Vista Takes 10 Minutes To Boot

Hi, my computer has had this problem for a while now and i can't find a solution for it.
The info for my computer is on my profile. It's about a 5 year old system. It came with windows XP but a long time ago my brother messed something up and the computer was pretty much useless. I wiped the system and put a copy of windows XP on it, but i later realized it was a bootleg copy. So i found an old Windows Vista Home Basic disk and installed it on the computer over the summer. It ran just fine except a little slow so I upgraded my RAM from 512MB to 1 GB and it ran much better. But then it started to take 10 minutes to boot up. I've made sure that the RAM was in correctly and had a computer expert take a look to make sure. I've tried disabling EVERYTHING for start up from the system configuration menu. I've tried installing a windows service pack, but then it doesnt start at all, boots forever, and i need to shut down and load from the vista disk to do a system restore. No matter what i do it still takes forever to boot. All i see for 10-20 minutes is the green sliding bar. Can someone offer any other solutions to try out?

 

Hi riotriot911. Has this old copy of Vista Home Basic been validated?

If this Copy has been used on another Computer, and the Product key used already,

then you won't be able to install updates which you need.

Is this another Bootleg copy?

 

Hi riotriot911

If DSTM hasn't hit the nail on the head to start with

how long does it take to Boot into safe mode?

when was the last time you scanned for spyware, and cleaned out the temporary file system ?

when was the last time you defragged the HDD?

what or how many AV applications do you have running?

 

It is a genuine copy that has been validated. I run a virus scan very often.
Last time i ran it in safe mode was an accident so i didnt pay attention to how long it took to boot. I'll get back to you on that.
I havent defragged lately either, i'll try that out too.
I'm not sure what you mean by AV applications

 

Okay, turns out i have an auto schedule for defragmenting. i didnt even know that lol. it runs every wednesday

 

What program do you use to run your virus scan?

AV means Anti Virus programs.

 

Ooh I use the latest version of Norton

 

Lets go back to that operating system for some clarification. When you say it was validated, was it validated for this specific computer or validated in the past?

I am not suggesting that this is a pirated copy at all. Your initial problem may or may not be hardware related but the fact that you cannot install service packs makes me wonder if it is not being recognized as valid for that computer.

The fact that it is an old disk that you found leads me to believe that this is not the first install. Did this disk come from a manufacturer?

 

No, my brothers girlfriend had bought this disk for this computer a few years ago because the computer wasn't working but apparently they never installed it. I found the disk and gave it a try and it worked and it is validated on this computer.

I tried booting it in Safe mode and it took twice as long as when i took it off safe mode and started it normally.

 

OK well just try making sure by using this link. http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/validate/validatenow.aspx If that gets you a negative response then you may have to get in touch with Microsoft. If it shows as valid then we will have to go in another direction. You may be infected or Norton may be acting up on you.

 

It came up as genuine.
Also, i've had this problem since before i installed Norton.

But i was looking at my "Windows experience index score" And apparently my graphics card brings it down to a 2.0. it says "Graphics: desktop performance for Windows Aero 2.0"
Do you think that could be why?
The only reason that doesn't make sense to me is because when i first installed Vista on this computer it started up just fine. it took a while to start doing this.

 

It very well could be. I have never had Vista but Windows 7 requires graphics to be somewhere above 3. Try shutting down Aero and see if that helps.

 

I don't know how to do that

but attached is a pic of my index score

 

On the vista box under requirements its says "support for Super VGA graphics" and "support for directX 9 graphics and 32MB of graphics memory". I'm not entirely sure what this means but i know every thing else matches the requirements.

 

Go to your desktop and right click on an empty spot.
Choose "personalize" from the drop down menu
A window should appear. and on the bottom is should say "open Classic Appearance for more color option>"
When that window opens choose Windows basic from the color scheme options.

Click apply and then OK and OK your way all the way out. That should disable Aero. It would appear that your graphics card will not support it and may account for you moving at a snails pace.

 

okay, the way it went for me was this: Rick click>personalization>window color and appearance>
then Appearance settings comes up. among my different choices is Windows Classic, and Windows Standard.
Does it matter which one i chose? or am i totally in the wrong place?
cuz i dont have anything that says "open Classic Appearance for more color option>"

 

No you seem to be in the right place . I think there is one for Vista Basic but I don't think that either of the ones that you mentioned are Aero. Windows classic will revert to the old windows start menu etc. The Windows standard will be the one you are probably used to. Give them a try.

 

okay. and yea, the other choices are Windows Vista Standard, Windows Vista Basic, and then stuff like high contrast white, high contrast black, ect

 

Just let us know it that improves performance. If not we will be doing scans other than Norton to see if there is any malware causing this.

 

When i take it off Areo, will it still say "desktop performance for windows aero"? if so, how do i know if it's not on aero anymore?