Fresh install 5 mins boot

I just did a fresh install of XP on one of my comps. It takes about 5 minutes at the windows loading screen (and pauses a few times (usually xp only pauses once)). After it's booted it operates quickly as it should. Any ideas?

[Moderator]

Check Device Manager for any Yellow ??'s...
Did you remember to re-install ALL drivers starting with MBoard Chipset drivers 1st ?

[Moderator]

What caused you to do a fresh install?

Check Device Manager for any Yellow ??'s...
Did you remember to re-install ALL drivers starting with MBoard Chipset drivers 1st ?

I checked. No yellow ??. I have all drivers installed except for the video driver and I don't think that would cause any problems because I always install windows that way and it's fine.

What caused you to do a fresh install?

It's a 'new' comp (acquired used).

My guess is that it is checking something over and over and then failing and continuing, but I don't know what. Because you know how when XP loads it will always pause for a second (bars stop moving) and then keep loading. This comp keeps doing that.

[Moderator]

Do a HDD check with the Free utility from the drive manuf. site....

[Moderator]

That would be my first thought too. When you did the installation did you do a full format or a quick format? If the latter, by all means you should check the hd.

I did a full format when I installed. I think you might be right about the hd because I had to go though two hds before I found one that would actually work with the comp. Maybe something wrong with the IDE controller. I will do a disk check. I will also try safe-mode just incase.

[Moderator]

Cool...let us know...
If it is the IDE controller an addon card is also an option...

you can add the /SOS switch to boot.ini to make windows display the drivers it is loading, so you can determine which drivers/files are causing the pauses.

I added /SOS and /bootlog and the log file was really long. It looked good at the beginning, but then it listed something like:

Could not load driver Pentium III Processor
Could not load driver Multiprocessor Kernel
Could not load driver (don't remember)

And this was repeated about 500 times.

I added /SOS and /bootlog and the log file was really long. It looked good at the beginning, but then it listed something like:

Could not load driver Pentium III Processor
Could not load driver Multiprocessor Kernel
Could not load driver (don't remember)

And this was repeated about 500 times.

where did it pause?

/SOS displays the drivers as they are loaded. the loading progress bar marquee can't be updated while a driver is in the process of initializing, so pauses are generally the result of a driver having problems loading. (or, it could be by design; network drivers almost always cause a few second pause while they initialize).

Or does the /SOS output also show the "could not load" messages?

It paused at Mup.sys, but I think it was just because it was the last one before it finished loading. No errors were shown on the screen while loading, the errors only showed up in the log.

Did it still take 5 minutes to load?

Yes, both in normal and safe-mode. What part of the registry contains the drivers to load? So I can find those three drivers.

I just thought about it some more and it makes no sense that the OS even works at all if the drivers that aren't working are the CPU and Kernel 

I think I might have found a solution: http://www.daniweb.com/hardware-and-software/microsoft-windows/windows-nt-2000-xp/threads/295907
Very similar to my problem, except it takes even longer for me. I'll try this and come back tomorrow.

Thanks for the help.

I'm not so sure where I could even begin to debunk the nonsense being asserted in that post.

I particularly like the guy going on about what the rundll32 command for ProcessIdleTasks does, and hits so wide of the mark of what the command really does it's beyond comedic. ("That command essentially cleaned up and 'defragged' your Boot Sector, helping you achieve maxiumum boot speed")

Then again, I'd be wary of any "solution" that purports to fix a problem with a registry cleaner. The fact that your install is pretty much a clean install makes the likelihood that it is the cause rather low. Then again, if it's a clean install I imagine you haven't a lot to lose, either.

Yes, both in normal and safe-mode. What part of the registry contains the drivers to load? So I can find those three drivers.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control contains system configuration settings.
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services contains driver and service configuration information.

Though I don't think mucking about there is a good idea...

I haven't responded for a while because I gave up. I tried reg cleaners and it removed the error messages in the boot log, but it didn't effect the boot speed at all. So the errors were not even related to the problem. I think I am going to just try a different OS like 7 or Linux.

[Moderator]

I still believe it's a hardware or driver issue...as you stated earlier the OS shouldn't enter into it...