Incomplete load at initial startup

[ljsilver]

Well, I'm back with this one again.  I'm running XP home (upgrade version), athlon xp 2100+, 768 megs ram, 60 gig hd with 60 gig slave.  The situation is this: when I initially start the computer not everything loads.  The network card, the scanner, Norton AV (systemworks 2006), these items don't load properly.  When I restart the computer everything loads fine.  So if I want to go online, use the scanner etc. I need to start the computer and then restart it to get everything to load.  It hasn't always been like this, unfortunately I can't pinpoint exactly when it started.  It's more of an inconvenience than anything else, but I grow weary of it, so if anyone's got any suggestions....

Thanks

[Calum]

Is everything checked to run at startup?
Are you sure it's now just slowly loading them?  Try leaving it for a while.
When you say it doesn't load properly, what exactly do you mean?

[ljsilver]

Yes everything is checked to run at startup.  I can leave it on all day, but only loads fully after a restart.  What I mean by "doesn't load properly" is
1. The scanner - when I restart, the scanner initializes, the lamp comes on and scans back and forth once.  When I first startup it doesn't do that.  The scanner connects via USB, so I might be able to assume that USB drivers are not loading.
2. Norton - when I restart there's a little red x over the icon in the system tray while the program initializes which disappears once the program is finished loading.  When I first startup it doesn't do that.  
3.  The network card - only loads after a restart.  At first startup the icon never shows up in the system tray.  No network connections show in the the control panel.  No network devices show up the the device manager.

There may be more, but these are the immediately noticeable things.

Thanks

[patio]

Remove all instances of Norton from startup temporarily and see what happens...

patio.  8-)

[GX1_Man]

When was the last time Windows was installed on this machine? What would you think about a reinstall if it comes to that?

[ljsilver]

I like the Norton idea.  I'll give that a shot.  And yeah, I suppose a reinstall would be an option, but I'd really rather avoid it if at all possible.  Thanks for the suggestions.

[ljsilver]

Happy Monday everybody!  I tried disabling Norton at startup and I'm still getting the same result.  Any new ideas out there?

[patio]

Travel Here  for complete instructions on how to do a repair install of XP Home.

I would read it through thouroughly and print out a copy for reference.

This method will retain all your programs and data.

After this i recommend developing a backup strategy in future.

For this i suggest Acronis True Image.  Best deal on it currently is fron newegg.com ( Kudos To GX1_Man ! )

patio.  8-)

[patio]

And after that operation here are complete instructions on removing the Norton Virus....

DLoad and run the tool below...
 
Norton Removal Tool

 
1) Use Add Remove Programs first and un-install Norton...
2) From Windows Explorer search for any folders named Norton and Symantec and delete them...
3) DLoad and install ERUNT and have it make a backup of your registry...
4) Open regedit and type Norton in the search bar. Delete all entries it finds. F3 takes you to the next  instance of Norton. Continue til you have reached the end of the registry...
5) Repeat the above process using Symantec instead in the search field. Delete any Symantec keys it finds...
6) Now run the Norton Removal tool you DLoaded...
7) Empty the recycle bin...
Go to My Computer and right clik the C: drive and select Properties and run disk cleanup...
9) Re-boot and run disk defrag....
 
There you're done !
 
See how easy Symantec makes it for you to dump their product ? ?
 
patio.   8-)

I suggest AVG Free or Avast...both free and fine products
Both you and your machine will be happier...

[ljsilver]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I've already run the reinstall of XP.  Both the easy method suggested, and the more complicated method using the first repair option.  I'm actually pretty computer savvy.  I'll try uninstalling Norton (again, been there done that, but not recently on my own computer) just to see if that truly is the problem, but I'm not entirely convinced that's what's going on.   But...what the heck.  If you're gonna play...play!

Thanks again.

[ljsilver]

It's been a little bit, but here's the latest update.  I uninstalled Norton (completely!!) and I still have the same issue.  I could simply back everything up, wipe the hard drive and start over, but I really want to figure this one out.  It's got not only myself, but also my boss (mega super computer guru geek! stumped.  So..I'm open to suggestions again!

Thanks.

[GX1_Man]

When was the last time Windows was installed on this machine? What would you think about a reinstall if it comes to that?

Well it's been 18 days since we started this, so surely you would have had time to reinstall Windows and had a smoothly running machine by now had you taken that approach, but some people like the thrill of an adventure.  

Sometimes the answer for a Windows problem is "just because".