slow startup

[oli]

ok i have a machine running windows 2000, it is has a slow startup. it gets to the desktop very quickly but the desktop icons wont load for at least another minute or two. and its not like the computer is working hard in that time it almost seems to just be idle. there are no spyware or viruses on my computer and there is only a few entries in the startup program. any one have any solutions to this.

[kobrakommander56]

yeah i'd like to know the answer to that, my other comps have that problem, but I think the answer would be its just the harddrives as they get older they have more wear and it just naturally takes long to startup.

[lokoike]

yeah i'd like to know the answer to that, my other comps have that problem, but I think the answer would be its just the harddrives as they get older they have more wear and it just naturally takes long to startup.

 

I don't think I'd blame the hard drives. I'd be willing to bet that if you did a clean install of Windows, it would be much faster.

 

You see, Windows is a degenerative OS; it is not a prefect or error-proof OS, like MS would like to think it is. Even if you maintain it well, clean your registry and startup processes, and remove unwanted files frequently, it will still eventually start to slow down. I had WinXP on my notebook for over a year, and cared for it meticulously, but after a while, it just started to slow down and not work the way it had when I had first installed it. Sure enough, after doing a clean reinstall, it is back up to speed.

 

It is possible that the hard drives have slowed down slightly since they were purchased, but if it is enough to make a serious difference, there is a good chance that something is wrong with them, so if you think that is the case, I would recommend backing up your files right away!

[kobrakommander56]

Well thats what i forgot to include, sometimes the hdd's dslowly die adn slow down, but windows will add what i describe as gunk to your hdd which ccleaner will try to get rid of but the gunk say gets in the cracks and becomes an obstacle so when your computer tries to find it. It would take more time becuz it must go around the obstacle. OH and harddrives can die at anytime.

[lokoike]

Ah yes, the gunk. I forgot about that.

[kobrakommander56]

Correction when i say find it, I meant when it tries to find files, the gunk gets in the way.

[lokoike]

Yeah, supposedly Windows Vista is supposed to be more search-based than folder/directory-based, which I must admit, is a good update. I would imagine that would make the "gunk" less of an issue, since all of the files will be in a big soup anyway; they won't really have to be physically organized too much, since they will all have extensive tags that will describe them so they can be found via search. Therefore, fragmentation and such wouldn't really be a big deal. Plus, Vista is designed for hard drives that have NCQ, so even if the drives do get fragmented severly, you won't take a big hit in performance.

 

But also, supposedly the new Vista file system, WinFS, will become available for WinXP, so I would suggest not getting Vista for a long time (if ever). Just stick with XP; it doesn't hog resources (as much, anyway), and it isn't flooded with DRM crap. The only downside with XP is that it isn't as pretty. Big whoop.

[Andavari]

Even if you maintain it well, clean your registry and startup processes, and remove unwanted files frequently, it will still eventually start to slow down.

 

The registry itself may need to be compacted/defragged using either RegCompact.NET or NTREGOPT.

[kobrakommander56]

IF a computer say lost power (like power outage) while defragging the registry, could that corrupt Windows?

[oli]

i doubt it cause it doesnt use the new registry until the comp is rebooted. and what are the chances of it anyway, more likely of lighting actually hitting the comp

[kobrakommander56]

haha no, ive had that luck, when i was installing Windows and the power went out.