for some reason when i boot my computer the welcome screen stays on for like 15 seconds before it goes to the desktop to load. if I do a system restore it fixes it but it eventually comes back after a while. Andrew Kraker

15 seconds is pretty good. Try this. Start > Run, copy & paste > msconfig & press Enter. Click on the tab marked "Startup" Uncheck all the items. If the problem no longer persists, then one of the items in the startup is the culprit, you just need to track it down.

i cant see why it will stay there for 15 second s if you have 2gb of ram lol

If you have only 1 hard drive installed, to stop it looking for the 2nd, do this. Whilst there make sure all drives ( including rom's ) are set to > "DMA if available" Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel". Under the "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 1" setting. More than likely, your current transfer mode is set to PIO. Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if you have devices attached to it. 1. From the Start menu, select "Run..." copy & paste > devmgmt.msc & hit Enter. 2. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" 3. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties". 4. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device 0 or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK". 5. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9. 6. Reboot your computer. ===================================== Quick Power on Self Test: Enabled: Enables quick POST. BIOS will shorten or skip some check items during POST to speed up POST after you power on the computer. Enable Quick post in BIOS setup, as long as you have a have a lot of memory. The normal memory test, is tested three times & that alone may take 60 to 90 seconds. ==================================== Resources for Troubleshooting Startup Problems in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308041 ====================================== Very Slow boot when networking http://www.tweakxp.com/tweak954.aspx ==================================== Spyfiles slow down boot up. Free online Spyware detector http://www.pestscan.com/ http://home.ca.com/dr/v2/ec_main.entry25?page=freePestPatrolScan&client=ComputerAssociates&sid=35715&CID=188513 http://www.spywareguide.com/txt_onlinescan.html http://www.webroot.com/services/spyaudit_03.htm http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/promotions/spywaredetector/index_za.html Or, http://www.spywareinfo.com/xscan.php Screen for Adware, Spyware, Scumware, Diallers, ’Jackers and other unsolicited commercial software. ================================== Not networking, this will help. 1) Control Panel -> Internet Options 2) Connections tab 3) LAN Settings 4) Uncheck "Automatically Detect Settings"