Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (
More info?)
In news:crcq8n$d54$1@news8.svr.pol.co.uk,
Ben Hardy <bh@hb1.com> wrote:
> Thankyou Ken,
> Feeling somewhat admonished I'll run off with my tail between my legs
> and do a Format and Re-install
Sadly, that appears to be the only true 'fix' for the problem we both
experienced.
> "Ken Blake" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> news:%23bjDnxe8EHA.1392@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>> In news:crcc2o$m0p$2@news6.svr.pol.co.uk,
>> Ben Hardy <bh@hb1.com> typed:
>>
>>> OK Ken, so lets get this straight-
>>>
>>> You are saying:
>>>
>>> 'The size of the registry has no effect whatsoever on the speed of
>>> the computer but it may affect the Startup time'
>>> OK, I'll accept that.
>>>
>>> 'A 42Mb Registry is typical'.
>>> Doesn't that depend on how much software/Fonts etc etc you have
>>> installed? Surely a machine with say, 80 apps installed, which
>>> according to 'Add/Remove Programs', mine has, will have a larger
>>> Registry than a machine with 20 apps installed?
>>
>> Certainly it depends on things like that. But 42MB is well within
>> normal range and not cause for concern.
Agreed.
>>> 'An OS doesn't slow down over time unless there are other issues
>>> such as spyware etc'
>>> Well I know many people that would disagree with that.
>>
>>
>> I know many people who disagree with that too. However, none of the
>> people whose views I trust do. As always, you are free to agree or
>> disagree with whomever you wish.
Agreed. And remember you said that, Ken.
>>> As far as
>>> Spyware, Adware, Viruses etc go I spend many hours checking and
>>> scanning for suchlike - see my earlier post. I'm pretty confident
>>> that I have a clean machine. Of course, I use numerous applications
>>> for this but I am now beginning to distrust some of them, especially
>>> Registry Cleaners.
>>> 'It doesn't matter how long a PC takes to boot up'
>>> I don't believe you said that! When I first installed the OS the PC
>>> started up in less than 20 seconds - it now takes about four
>>> minutes.
>> Well, I can't know for sure, but that sounds to me like you have
>> accumulated more background programs that are starting automatically.
If you'd taken the time to read the entire thread, you would know that's not
the case.
>>
>>> (Read the post from Bill in this group). Now four minutes is not a
>>> long time
>>
>>
>> Right. For most of us it's a once a day event, and not important.
>>
>>
>>> I agree but what is concerning is why.
>>
>>
>> As far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter, unless it also has an
>> effect on the general speed of the machine. And, also as far as I'm
>> concerned, that's the only issue to be concerned about. If startup
>> is slow but speed is otherwise satisfactory, there's nothing to be
>> concerned about. If general speed is *not* satisfactory, that should
>> be a concern whether startup takes 20 seconds or four minutes.
>>
>> Startup speed and running speed are not necessarily related. That's
>> the sense in which I mean that startup time is not important.
At would point would you say it becomes important, Ken? Greater than 10
minutes (as in my case), 20 minutes, half-an-hour, a day?
>>> According to what
>>> MSCONFIG and Event Viewer tells me, there's nothing untoward
>>> starting up other than the usual stuff such as AV & Firewall. This
>>> was the case when it started in 30 seconds! If start up time
>>> continues to increase then not only will I have time to get a
>>> coffee but also breakfast, shopping, brunch and who knows what
>>> else. I want it to start in 20 seconds like it used to and like it
>>> would do if I was to re-install
>>
>>
>> Your choice, of course. I think you're worrying about the wrong
>> thing.
It's not up to you to decide what someone else is "worrying" about. And I
don't care how many times you insist otherwise, it is not *normal* for a
"clean" machine to go from taking 30 seconds to boot, to greater than 10
minutes (in my case), virtually overnight.
>>> 'Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is necessarily
>>> something everyone experiences'.
Certainly not "everyone", but I had a very similar problem. And a simple
Google search will reveal that Ben and I are far from alone.
