Vista Startup

  • Thread starter Thread starter grsode
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grsode

I have just puchased my first Windows Vista computer - an HP laptop. I have
purchased at leat five laptops since 2000 so I am familiar with setup and
comfortable with installations etc. I have three questions here.

1. My last computer had Windows XP and an 80 gb hard drive with 70 gb full
- After copying the data only (55 GB) to my new 250 gb hard drive I have
only 107 GB remaining of the 222 GB C drive partition. I have not yet added
many programs. That tells me that Vista must be using 50-60 GB or more of
the drive. Can that be correct?

2. My new computer takes 5-6 minutes to start up. After two minutes I get
the welcome screen. Then the monitor goes black for a full two minutes
before continuing the startup process. Is this normal for Vista?

3. Occasionally the monitor goes dark for a few seconds and a window pops
up saying the display driver has failed but is back. Is this normal?

I certainly gained no speed with this new computer. There are many things I
like about Vista. Since I have no previous experience with owning it I am
trying to sort out if this computer is a lemon that should be returned or if
I should just put up with the downside.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Vista does not take 50 to 60 GB of space...but the added programs that HP
put on it might.
Then there is the Hibernation File..The Space reserved for system
recovery...the page file....
Check to see what goodies and free trial software HP was nice enough to push
onto your HD...and get rid of it

That is a long start up time and as such you will need to check what exactly
is starting in the same way as you would check when you had
XP...Start/Run/Msconfig....as well as Task Manger.Anything you feel you don’t
need to start ...find the path and stop it.Anything your not sure about do a
Google on the name. Maybe your Anti Virus is set to run every time you
start??

I would go to the HP website and look for an updated Vista display
driver...or at least reinstall the present one.

Good Luck with your new purchase of Vista
peter
 
grsode said:
I have just puchased my first Windows Vista computer - an HP laptop. I have
purchased at leat five laptops since 2000 so I am familiar with setup and
comfortable with installations etc. I have three questions here.

1. My last computer had Windows XP and an 80 gb hard drive with 70 gb full
- After copying the data only (55 GB) to my new 250 gb hard drive I have
only 107 GB remaining of the 222 GB C drive partition. I have not yet added
many programs. That tells me that Vista must be using 50-60 GB or more of
the drive. Can that be correct?

2. My new computer takes 5-6 minutes to start up. After two minutes I get
the welcome screen. Then the monitor goes black for a full two minutes
before continuing the startup process. Is this normal for Vista?

3. Occasionally the monitor goes dark for a few seconds and a window pops
up saying the display driver has failed but is back. Is this normal?

I certainly gained no speed with this new computer. There are many things I
like about Vista. Since I have no previous experience with owning it I am
trying to sort out if this computer is a lemon that should be returned or if
I should just put up with the downside.

Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

If you have "HP Total Care Advisor" starting at boot-up, disable it. I
collects a lot of information together that you don't need and takes a
long time to load.

--
Dave T.

"Many people die at twenty-five and aren't buried
until they are seventy-five".
Benjamin Franklin
 
I have just puchased my first Windows Vista computer - an HP laptop. I
have
purchased at leat five laptops since 2000 so I am familiar with setup and
comfortable with installations etc. I have three questions here.

1. My last computer had Windows XP and an 80 gb hard drive with 70 gb
full
- After copying the data only (55 GB) to my new 250 gb hard drive I have
only 107 GB remaining of the 222 GB C drive partition. I have not yet
added
many programs. That tells me that Vista must be using 50-60 GB or more of
the drive. Can that be correct?

2. My new computer takes 5-6 minutes to start up. After two minutes I get
the welcome screen. Then the monitor goes black for a full two minutes
before continuing the startup process. Is this normal for Vista?

3. Occasionally the monitor goes dark for a few seconds and a window pops
up saying the display driver has failed but is back. Is this normal?

I certainly gained no speed with this new computer. There are many things
I
like about Vista. Since I have no previous experience with owning it I am
trying to sort out if this computer is a lemon that should be returned or
if
I should just put up with the downside.

Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

As others have said you need to have a look at the Auto Startup items and
cull them. Regarding the display driver failure, try checking the Windows
update site for a new display driver. You may also be able to download a
newer driver from the manufacturer's web site. Check to see which video
adapter you have (look in the device manager) then check nvidia.com or
ati.com, etc. Regarding the disk space issue, be aware that Vista uses a
lot of disk space for it's System Restore and Shadow Copy feature.
Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a way to limit it as there is in
XP, however you can delete all the old System Restore points to recover disk
space - there's a button to do this on the "other options" tab in "disk
cleanup". Last, check the size of the internet explorer cache. By default
this is ridiculously large (multiple gigs). I keep mine set to 100 megs.
Hope this helps.
 
