XP loading [Archive] - Zophar's Message Domain

SwampGas

03-07-2006, 01:28 PM

Reinstalled XP on a Dell and it takes well over a minute for the HAL to load when it boots (that black and white progress bar after POST but before the XP logo). Updated the motherboard bios thinking that had something to do with it but it didn't speed it up.

Any ideas?
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SirDaShadow

03-07-2006, 06:46 PM

> Any ideas?
>
Try removing any rouge drivers that you don't use. Also, do you have any USB devices plugged into it?

CEpeep

03-07-2006, 06:48 PM

> Any ideas?
>

I had this happen once when I reinstalled windows (not on a Dell, though) without formatting first. The old files were still there and I just reinstalled on top of them. The only way I fixed it was to reformat and start over.
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SirDaShadow

03-07-2006, 07:19 PM

> Reinstalled XP on a Dell and it takes well over a minute for
> Any ideas?
By the way, I have a Latitude D610 and a minute and a half to 2 minutes booting is usually par for the course. Hibernating is done in less than a minute, but then I had some ill side effects to it sometimes (XP won't come up forcing me to reboot and at one time the LCD showed some rainbow lines and a white screen, like when an LCD is broke)

SwampGas

03-07-2006, 09:46 PM

> Try removing any rouge drivers that you don't use. Also, do
> you have any USB devices plugged into it?

This is before the operating system loads. Keyboard and mouse are usb.
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SwampGas

03-07-2006, 09:47 PM

> I had this happen once when I reinstalled windows (not on a
> Dell, though) without formatting first. The old files were
> still there and I just reinstalled on top of them. The only
> way I fixed it was to reformat and start over.

I wiped the partition.
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Audigy

03-07-2006, 10:00 PM

> I wiped the partition.

Yeah, that's what I would've done.. wiped out the partition and all the Dell-specific bullshit that comes with it. Install from a clean OS CD, then minimize the crap that loads on startup, including turning off hibernation and System Restore and all that jazz.
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Kitsune Sniper

03-07-2006, 10:19 PM

> By the way, I have a Latitude D610 and a minute and a half
> to 2 minutes booting is usually par for the course.

That could be the problem - that Dell made such a crappy PC, it takes a while to boot up. It may not be the OS' or SwampGas' fault at all.

I recall certain Compaqs at school taking ages to boot up... and they were brand new.

Sliver X

03-07-2006, 10:32 PM

Is the system running stable once the OS finally loads? I ask because I've seen this happen to several workstations on our network. One was a case of defective RAM, another was a dying HDD, and the last was a failing MB.

Try Ye Olde Component Swap (The MB will have to have the same chipset as the current one, or the HAL will shit itself at boot), and see if you can isolate it.
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SwampGas

03-07-2006, 11:49 PM

> Try Ye Olde Component Swap (The MB will have to have the
> same chipset as the current one, or the HAL will shit itself
> at boot), and see if you can isolate it.

It's fine once booted and it didn't affect the PC prior to the reinstallation.
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SirDaShadow

03-08-2006, 12:55 AM

> This is before the operating system loads. Keyboard and
> mouse are usb.
>
Oh I see what you mean...hmm...what model do you have?

Reaper man

03-08-2006, 02:08 AM

> Any ideas?

You could add the /SOS switch to your boot.ini file and see what drivers are being loaded and which ones are taking forever to load. :)
Edited by Reaper man on 03/07/06 10:08 PM.

SwampGas

03-08-2006, 02:13 AM

> You could add the /SOS switch to your boot.ini file and see
> what drivers are being loaded and which ones are taking
> forever to load. :)

This is the HAL. This is before the system can even mount a drive.
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SwampGas

03-08-2006, 02:13 AM

> Oh I see what you mean...hmm...what model do you have?

Some sort of dell.
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pipes

03-08-2006, 02:59 AM

If that is turn then I bet that the custom dell windows restore disk will boot faster.
The pipes clangor all the time!

icenine0

03-08-2006, 04:28 PM

Go into the BIOS and disable everything that isn't absolutely necessary (serial ports, USB support, AGP fastwrite, whatever) and see if it goes any faster.

