Comments for What's hogging my machine for so long on startup?

Comment from dotball on 2009-11-03

2009-11-04T01:38:13Z

With Process Explorer, try adding a shortcut of it to your 'Startup' folder (right-click Start, click open 'Programs', click open 'Startup') - putting a shortcut in here will cause that link to be acted on during start up and may get you your Process Explorer active at the right time.
It may not work, but a simple step to test. Just delete the shortcut when you're done.
I have a few programs and network links in this folder that I use every day.

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Comment from paul on 2009-05-12

2009-05-12T17:19:16Z

"But then it takes about 3 minutes before I can do anything. By that I mean the "hard drive status light" stays solid green or flickers very rapidly as to appear almost a solid green."

Is the Indexing Service enabled?
Did you shut down properly or did you just pull the plug? You might have chkdsk running.
Investigate what is starting with the system. Real Player and Quicktime (to name two) are not required.
Do you have any mapped network drives? If so, are you connecting to the LAN? Try booting with a wire to the switch/hub instead of wireless.
In the case of CA, you have the options of Secure and Reviewer. Reviewer is a bit slower.
Empty your temp files and web caches, compact your mail folders. Defrag. Reboot. Defrag.

Three minutes before the machine is usable is unacceptable.

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Comment from James on 2009-05-02

2009-05-02T07:48:52Z

I can strongly endorse the recommendation to use AnVir Task Manager, which is free. It's ability to watch for startups is particularly valuable if you don't want RealPlayer, Google, Adobe Reader and others all starting their little automatic updaters. The worst that can be said is that it does tell you rather more than you might want to know. Just don't let that put you off.

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Comment from Ozgur Calli on 2009-04-29

2009-04-29T07:17:37Z

i strongly reccomend AnVir Task manager to solve this problem, it shows you all the applications, dll's and files that start at startup and gives you the chance to eliminate them, plus it also warns you if a program tries to attach itself to startup too. You will be surprised to see how every program you install tries to find itself a place on startup :)

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Comment from Chetty on 2009-04-28

2009-04-29T06:00:56Z

I have seen from my experience that programs like TuneUp Utilities, AdvancedSystemOptimiser etc do a decent job of optimising the performance, including a shorter start up time. They help you to identify and disable unnecessary startup programs. In my experience, most AV programs scan by default only the startup and memory objects at startup, which is necessary; Not a full scan.

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Comment from Dennis on 2009-04-28

2009-04-29T02:36:34Z

Try my favorites for such problems:
Free Extended Task Manager by Extendsoft at
http://www.extensoft.com/
http://www.extensoft.com/?p=free_task_manager
Drag it to QuickLunch OR enter it in the
Startup Manager in GlaryUtilities at
http://www.glaryutilities.com/

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Comment from Robert M. on 2009-04-28

2009-04-29T00:34:25Z

My PCs boot up and are usable straightaway.

I have been thrilled with the latest version of Norton AntiVirus (version is 2009). While I have used and recommended NAV (usually by buying it within Norton SystemWorks Standard Edition - it is also in Norton 360 and Norton Internet Security) for its security, I now recommend it for its performance.

It runs much faster in just about any phase of an antivirus/antispyware program - during installation, boot, quick & full scans, updates and shutdown. I wonder if they cut out the guts!

While I don't recommend it for everyone, I shut off Windows Automatio Updates, as it also runs at boot up.

I do recommend running Updates manually, at least monthly, as some updates won't be made during Automatic mode. Windows Genuine Advantage is one such update; also is the upgrade from Windows Updates to Microsoft Updates.

I am also confident enough in NAV 2009 to not require a separate antispyware program.

There are other programs that have auto-update routines which reactivate themselves in Startup when these apps are upgraded (Java, QuickTime, iTunes, Acrobat Reader). When these apps get updated, I manually go back to MSCONFIG and deactivate them.

That's the way I ride!

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Comment from JRED7713 near Tulsa on 2009-04-28

2009-04-28T21:41:31Z

AlSimons,
Thanks for the work-around tip on exiting after ensuring the CPU Usage was located where I wanted it in Process Explorer at next start-up. Just one more close-down op (along with CCleaner) that helps my boot speed tomorrow. JRED7713

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Comment from John Edmond on 2009-04-28

2009-04-28T21:24:10Z

Thom,
Your "CPU Usage" info is located at the bottom of your Task Manager. Find it via your keyboard by typing CTL+ALT+DEL two times; the dialog box should appear and you can scroll down to the bottom of it for CPU Usage.
I recommend you get the Process Explorer by going to "download.cnet.com"; it's a free license and program that's "worth the money." Happy surfing and you'll soon be overcoming that self-titled "novice" name. JRED7713

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Comment from Thom McMahon on 2009-04-28

2009-04-28T20:34:50Z

As a novice, help me out. Where does one find "Process Explorer" and "CPU Usage"?