Since it is a laptop do not install display drivers from the display chip
manufacturers website or from WinUpdate only install the latest drivers from
the Laptop Manufacturers Website since laptop manufacturers normally modify
the display driver sauce code they get from the from the chip manufacturers
in order to work better with their custom designed motherboards.
 
Thanks to all of you for your help. It has given me some good info with
which to make my decision!
 
Victek said:
As others have said you need to have a look at the Auto Startup items and
cull them. Regarding the display driver failure, try checking the Windows
update site for a new display driver. You may also be able to download a
newer driver from the manufacturer's web site. Check to see which video
adapter you have (look in the device manager) then check nvidia.com or
ati.com, etc. Regarding the disk space issue, be aware that Vista uses a
lot of disk space for it's System Restore and Shadow Copy feature.
Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a way to limit it as there is in
XP, however you can delete all the old System Restore points to recover disk
space - there's a button to do this on the "other options" tab in "disk
cleanup". Last, check the size of the internet explorer cache. By default
this is ridiculously large (multiple gigs). I keep mine set to 100 megs.
Hope this helps.

Victek, how do you change the size of the internet explorer cache? I have not been able to find out how to do that. I do not have speed issues on start-up. Rather, I am having problems downloading streaming video. It seems like video downloads have to buffer more often now, to the point that I can hardly watch them.
Click to expand...

I have 2 Gig of RAM memory. When I look at my Resource Monitor in Vista, I
am using about 1 Gig. The cached memory is around 1.4 Gig. Free memory is
near nothing. It is usually about 15 Meg and it drops to zero. It looks like
my hard drive is pretty active and I may be accessing virtual memory while
downloading videos. I think that I should try reducing the size of the cache
memory. I have tried cleaning cache memory and that doesn't seem to make any
difference.

I found out how to modify the amount of virtual memory, but not the cache
memory. Thanks.
 
Victek, how do you change the size of the internet explorer cache? I have
not been able to find out how to do that. I do not have speed issues on
start-up. Rather, I am having problems downloading streaming video. It
seems like video downloads have to buffer more often now, to the point
that I can hardly watch them.

I have 2 Gig of RAM memory. When I look at my Resource Monitor in Vista, I
am using about 1 Gig. The cached memory is around 1.4 Gig. Free memory is
near nothing. It is usually about 15 Meg and it drops to zero. It looks
like
my hard drive is pretty active and I may be accessing virtual memory while
downloading videos. I think that I should try reducing the size of the
cache
memory. I have tried cleaning cache memory and that doesn't seem to make
any
difference.

I found out how to modify the amount of virtual memory, but not the cache
memory. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Assuming you're using IE, open the control panel and then open internet
options. On the General Tab in the middle where it says Browsing History
click on the settings button - there you will be able to set the maximum
space IE should use to cache its' data. You could also try defragging your
hard drive to see if it improves video playback.
 
Victek said:
Assuming you're using IE, open the control panel and then open internet
options. On the General Tab in the middle where it says Browsing History
click on the settings button - there you will be able to set the maximum
space IE should use to cache its' data. You could also try defragging your
hard drive to see if it improves video playback.

Thanks for the quick reply. I would like to pester you one more time. I checked on the IE setting for disk space for temporary internet files. It is set at only 50 MB. I also did a defrag.
Click to expand...

I called up the Performance monitor that is in task manager. When only IE is
running, the Physical memory is at 2045 total, 1521 cached, and 15 free.
Physical memory usage is at 716 MB. Total Kernel memory is 141. Handles are
18525 and threads are 782. CPU, Disk, and Network usages are all very low.
When I try to download a video, these numbers don't change much, but you see
more disk activity.

Does anything look wrong here? I still think that I have a problem with the
amount of free memory being so low. Also, I couldn't find any help info about
handles and threads, but they seem kind of high to me. I can see some threads
listed in the CPU portion of the Resource Monitor, but the total number is
not near as high. Could the high cache memory be coming from somewhere else
other than internet use?

Also, as a side note, when I looked at the cache memory size through IE, it
also allows me to view the temporary files which it says are located on my C:
drive. When I "view files" it brings me to the "Temporary Internet Files"
folder. I can see that there are a few files there and I can clean them out
by deleting them through internet options. The weird thing is that when I
look at the folder properties it says it has a bunch of folders and is at 650
MB even after being cleaned without anything visible in it. Also, I can't
find "Temporary Internet Files" folder by using Windows Explorer, only by
viewing the files through IE. It gives me the location of the folder, but I
can't find it. Maybe they are stored in a combination of disk and RAM space
and this is OK or maybe something else is hosed here also.

Thanks for your help. I am trying to find out if I have a problem with
memory use or if I need to search elsewhere to fix my streaming video problem.
 
