Slow Windows 2000 Server bootup

  • Thread starter Thread starter Justin Wilson
  • Start date Start date
J

Justin Wilson

I have a problem with a Win2K server booting ridiculously
slowly. The boot process is normal up until
the "Registering network connections" (or whatever that
dialogue is) message just before the login screen is
displayed. The machine then sits on this message for a
VERY long time - long enough that I don't know exactly how
long, because I've already gone home.

I checked the event viewer log, and the only thing I've
come across was a message there saying that the Time
Service was unable to get a time (or something to that
effect), and will try again in 960 mins. Does this mean
(my current thinking anyway) that the machine sits there
for 16 hours until it has another go at getting a time?
Also another possible cause is that there was no such
problem until I connected the machine to the Internet via
an ADSL modem - on that one I've got no idea.

Any suggestions/relative experiences most welcome.
Cheers.
 
Is this server on a network with a domain? If so have you checked the DNS
settings to ensure that it's looking only at the domain DNS server?
 
The server is the only server on the domain, hence the
problem - if it takes a day to bounce the server every
time it needsd to be bounced, the network services aren't
going to be available for that period of time.
 
Can any clues to the slow boot be found in the event logs? Have you run
hardware diagnostics on the server to try to determine if there's a physical
problem with the server?
 
For anyone who has had a similar problem, the problem was
caused by having file and print sharing enabled on the
ADSL NIC. I'm not entirely sure why the problem was caused
by this, but I do know that removing the sharing was the
fix.

More info can be found at jsiinc.com.

JSI tip 3337 » Your recently promoted domain controller is
slow to start up, and appears to hang at the Preparing
network connections screen?
 
File and Print Sharing and Client for Microsoft Networks should NEVER be
enabled on a NIC which is directly connected to an ADSL modem.

InBan
 
I notice this happens after I install Active Directory on my server boxes,
but other than that, I have no problems whatsoever.
 
Robert Wolfe said:
I notice this happens after I install Active Directory on my server boxes,
but other than that, I have no problems whatsoever.
Click to expand...

That is because AD requires DNS,..which means that the machine must point to
the Active Directory DNS instead of the ISP's DNS. The ISP's DNS must be
added to your DNS's as a "forwarder" in the Forwarder's List".
 
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