So I just got a New HP DC7700PC Intel vPro workstation. Before doing anything I booted up XP Pro and went through removing not needed applications.

Then I upgraded to Vista RTM. Now at boot up it takes exactly 3.25 minutes to 4.00 everytime. The progress bar on the black screen freezes for about 2 seconds at the 1 minute and 1.5, 2.2 minute intervals.

The system is, like I said, 2 days old, nothing else installed that should tie it down, just a slow boot.

Does that machine have a PS/2 keyboard? If so, boot up and then do the following:

1. Create or set the following registry value:
Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters
Value: CrashOnCtrlScroll
Type: REG_DWORD
Data: 1

2. Right-Click on the "My Computer" icon on the desktop and select "Properties", then click the "Advanced system settings" option in the left-hand pane of the window. On the "Advanced" tab, click "Settings" under the "Performance:" header. Click the "Advanced" tab, then click "Change" under "Virtual Memory". Set the pagefile to be located on the partition where the OS is installed, and set it to be equal to Physical RAM + 50 MB.

3. Also in the "System Properties" window on the "Advanced" tab, click the "Settings" buttun under the "Startup and Recovery" header. Make sure "Complete Memory Dump" is selected (see 3a if this is not in the list). You can change the location of the memory dump file to a different local partition if you do not have enough room on the partition where the OS is installed.

3a. If the "Complete Memory Dump" option in step 3 is not available, you will need to manually set this registry value:

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl
Value: CrashDumpEnabled
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

4. You will need to reboot for these changes to take effect.

5. The next time that you boot up, and the system appears to be hanging, hold down the RIGHT CTRL key and press the SCROLL LOCK key twice to cause the machine to bugcheck and create a memory dump. After the box comes back up, you'll find the resulting memory dump file in %systemroot%\memory.dmp.

This file can be analyzed to determine what was hanging during boot.

Thanks I will try it shortly, but then if the file is analyzed what actions can I take from there?

So basically now the .DMP file is at 2.9 GB! It obvioulsy won't open anywhere..

I copied it somewhere else, renamed it and thought MS would create a new one on boot up, no joy.

the file will not analyze itself either you will have to post it here or we can show you how to analyze it. this should tell us what is causing the delay in your system

Post a 2.5 GB file? Don't think that's too practical.

Anyway like I said I moved the memory dump file and renamed it and MS didn't re-create it. Any suggestions?

Also the Shutdown speed is just as long usually.

First, I've PM'ed you an FTP location to upload the .dmp file to, and I'll analyze it.

Second, if you choose to boot into safe mode, does the startup and shutdown issue of slowness persist?

Hey, thanks again for all the help. I will try to U/L it but on the same token is there any way to get a new version/update of it? I would hate to tie up bandwidth for the 2GB dump file.


I will also check with the Safe Mode options

I don't understand - you're trying to update a memory.dmp file? Those are only created when a machine crashes - there's no update. I guess I'm misunderstanding what you're asking - perhaps you can clarify?

I renamed the memory dump file because it was 2 GB. I rebooted serveral times times to see if Windows would re-create the memory dump file as the system still was slow.

It will only recreate the file if you crash the box. Have you compressed and uploaded the memory.dmp file you created initially?