>>> Well, all of my colleagues and friends agree and many people on
>>> numerous websites agree that it's a common problem. I've also run
>>> many OSs and it seems to have been a problem since Win95. I agree
>>> that it's easy to say 'reformat and reinstall' and that's why I'm
>>> posting this before I'm forced to do that.
>>>
>>> So rather than rubbish my post, why not read it from the start and
>>
>> I wasn't trying to rubbish anything, but to give you what I thought
>> was good advice. If you don't like my advice, feel free to ignore it.
>>
>> I came into the thread late, and didn't see all your earlier posts.
Then perhaps you should have stayed out of the thread until you'd caught
yourself up? Would you barge into the middle of a conversation at a party
and add your two-cents without listening for a while? Basic newsgroup
etiquette and all, ya know?
>> And because I don't save already-read messages, it wasn't easy for
>> me to back and see the entire thread.
You mean to tell me that resetting headers in a newsgroup is a daunting task
for a Microsoft MVP? That certainly explains a lot. Thanks for the candid
admission.
>>> you will discover that I've run all the usual Malware/Spyware apps,
>>> Reg cleaners etc. My AV and Firewall is up to date. I regularly
>>> check MSCONFIG, Event Viewer, Services and now SFC, I clean out
>>> Temp files, Caches etc. I regularly run CHKDSK and Defrag. All of
>>> this time-consuming s**t I go through just to have a smooth, fast
>>> computer that I can do WORK on.
>>> Suggestions would be helpful.
>>
>> Sorry, it's the end of the thread as far as I'm concerned. We
>> apparently disagree on a number of fundamental issues, and that's
>> fine with me.
Typical pompous, "I'm right, and you're wrong" MVP attitude. As soon as
anyone with half a brain posts a real problem, including the steps s/he's
taken to correct the problem, and one of your canned responses doesn't cover
the problem, you get snippy and bail. I've seen it happen far too many
times here.
The only "fundamental issue" you disagree with us on, Ken, is the fact that
you think it's perfectly OK for an XP-based machine to inexplicably start
taking forever to boot.
And whether it happens suddenly, or over a period of time ... It's *not*
acceptable to those of us who are used to booting in 30-seconds or less, who
then for some reason *nobody* can seem to sort out, find ourselves waiting
4-10 minutes or more, for a desktop.
Near as I can tell? There is no solution other than to format/reinstall the
OS when this happens. And it's (whatever it is) IMO, attributable to XP
itself. Not spyware or scumware or ratware or a virus. You (Ken) have no
idea how dilligent I am about keeping this machine clean. You also have no
idea what lengths I went to, to avoid a format/reinstall when this happened
to me. Suffice to say, after running all the XP diagnostics including SFC,
and perusing the Event Viewer for errors only to discover that according to
the OS there was nothing wrong .... I then used various memory checking
devices thinking I might have a bad stick ... Then I turned my cable modem
off and disconnected it for an hour while the machine was powered-down. I
even went so far as not just disabling programs from start-up, but actually
removing them (one-by-one) to see if it made any difference. No joy. Used
system restore. No joy. Format/Reinstall .... JOY!
Not just in this newsgroup, but all over the place, people are experiencing
this problem. The current thinking seems to be that there must be some kind
of virus or malware that causes this to happen. I don't believe it, but if
it's true? It's the most stealth thing I've run across in eight years. It
doesn't show in start-up, everything appears OK as far as msconfig,
Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D and AV's of all kinds can't detect it, Spyware Blaster
can't prevent it, HiJackThis doesn't report it, and Windows doesn't know
it's there.
Note to Ben:
{Pay no attention to the fact that your machine takes forever to boot. It's
really none of your concern how your machine acts. Pay no attention to the
man behind the curtain. It's just Bill Gates operating yet another one of
his automated "MVPs" by remote-control.}
And now as I take my leave, I'll borrow a phrase from Ken ....
"Sorry, it's the end of the [newsgroup] as far as I'm concerned."
And fear not! I won't let the door hit me in the patooty on the way out.
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