I'm not sure if anyone is still checking this out or not (I hope so) but I have a problem with windows me boot up process as well. I have just put in a new NIC and I was planning on buying more RAM for my computer. I took the RAM out to see what speed it was so I knew what to buy. I took all the precautions I was supposed to so I didn't fry anything (grounded myself with a static band). When I put the RAM back in and started up my computer, the boot sequence was very, very long and every time since then it has remained the same. It shows the initial message with the IBM stuff at the top of the screen and then it goes to the next screen where it tells me the the Boot version 2.2 is initializing and it gives me the option of pressing Ctrl+S to go into the setup. Then, it sits for 2 minutes doing nothing. After about 2 minutes, the hdd kicks in and it slowly loads windows me. In total, the boot process now lasts around 5 minutes or so just to get to my GUI. If I hit F1 to get into the configuration setup, the computer gives me a blank screen with a blinking cursor at the top and it doesn't do anything after that. Once I'm there I have to hit the power button because Ctrl+Alt+Del doesn't do anything. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on what I might have done wrong, please let me know. Thanx in advance.

Alright, wierd story time. I just hooked up my hdd with win ME (and the problem) right beside my other computer so I could do some troubleshooting with the computers in the same room, one with internet access. After I finished hooking it up, I turned it on and it raced through the boot up process, no questions asked, no problems raised, it was like nothing had happened. I spent the last 6 hours booting and rebooting and trying to get into the bios setup and trying everything I knew how to do to get it to work and then it just goes and fixes itself. Well, my sore back and extreme aggrivation aside, no harm done. I'm still inviting all comments and suggestions and ideas and theories as to what the problem may have been. I suspect the problem was with either the RAM or a loose component cable, possibly one of the IDE cables. Either some dirt or something got into the RAM slot or I knocked a cable loose while checking out my RAM. It is also possible that the computer had a hard time initializing the new network card as well but I can't say for sure. I'm only a novice technician right now. Anyways, I'm looking forward to anyone's comments. Please fire away.

You could have had a problem with the memory. If part of it was missing, Windows would have booted but been real slow at it. A tech should always be aware of exactly how much memory is in a system and if all of it is working correctly. He looks at the screen if it has a memory test and notes the size reported. Or he checks it with System Information program. Or if he even suspects memory problems, he goes into BIOS setup and Disables the "Fast Memory Test" so he can watch the memory being tested on bootup and knows if there is a memory problem. In addition he always has several boot diskettes at hand, a Windows ME startup diskette, and the standalone memory test boot diskettes for DocMemory_v2.0 and MemTest86_v3.0. These will tell you how much memory a system has and will do a very good test of it. (Can take hours). It could have been an IDE problem. If two or more IDE devices are hooked up, one could be causing trouble. Remember CD-Rom drivers connect to the IDE bus also. A loose cable will do the same thing, so the last thing you do before closing the box, is make sure you have not pulled on of the IDE cables loose. A slow boot can also be caused by a BIOS configuration error. The processor winds up running slow and things like the cache get disabled. Some systems are programmed to restore default settings after several boots if the CMOS is corrupted. A PCI card, not plugged in correctly can also cause bus errors and slow down a system. I have seen video cards come loose, cause the system to boot and run slow, yet display OK. I would check the NIC card real well. Many of them, being so small, are not made that well and eventhough the bracket is locked down good, the card connector does not fit down into the system board socket far enough to make good reliable connection. I have had to bend the brackets on NIC cards many times to get the socket to seat correctly. On some systems, you have to put spacers under the system board so it sets a little higher so the cards plug in good.