When I switch my computer on, the desktop takes longer than ususal to appear. When I then double click any icon to open a program, there seem to be a long time of purring and whirring going on at the background as if some other program is running at the same time.
What is the cause of this problem and how can I solve it.
A reply would be appreciated.

A few things to start with while we wait for the experts.

Have you installed anything recently? Hardware drivers perhaps or other software?

It's always worth doing a scandisk (I think it's checkdisk or chkdisk in XP) and defrag.

I've had something like this a few times when the HD somehow developed a fault in the boot sector which, fortunately, was fixed by scandisk, though I'm wondering whether I ought to be considering a replacement drive in case it happens again and can't be fixed. Perhaps it's a sign that the drive is failing, in my case at least.

It's worth going to Start > Run > msconfig to find out exactly what's starting with Windows, and if there's anything there you don't recognise you could try disabling it. Alternatively, you could safely disable ALL startup items, but don't forget to reinstate them before going on line or you won't have Anti-Virus or firewall.

If there's something causing the problem that you're absolutely certain isn't needed (and only if you ARE completely sure) you could use either msconfig or - if you're sure you know what you're doing - "Hijack This!" to permanently disable it. If you use msconfig, the resulting "trouble shooting" message can be got rid of by ticking the "don't show this again" box.

If defrag doesn't help and there's nothing showing in msconfig, what about system restore? It's got me out of trouble a few times.

If all else fails, you could post a "Hijack This!" log to see whether you've got any malware (mal-icious soft-ware) on your machine.

I notice you're new here. That doesn't mean you're not a computer expert, but if you do need basic security advice or download links, it could pay you to have a look at my site (http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/lesgrotte/). Everything there is free, and the last link on page 2 will take you to an advice page with download links. There's also a "site map", which is basically just a list of everything on the site. Go there if you know what you need, but don't know which page it's on.

Hope that helps.

Good advice Barney_Rubble

Let us know how you get on Harrow

I have tried some of your suggestions (i.e scandisk, defrag, run msconfig) but I did get rid of the problem. How do I do "system Restore". Sorry to ask but at my age 77 I find it difficult to keep up with modern technology.
Thank you for your help.

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Hello. Sorry to have let this post "slip through the cracks".

"..... defrag, run msconfig) but I did get rid of the problem."

Is the problem gone, or is this a typo?

"How do I do "system Restore"."

When you first start your system, and JUST AS you see the "Starting Windows 98" appear on the screen, start tapping either the F8 or CTRL key. (You have to be quick.) You should be presented with the Windows 98 Startup Menu*. In this menu choose Command prompt only.

This should bring you to a C:\> command prompt. Just type in scanreg/restore and hit the Enter key. You should be presented with up to five dates to choose from. You would pick a date which preceeds the problem. NOTE: Any software or MS Updates/Patches which were installed after this date will have to be reinstalled.

However, I'm not sure you should take this route just yet.

Had you installed any software/programs just prior to the slow boot ups happening?

It could be that you're running low on available hard disk space, and your Virtual Memory is chugging away adjusting itself for what is being loaded.

As a first step, I suggest deleting the existing swapfile (Virtual Memory file) and deleting the C:\WINDOWS\TEMP directory. (The temp directory will be recreated (empty) upon your next boot.) This will clear up some space on the drive and start you off with an empty swapfile.

The swap file is named Win386.swp and is located in the Windows directory if you are using a Windows managed swap file. If you are specifying your own settings, it will be in the root directory of the drive you chose to put it on. In order to "see" this file, open either My Computer or Windows Explorer. Click on Tools, then Folder Options. Click on View. Scroll down to Files and Folders. Place a check mark in the box for Show All Files, and remove the check mark from the box for Hide files of known extensions (or similar to that wording. I'm on my XP machine right now and my 98 machine isn't currently hooked up, but you'll see it.)

Post back with your results and with any further questions.



*An alternate (easier) method of achieving the Windows 98 Startup Menu is (while in Windows) click Start, Run, and type in msconfig. Click on the Advanced button (near the bottom right of the window) and place a check mark in the box for Enable Startup Menu. You'll get the menu on every boot. To remove the Startup Menu from every boot, just run msconfig once again and remove the check mark.