Assuming you're using IE, open the control panel and then open internet
Thanks for the quick reply. I would like to pester you one more time. I
checked
on the IE setting for disk space for temporary internet files. It is set
at only 50 MB.
I also did a defrag.

I called up the Performance monitor that is in task manager. When only IE
is
running, the Physical memory is at 2045 total, 1521 cached, and 15 free.
Physical memory usage is at 716 MB. Total Kernel memory is 141. Handles
are
18525 and threads are 782. CPU, Disk, and Network usages are all very low.
When I try to download a video, these numbers don't change much, but you
see
more disk activity.

Does anything look wrong here? I still think that I have a problem with
the
amount of free memory being so low. Also, I couldn't find any help info
about
handles and threads, but they seem kind of high to me. I can see some
threads
listed in the CPU portion of the Resource Monitor, but the total number is
not near as high. Could the high cache memory be coming from somewhere
else
other than internet use?

Also, as a side note, when I looked at the cache memory size through IE,
it
also allows me to view the temporary files which it says are located on my
C:
drive. When I "view files" it brings me to the "Temporary Internet Files"
folder. I can see that there are a few files there and I can clean them
out
by deleting them through internet options. The weird thing is that when I
look at the folder properties it says it has a bunch of folders and is at
650
MB even after being cleaned without anything visible in it. Also, I can't
find "Temporary Internet Files" folder by using Windows Explorer, only by
viewing the files through IE. It gives me the location of the folder, but
I
can't find it. Maybe they are stored in a combination of disk and RAM
space
and this is OK or maybe something else is hosed here also.

Thanks for your help. I am trying to find out if I have a problem with
memory use or if I need to search elsewhere to fix my streaming video
problem.
Click to expand...

In order to see the temporary internet files folder (TIFF) in the Vista
Explorer you need to unhide hidden files and protected operating system
files in folder options. I prefer to use Windows Commander (my favorite
file manager) to view hidden files and folders - it's easier and I don't
have to change Explorer settings. To fully delete the TIFF I recommend
CCleaner. It's free and it deletes the folders and Index.DAT file as well
as the data.

Regarding free memory, no matter how much RAM you put in the machine Windows
will dedicate what isn't being used by applications to it's RAM cache
(different than the IE disk cache). The extra RAM doesn't appear to be
free, but Windows makes it available to applications when they ask for it.
Two gigs of RAM is adequate for Vista in my experience - lack of ram should
not be the cause of the video playback issue as long as you don't have
multiple applications open that are hogging ram.

You could try a third party defragger like PerfectDisk (free fully
functional thirty day trial-ware from www.perfectdisk.com ) which will
defrag the page file and other system files that the Vista defrag program
will not touch. You could also try a different browser to see if it makes a
difference. I use Firefox and Maxthon - sometimes video playback is better
in one or the other though I couldn't say why. Hopefully some of this will
help. By the way, what security applications are you using?
 
Victek said:
In order to see the temporary internet files folder (TIFF) in the Vista
Explorer you need to unhide hidden files and protected operating system
files in folder options. I prefer to use Windows Commander (my favorite
file manager) to view hidden files and folders - it's easier and I don't
have to change Explorer settings. To fully delete the TIFF I recommend
CCleaner. It's free and it deletes the folders and Index.DAT file as well
as the data.

Regarding free memory, no matter how much RAM you put in the machine Windows
will dedicate what isn't being used by applications to it's RAM cache
(different than the IE disk cache). The extra RAM doesn't appear to be
free, but Windows makes it available to applications when they ask for it.
Two gigs of RAM is adequate for Vista in my experience - lack of ram should
not be the cause of the video playback issue as long as you don't have
multiple applications open that are hogging ram.

You could try a third party defragger like PerfectDisk (free fully
functional thirty day trial-ware from www.perfectdisk.com ) which will
defrag the page file and other system files that the Vista defrag program
will not touch. You could also try a different browser to see if it makes a
difference. I use Firefox and Maxthon - sometimes video playback is better
in one or the other though I couldn't say why. Hopefully some of this will
help. By the way, what security applications are you using?

Thanks for clarifying how the temp internet folder works and the difference between the two cache memories. It helps make things more understandable. I may try another browser like you suggest.
Click to expand...

The one thing that I haven't tried yet is mess around with my security
stuff. What I have running is McAfee firewall and phishing protection.
Windows firewall is turned off. Also running is McAfee virus scan and Windows
Defender. Last weekend I put on Spybot S&D. I haven't really experienced any
problems with McAfee and Vista. The only problems I've had are a couple of
stuck messages in my email. I've heard a lot of horror stories on Microsoft
Communities about compatibility issues. It sounds like Avast is a good
program to use. Since I think I have been pretty problem free, I have been a
little nervous about changing my protection. I would appreciate any
recommendations that you would have.

