changes or installing anything around that time.
    Nothing that I can recall.

    Thanks for taking the time to try to sort this out. I'm wondering whether it might just be time to copy all my important stuff off the Hard Drive and reformat it. It's about three years old and has done quite a bit of work. The only thing that has stopped me is the time it will take loading all my applications back on and "tweaking" everything back to how I want it.
    "The trouble with quotations on the Internet is that you never know whether they are genuine" - Charles Dickens
  • Exo
    Exo Posts: 176 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Hi, a repair install of XP should get you back to 'as good as new' without the necessity of reformatting. It will also keep all your data intact.
    http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/repair_installation_xp/repair_installation_xp.shtml

    Back to your current problem. It would appear a process is not terminating correctly.
    This may be worth a try, it will certainly not do any harm.

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1B286E6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582&displaylang=en

    If the problem continues, then have a look at the services.

    How do I find out what service(s) are running as a user account?
    Click on Start /Run / Type services.msc / this will list all services and the account that they are set to run under

    How do I configure the service(s) to run in a LocalService or NetworkService account?
    Open services.msc / Double click on a service / Click on LogOn tab

    Which account is best to change the service to? A LocalService account or a NetworkService account?
    Generally LocalService account is best. Some require the NetworkService account to run correctly such as RPC

    Exo
  • Hungerdunger
    Hungerdunger Posts: 964 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks again for your help Exo. I'm going to be rather busy for a day or so, but will certainly try a repair ASAP and will let you know whether it improves things. I'll also have a go at the Microsoft Clean-up service.
    "The trouble with quotations on the Internet is that you never know whether they are genuine" - Charles Dickens
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