IBM tower slow to initialize.

[CougTek]

Problem : IBM tower (P4 3.2GHz, 512MB RAM, XP Pro), two and a half years old, boots just fine when I power it up at my lab. I return the shitbox to the customer, install it and then the Inconceivable Bunch of Morons-made computer takes more than a minute to initialize (it POST, but then hangs for way too much time before launching Windows).

I repeat it doesn't do that at my lab. Can it be the network? The printer?!? The Labtec USB webcam??? I can rule out the external USB DVD-RW and HDD because the problem occured before they were installed.

I removed the option to boot from the network in the BIOS. The customer was using a remote tech support service using Damesware up to last month. I removed the remote control software and fixed the broken Windows Firewall (plus I added Comodo). The problem started about three months ago, before he became my customer and when he was still giving money to the remote tech support company. I haven't tried to disconnect the network to see if it speeds up the boot process.

Any idea?

 

[P5-133XL]

Force a bootlog and then analyze the output.

 

[P5-133XL]

There are also a number of freeware/shareware utilities such as Bootvis from M$ that will analyze the booting process.

Now I haven't used bootvis in a great while and M$ has withdrawn the program some years ago: I don't know why. So there may be issues with the program and I would test it on a non production system first.

 

[Handruin]

It doesn't sound like anything bootvis would help. it sounds like the phase that comes after counting RAM, etc.

FWIW, I used bootvis not too long ago and it worked fine. There were people that suffered issues with it which is why I believe MS removed the tool from their site. I noticed a mild improvement in boot time after using it.

 

[P5-133XL]

If the problem is before Windows but after post, then Is the network card trying to boot over the network? Is there media in the CD/Floppy/USB that the computer is trying to boot to?

 

[CougTek]

It sounds like the phase that comes after counting RAM, etc.

Exactly. And the problem occurs no matter if there's something in the CD-ROM drive. There's never been anything in the floppy when I witnessed it and the only two notable USB devices connected to the tower are an Epson CX3800 and a Labtec cheapo webcam.

I'll visit the customer again tuesday and I'll try booting without the network cable attached.

 

[Handruin]

The symptoms you describe remind me of issues I've seen when a host is connected to a SAN via fibre channel. If there is a problem with the SAN the host won't boot until I disconnect the fiber optic cables. Is there any type of SAN connection? I know you didn't mention it but I figured I'd ask just in case.

 

[ddrueding]

The simple first step for me would be do disconnect all the peripherals that were not connected in your lab and see what happens. Then plugin in one at a time until it happens. I'm betting it's the epson...

 

[CougTek]

I'm betting it's the epson...

The one who will soon kill himself on a speed bike was right.

 

[ddrueding]