Kijutsu

03-08-2006, 05:12 PM

> Any ideas?

Most likely, it setup the computer as ACPI Uniprocessor PC. Which makes up IRQs and makes everything slow for 'compatibility'. Which sucks ass. Go in there and change that to Advacned Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC. I do this on all systems I install, no matter the build (except multiprocessor), and it makes system loading, and working a metric fuckton quicker.

Here's a screenshot...

http://kijutsu.homelinux.org/pictures/acpipc.jpg
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<img src=http://kijutsu.homelinux.org/signature/BurningShit.jpg></center>

Kitsune Sniper

03-08-2006, 10:32 PM

> Most likely, it setup the computer as ACPI Uniprocessor PC.

Where do I change this setting? I can't find where to modify this. I just noticed my system is set up like that and I wanna test your theory.

sephiroth111

03-08-2006, 10:58 PM

> Where do I change this setting? I can't find where to modify
> this. I just noticed my system is set up like that and I
> wanna test your theory.

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=309283

i'll test it after the next reboot.
Edit: Well well, that took off like ~7 seconds or so from boot. and the system seems a bit more responsive, and "Startup lag" doesn't seem to be so great. not sure though.

<hr>
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sephiroth111: and once again, i am totally confused as to whats going on.Edited by sephiroth111 on 03/08/06 07:04 PM.

Kijutsu

03-09-2006, 03:49 AM

> Where do I change this setting? I can't find where to modify
> this. I just noticed my system is set up like that and I
> wanna test your theory.

Open Device Manager, click the + next to Computer, right click, hit Update Driver, choose "I'll find the driver myself" and then select Advanced Computer and Power Interface PC. Reboot twice, it'll redetect all devices (should find drivers on it's own without any help) and their respective resource requirements. Problem solved, and gain probably about 30-40% speed.

Windows has this really annoying and very unhelpful idea that if you have hundreds and hundreds of IRQs available, (which are then divided up into the normal 15) you will have a faster computer. But all it does is create more hassle than it's worth.
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SwampGas

03-10-2006, 05:34 PM

None of the ideas worked. Damnit.
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Cornellius

03-10-2006, 05:38 PM

Hit it with a stick !
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pipes

03-10-2006, 10:27 PM

> Hit it with a stick !

lol
The pipes clangor all the time!

The 9th Sage

03-11-2006, 03:49 AM

> Most likely, it setup the computer as ACPI Uniprocessor PC.
> Which makes up IRQs and makes everything slow for
> 'compatibility'.

Hahaha, holy crap...I should have known changing something like this on my laptop would cause holy hell. <img src=smilies/laff.gif> Good thing I had a restore point from yesterday. That made it much easier to get back on track.

Heh, I think it may have been my soundcard, as I notice it started to boot, but froze right before my starup sound would start.
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Kijutsu

03-11-2006, 07:07 AM

> Heh, I think it may have been my soundcard, as I notice it
> started to boot, but froze right before my starup sound
> would start.

It's actually easier to do it on a new install before all the device drivers are loaded. Then it doesn't have to modify already registered settings :/
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Slicer S. V.

03-11-2006, 03:26 PM

i just recently worked on a dell computer that is having the same issue, since it is also having spyware issues i was just passing it off as part of that, but it IS before the HAL, so it's this same thing...

Dell just doesn't seem to be what they once were, i guess... the only halfway decent pre-built... <img src=smilies/mystery.gif>
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The 9th Sage

03-12-2006, 03:14 AM

> It's actually easier to do it on a new install before all
> the device drivers are loaded. Then it doesn't have to
> modify already registered settings :/

Yeah, maybe that would work. Should I ever need to do a full reinstall I'll probably try that. It did work in safe mode, probably since some of the drivers weren't loading there that would have otherwise.

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