I don't want to bore you too much, but I did try one other thing to see if
it would make a difference for streaming video. The high speed internet that
I have is broadcast from a radio tower to my modem. For reception, the modem
is located upstairs. The computer is downstairs. The connection between
upstairs and downstairs was through two units that were plugged into the
house electrical outlets. I recently found out that that highest speed I was
getting with that configuration was 500 kbps. Last weekend, I went wireless
and I am now getting anywhere from 1100 to 2000 kbps. Tonight, just to make
sure that I wasn't getting any interference on the wireless, I strung a cable
through the house to temporarily hardwire the modem to the computer. Wireless
and hardwired performed about the same. Streaming video performance has been
about the same regardless of the slow or faster configurations.
 
In order to see the temporary internet files folder (TIFF) in the Vista
Thanks for clarifying how the temp internet folder works and the
difference between
the two cache memories. It helps make things more understandable. I may
try another
browser like you suggest.

The one thing that I haven't tried yet is mess around with my security
stuff. What I have running is McAfee firewall and phishing protection.
Windows firewall is turned off. Also running is McAfee virus scan and
Windows
Defender. Last weekend I put on Spybot S&D. I haven't really experienced
any
problems with McAfee and Vista. The only problems I've had are a couple of
stuck messages in my email. I've heard a lot of horror stories on
Microsoft
Communities about compatibility issues. It sounds like Avast is a good
program to use. Since I think I have been pretty problem free, I have been
a
little nervous about changing my protection. I would appreciate any
recommendations that you would have.

I don't want to bore you too much, but I did try one other thing to see if
it would make a difference for streaming video. The high speed internet
that
I have is broadcast from a radio tower to my modem. For reception, the
modem
is located upstairs. The computer is downstairs. The connection between
upstairs and downstairs was through two units that were plugged into the
house electrical outlets. I recently found out that that highest speed I
was
getting with that configuration was 500 kbps. Last weekend, I went
wireless
and I am now getting anywhere from 1100 to 2000 kbps. Tonight, just to
make
sure that I wasn't getting any interference on the wireless, I strung a
cable
through the house to temporarily hardwire the modem to the computer.
Wireless
and hardwired performed about the same. Streaming video performance has
been
about the same regardless of the slow or faster configurations.
Click to expand...

I asked about security applications because some people load up on them and
that can cause system slowdowns, but that's not a problem in your case.
Although I prefer different apps I wouldn't recommend them as a possible fix
for the streaming video issue. If you play video clips directly from the
hard drive do they play smoothly?
 
Victek said:
I asked about security applications because some people load up on them and
that can cause system slowdowns, but that's not a problem in your case.
Although I prefer different apps I wouldn't recommend them as a possible fix
for the streaming video issue. If you play video clips directly from the
hard drive do they play smoothly?

Video clips do seem to play OK directly from the harddrive. I did install Firefox to try a different browser. So far that didn't seem to make much difference. Also, other than streaming video, I haven't downloaded large files in a while. When downloading Firefox which is only 5 Meg, it was only coming in around 20 kbps and took forever. I've downloaded big files in the past and they came in quick. From other discussions, I checked on Internet advanced options to check that TLS 1.0 was not on and it wasn't. SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0 were both checked. I tried desecting the earlier version. (I have no idea what they are for.) Also, I disabled the phishing option since I have it in McAffee.
Click to expand...

I also saw somewhere in an earlier discussion about a couple of people
loaded an earlier version for their LAN driver and it helped their download
speed. I'm not using the same LAN card as they were and I'm not using my LAN
card now. Since I have wireless, I am using a USB adapter. Could USB be
slower? There are times that I can see a video buffering, the LED on my USB
wireless adapter is not flashing like it is not active, and I am not seeing
any network activity on the performance monitor.

I have seen other discussions about XP working faster than Vista. I would
hate to buy the older software and install everything. My problems haven't
been too bad, I would have to be more desperate to go to that extreme. I
still think that I should be able to get better performance with what I have.
Hopefully, without wasting a lot of time.

Thanks for you continued suggestions.
 
I asked about security applications because some people load up on themSSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0 have to do with security for https sites (online
banking, online purchasing, etc.) I don't see how disabling them would help
video - I would keep them enabled for security. Since video plays well from
the hard disk it does sound like a network issue. You could around for a
newer (or older) driver for your LAN card to see if that makes a difference.
Regarding USB LAN adapters I can't say from experience if there's a
significant performance difference compared with a PC Card adapter, but if
you can get one that's something you could try.

For what it's worth I do see better performance in XP when I watch streaming
TV shows on ABC.com. I dual boot XP and Vista. If it's important enough
you could create the same setup - you just need a license key for XP and XP
compatible drivers for your hardware. I think dual booting is a better
solution then having just one or the other OS at the moment.
 
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