hi! have a problem, that i know a lot of people have, but noone really seems to care about... the problem is, that windows XP after have been booted, needs another minute or two until its fully engaged. but it looks like fully engaged, because a lot of programs do run and there is no harddisk activity anymore. the real problem is the network connection and the virusscanner. they don't work until XP is fully engaged. anybody who knows how to fix it? i know my question may not be fully understandable, i just don't know how to explain this. but fact is, that the problem is well-known.. please help!

Have you tried this tool? http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/BVT/1.0/WXP/EN-US/BootVis_file.exe Speeds up the boot time....hope it helps :)

Hi Manks, Why does your XP take so long? Mine doesnt. Maybe you need more ram. Or go to START - RUN - and type WINCFG or WINCONFIG and click OK. go to that startup tab and uncheck any stuff your computer doesnt need in there. I wonder if your computer just needs ram or is an older model.

I am having the same problem. I have found that it is Norton Antivirus that is causing the problem. I have not, however found a fix for this issue. I you notice, there will be a red "X" over the Norton incon in notification tray. Once this "X" goes away, the system works fine. If any solutions, please post the solution. Thanks. Michael

I have had this problem for a long time now. Same thing with Windows 2000, as soon as I remove my ethernet card the problem goes away. Maybe an IRQ Problem. If you find out what to do let me know.

I'm having the same problem as well but I'm pretty sure it does have nothing to do with norton antiv. since I do not use this software. I would also guess that it has something to do with the network card. Do you have one installed in your system. This problem only occurse on my desktop. My notbook (with an integrated networkcard) just works fine. Maybe a different chip set? Sorry no solution but maybe that will push you in the right direction. Stephan

I have the same problem. I built my own PC, and for some unknown reason, it takes about a minute for XP to "get its act together" before I can run programs. Programs like my Hardware MOnitor, Norton Antivirus, Sisoft Sandra etc.. etc.. crash, refuse to run, or just hang for this period of time. Windows programs like Explorer and Calculator run just fine. When I try to run the Hardware MOnitor, I get a "FAILED Device Driver Load", when I try to run Prime95 to stresstest my CPU, I will get a message that says "Wait 40 Secs for Boot" and it will hang for approximately 40 seconds or so. Norton Antivirus Auto-protect will have a red X through it. It is strange and annoying, if Windows is loading then it should show a loading screen, not a wierd-quasi loading limbo stage.