slowstart said:
My computer has become very slow to start up and shut down over the
years. What should I be doing to alleviate this? Would grouping my
numerous files
into folders make a significant difference? Thanks.
Organizing your files and folders will not help. You need to manage
your Startup and Shutdown. See below for general information about
this.
I. Manage the Startup:
Start>Run>msconfig [enter] ....
tick the box that says in effect, "don't bother me about this again".
BETTER move is to "live with" the notices it generates until you can
properly get the service/s stopped. Then you can put msconfig back to
where it belongs and not fear 6 months from now having forgotten you
used it to skew the system somehow.
Important - Do not use the System Configuration Utility to stop
processes. Instead, use Start>Run>services.msc [enter] and do not
stop any services unless you really, really know what you're doing.
Definitely: Then you can go back to msconfig and set it back to normal.
How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560
The free Autoruns program is very useful for managing your Startup -
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx - Autoruns
II. Shutdown information:
....
If you are using a Norton or McAfee product,
uninstall it and replace with a better program such as NOD32,
Kasperksy, or Avast (free).
That's the advice of a closed mind. He will have you removing them
without even knowing whether they had anything to do with the problem at
hand or not. On top of that, I have NEVER had shutdown issues caused by
those programs nor have I ever seen it on a client's machine. It's
always been something else, usually file corruption followed by poorly
coded apps downloaded from the 'net, and then fallout from a
virus/worm/trojan/etc. removal.
If the problems started suddenly, and you had installed/uninstalled
etc., then you already have a good idea who the culprit may be. If not,
it's more difficult to track down.
The Windows Firewall is adequate for most
people. With Vista, shutdown issues can also be caused by old/poorly
written drivers so make sure all drivers are updated. See Step B.
below for general driver directions.
As is also true for XP, 98, 95, 3.1, 3.0, etc.. I don't recall your
mentioning that you were running VISTA?
A.The first step is always to make sure your computer is
virus/malware free.
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
That's an OK procedure; at least I've never noted anything very wrong
in/about it.
B. Drivers - The First Law of Driver Updates is "if it ain't broke,
don't fix it". Normally if everything is working you want to leave
things as they are. The exception is that heavy-duty gamers will
usually want to update their video and sound drivers to squeeze every
last bit of performance out of the hardware to get the fastest frame
rates. If you're not one of those people, you don't need to update
your drivers if there are no problems you are trying to solve.
Never get drivers from Windows Update. Get them from:
1. The device mftr.'s website; OR
2. The motherboard mftr.'s website if hardware is onboard; OR
3. The OEM's website for your specific machine if you have an OEM
computer (HP, Dell, Sony, etc.).
Read the installation instructions on the website where you get the
drivers.
To find out what hardware is in your computer:
1. Read any documentation you got when you bought the computer.
2. If the computer is OEM, go to the OEM's website for your specific
model machine and look at the specs (you'll be there to get the
drivers anyway)
3. Download, install and run a free system inventory program like
Belarc Advisor or System Information for Windows.
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows
BelArc is good. SIW is even better and much more inclusive.
C. If the computer is virus/malware-free, drivers are current, and no
Norton or McAfee programs are installed, then do clean-boot
troubleshooting to see which program/process is the culprit:
There's that closed mind again. He's freakishly fanatical about Norton
and McAfee, completely without substantiation or even minimal
experience, apparently.
How to perform a clean boot in Vista and XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331796
D. If you need more information, here is an excellent shutdown
troubleshooter:
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm
Standard caveat: If troubleshooting the issue is too difficult - and
there is absolutely no shame in admitting this isn't your cup of tea
- take the machine to a computer repair shop. This will not be your
local BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place. Get recommendations
from family, friends, colleagues.
Malke
There is one more piece of the picture our closed-minded friend left
out:
Very often, the important question is whether you want to "fix" the
problem for your own learning benefit even though it may take a
substantial length of time, or, would it be better, if learning isn't
the driving force, to simply go back to square one and rebuild the
system?
Personally, when I experience a serious problem, I like to find the
"fix" on my own so I can know for sure, if possible, how to avoid it
happening again. BUT ... depending on the amount of time that takes, I
may instead opt to re-image my hard drive and start fresh. IFF you are
prepared, that's a minor task that takes only a couple of hours where
the troubleshooting and researching of a problem could take days or
weeks even. It's a balance one should consider.
The third option of course, is to take it to a professional. If your
expertise level is minimal and you're totally uncomfortable with some of
the things it takes to troubleshoot and/or rebuild a system, then a shop
is going to be your best bet most, not all, of the time, because that
again depends on locating a reputable shop to bring your machine to.
If you do bring it to a shop, the very first thing to do after
getting the machine back is to make absolutely certain that your COA
keycode number is still valid. It may not be! BelArc, SIW, etc. will
assist you with that task and make it easy to do.
Here's what I think should happen:
1. BACKUP all important data! Including Favorites folder and e-mails,
plus any file you e ver created or downloaded that you consider
valuable.
2. If you already have imagine apps like Norton's Ghost or Acronis True
Image, do a full backup.
3. First try a Repair Install. In theory none of your data will be
lost. You will have to apply the most recent hot fixes. If no help:
4. Put your backup somewhere safe, NOT on your hard drive, so it can't
be messed up.
5. Do a full, clean install of XP and whatever Service Pack level you
want (2 is OK if it's handier, 3 is more inclusive and hot fixes are
faster IFF you read the instructions before installing SP3).
6. Once XP is working well, back it up using XP's backup or whatever
legit backup/imaging program you have available. Now you have something
you can use in the future if it's ever needed again.
7. Rebuild your computer. Put all of your applications and programs on
it that you need/want.
8. Make a full backup. Now you'll have a full backup of your OS and
your installed programs.
9. Add back all of your important data.
10. Back it up again! Put those three backups aside so if the need
arises again in the future, you'll have them ready.
It's a lot easier restoring things from backup than having to do it all
manually. If you want to be even more comfortable, invest in imaging
software such as Symantec's Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image.
BootItNG is also good but a bit too much onthe techie side for most
people; not quite as user friendly but still a powerful app.
HTH
Twayne
