Very slow Windows XP

[inerte]

Hello all!

First of all, sorry for my english, since I am from Brazil.

I had problems installing Windows XP without floppies for a SATA HD and solved it creating a customized Windows XP install CD with nLite and the MassStorage DriverPack.

But after it's installed, this is what is happening: The WinXP Welcome Screen (the one with the moving blue bar) appears and the PC hangs for around 7 minutes. Suddenly there's activity on the HD and the blue bar moves a little. The PC freezes again for 7 minutes, the login screen appears (with HD activity), freezes again, I type my password, freezes again, Windows starts to load, freezes again, more loading, more freezing... you get the idea The PC freezes for a while, then there's HD activity and something happens. This activity lasts for 10 seconds, enough for the boot process to "happen" during this period and then it hangs.

Anyone knows what's going on? Any ideas how to solve it? Here's my PC specs:

Athlon 64 +3000

K8V-SE Deluxe (flashed to version 1008.004)

120 GB SATA HD (don't remember the brand)

GeForce FX5500 256MB

1GB DDR PC400

I used a Windows XP SP1 CD for slipstreaming

I tried many different BIOS configurations, and even installed Windows XP many times with different settings, like enabling/disabling the Promise Controller (RAID or IDE mode), USB ports/controllers, ACPI APIC (and the 2.0 support), and even the Speech Post Reporter. Also unplugged the network cable, and disconnected my USB drive. In short, everytime I googled that for someone changing a setting made things work, I tried

The only thing that I haven't tried is changing the jumpers/connectors on the mobo/HD. I read that there's different places to plug these cables, like SATA_0 and SATA_1, but I didn't open the computer case because otherwise I can void its warranty. I could send the PC back to the company that sold it to me and ask for help, but only on Wednesday (since Thursday is a national holiday here in Brazil).

I don't think it's a hardware problem, like bad memory or mobo, because I have installed different Linux distros (Ubuntu, Suse 9.3/10.0, and Kurumin - a Knoppix variant) sucessfully. Also, the Windows XP installation goes without problems, very very fast, it's just that after Windows is installed, I suffer from these HD hiccups. But I've been struggling for 12 hours with this system and it's giving me headaches

Any help is truly appreciated, thanks!

[HyperHacker]

Jeez, what kinda crappy dealership voids your warranty if you open the case?

Is Linux giving you any problems at all? If not, it's likely your XP install files are corrupt, which is probably due to a scratched/misburned CD (there are legal reasons to burn an XP CD ), or if it's one of those crappy OEM restore discs, they probably screwed with something. Also, if it is an OEM disc, try uninstalling any software that came with it. Start with antivirus as these dig deep into Windows' core which is often the cause of problems like this. (Stay offline while your AV is inactive, of course. If it is the problem, try AVG - it's free.)

Also, do you have multiple hard drives or partitions? It could be trying to access them and failing for some reason. (I find XP sometimes accesses the floppy drive at random when listing large directories.)

Come to think of it, this has happened to me too, but not very often and it usually only takes a few seconds to start up again. Not sure what causes it. (System specs would help. )

Worst case scenario, if Linux works, just stick with it.

Edited November 13, 2005 by HyperHacker

[kartel]

Void waranty ? What if you need to clear cmos ? or add some new hardware

[suryad]

It could be your SATA driver problems.....and nice smiley akrtel......where di you get that?!

[Zxian]

Just for clarity - Does Windows work fine before installing drivers, or does the problem happen after the first boot of Windows (just before you see the desktop for the first time)?

If it happens after you've installed your drivers, then that's where your problem lies. Since you said that Linux works, all signs point towards bad drivers or a bad installation of the drivers. Try downloading the latest drivers in advance before installing XP (burn them onto a separate CD) and then installing those instead of the ones that came with your hardware (probabaly a CD for each part).