If your computer came with a network card and you are not hooked up to a network, your computer will hang at boot up looking for a network. Look in device manager for a network adapter and if it is there try disabling it otherwise you need to remove the card from your system.

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No, my computer does not have a network card. Now what??

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Check out this,How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows Millennium Edition can isolate the issue. http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q267/2/88.asp

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You say start up takes too long. How long does it take? What programs have you left starting?

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Start up takes about 8 minutes with no programs starting.

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When I performed the clean boot I check the *StateMgr box but when I do that it puts a check in the load start up box on the general tab. It didn't work.

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i had the exact thing happen, i formated, sucks but im all warm and cozy now with my computer that starts up fast again

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Lisa, Where does it hang, on the ME screen, or on your desktop, or somewhere else? Is this a new occurrence (following some software or hardware installation perhaps), or has it always taken this long (maybe you can restore back to beyond when it started)? Do you notice much HD activity during the entire 8 minutes? In the System Properties screen \Device Manager, do you see any hardware conflicts (indicated by "!" in a yellow circle)? Under the Performance tab, (or using the resource meter), what is your percentage of available resources? Have you manually set virtual memory? If so, you may want to try changing the setting to allow windows to handle virtual memory. You could also try running scandisk and setting it to do a thorough scan of your HD and then run disk defragmenter.

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DaBeast, It hangs on the compaq logo screen before i can get the windows screen to show. There are no hardware conflicts. I have not manually set the virtual memory. During the full eight minutes all I see is the flashing cursor and the floppy disk drive light is on the whole time. As soon as the floppy light goes off then the windows screen finally comes on. System resourses are at 75%, I have tried scandisk and defrag. No change. It all of a sudden started, I did not add any new hardware or software. I appreciate you taking the time to try and help me!! Help!

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try this; right-click on My computer and select properties. Go to the performance tab and then click on the File System button. Click on the Floppy disk tab and uncheck the box labeled "check for a new floppy drive every time this computer starts. Click apply and then click ok. I don't know if this will work but it won't hurt anything either (unless you change the floppy every time you boot).

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What has changed recenlty on your computer?? Was it just in the shop for any reason? Have you taken the case off? The floppy light staying on is usually caused by a problem with the Floppy disk controller, or the Floppy cable.

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I tried unchecking the "check for new floppy drive every time this computer starts" and it didn't change anything. No I haven't taken the case off and it hasn't been in the shop. It's a new computer. Nothing has changed.

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Obviously this problem is being caused by the Floppy drive. If your feeling gutsy, you could try taking the case off and checking the Floppy cable to make sure it's securely connected. The quick solution is to go into your BIOS and disable your floppy drive. Of course that drive won't work anymore, so this probably isn't the best solution. At this point, you might want to call Compaq at 1 800 652 6672, and see if they can help you at all. Your floppy controller might have gone out.

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I took the case off and checked the floppy cable and it looks like it's securely in place.

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try this settings control panel windows setup communications uncheck everything except dial-up networking (i am assuming that you have a dialup modem) open my computer tools folder options view check the "show hidden files and folders" radio button double click the c drive look for bootlog.txt open it and see what is loading during boot. task scheduler may be trying to perform some kind maintenance. (i always turn that crap off. i will do my own maintenance, thank you microflaccid.) thats all i can add to the other fine suggestions :-) good luck

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I don't understand the bootlog text!! It keep repeating a lot of the same.

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Lisa, Did your computer come with a bootable CD-ROM? If it did, enter Setup and change your boot sequence to CD-ROM first then Hard Drive. (You could do this anyway, but it's better if you have a bootable CD.) If you don't have a bootable CD-ROM, or if you don't want to mess around in setup, in Device Manager, disable your floppy disk controller (put a check in the box next to "disable in this hardware profile"). Restart and see if startup is faster. These are just diagnostic suggestions, not repairs. Let us know what happens.

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Thanks everyone for your time and help. It's finally starting up normally. Thanks DaBeast. Your suggestion helped, I changed the boot sequence and it worked. Thanks again!! :-)

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Lisa, Changing the boot sequence was just a work around; you may have a bad floppy drive controller, or floppy drive, in any case, something is still not right. Contact your computer mfgr. and see what they can do about it, especially if it is still under warranty. Glad the quick fix worked though:)

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