Given I'm having the same issues with start-up and enough patience to wait the suggested 15 minutes start-up time I'd like to try the other suggestions.

Many thanks,

Thom

Process explorer is a free download. More here. One of the things it shows is CPU usage.

- Leo
29-Apr-2009

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A comment on: What's hogging my machine for so long on startup?

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Comment from Stuart on 2009-04-28

2009-04-28T19:11:30Z

One thing I've noticed is that startup takes longer after an "emergency" shutdown (i.e. holding the power button for a few seconds until shutdown occurs). In the Midwest we have powerful thunderstorms that can cause nasty power surges if lightning hits a power line or blows up a transformer. I lost one computer that way, even though it was plugged into a good surge protector. So when storms suddenly start forming we often need perform emergency shutdowns on our computers. In just a few seconds, Windows (XP or Vista) obviously does not have enough time to complete its usual orderly closeout and shutdown. So when the computers are restarted, they almost always take additional time to boot up completely. It can sometimes be 2 or 3 times as long as a reboot following a normal shutdown. It's a small price to pay for complete electrical protection, and we now know the computers need that extra time before they are useful.

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Comment from Jeff in Tampa on 2009-04-28

2009-04-28T17:56:54Z

One thing that's annoying is that many of these programs wait to run until I log on even though I typically install everything to be used by "anyone on this computer". Would assocating these startup programs with a system account allow then to run immediately? If so, how do we do that?

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Comment from Per-Ola on 2009-04-28

2009-04-28T17:42:40Z

Roberta,
Sounds you are on a corporate network and hence are being "forced" needed updates. IT departments push these out at the most inopportune times, but best option is just to accept them, go get a coffee or get through the morning's phone calls.

As for booting machine and leaving it running for 15 minutes, I'd recommend agaisnt that sicne I REALLY want to see/know how it boots every time (what has changed, been added, etc). Following its boot on a daily (or however often you do reboot) basis, you can then also easily figure out why it is not behaving like it used to.

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Comment from Roberta on 2009-04-28

2009-04-28T17:00:33Z

Each time I startup my laptop there is a message, "Please don't turn off your computer --updates are being installed" and sometimes there are 10 updates, which take a very long time. I don't get this on any other computer. Would using Process Explorer help me rectify this so that installs are done at a different time? Thank you.

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Comment from Ray Rachkowski on 2009-04-23

2009-04-24T04:10:03Z

I too, have determined that a 15 minute turn on before using the machine makes sense. It's frustrating sometimes to have to do this but it seems to work!!

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A comment on: What's hogging my machine for so long on startup?

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Comment from AlSimons on 2009-04-22

2009-04-23T01:25:06Z

Leo's comment about not being able to have Process Explorer respond to a sort-on-this-column click in a timely manner is true on loaded systems. Fortunately, there is an easy workaround. Process Explorer starts with the same sort column that it exited with. So if you click on the CPU usage column before you exit Process Explorer, it will start out sorted by CPU usage the next time around.

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Comment from Mary on 2009-04-22

2009-04-22T23:28:17Z

I'm the person who originally asked the question. I followed Leo's advice and created a shortcut for Process Explorer in the Startup menu. It showed 3 processes running at startup: System Idle Process (2-3% CPU usage); my antivirus program (12-14%); and Windows Genuine Advantage (about 85% depending on the other 2 processes.)

WGA does not appear in any utility I've run to determine startup programs. Not in CCleaner, not in Autoruns, not in WinPatrol, not in r2 Studios' Startup Delayer. To add to the confusion, it only appears in Process Explorer for about 95 seconds and then completely disappears leaving only System Idle Process and my AV program using the CPU.

Leo thought it might be a corrupt or damaged WGA file so I ran a diagnostic tool from Microsoft (mgadiag.exe) and my machine came back as "genuine" with no flags or warnings. So for now, I'm following Leo's thoughts of "...booting the machine about 15 minutes before you need it..."

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Comment from PaulM on 2009-04-22

2009-04-22T19:23:15Z

CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com) has a Startup tab in its Tools section, from which you can see the programs and apps which run during start-up, and which allows you to disable or delete unnecessary or unwanted programs from the start-up sequence. Personally, I disable Acrobat Assistant and delete the QuickTime at Startup entry.

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A comment on: What's hogging my machine for so long on startup?

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