Slow start, Wont shutdown, slow page dowload

[RayMunro]

I have encountered a strange problem (or set of problems) that may or may not be related.

When I start my pc, the indicator bar on the Windows screen halts for up to 2 minutes but mostly for around 45 secs before continuing. The following black screen holds for about 30-45 seconds then the next two screens (starting...) (loading prefs..) load in abot a second each.

When I turn off pc, 9 times out of 10 it freezes on windows is shutting down and the only way to turn off if via power off button. This does not happen on "restart pc."

Often when trying to load a page on IE6 the page is either very slow to load or stops loading. however, clicking on refresh then brings the page up almost instantly.

My pc is running Semperon 3100, Abit NF8 motherboard, 1024mb RAM, NVidia G Force MX4000.

I have run Norton Antivirus, Adaware, Spybot, Webroot Spy Sweeper and Symantec on line scan and no viruses or trojans show up.

Eventlog shows no errors or info at times of start or close.

Any ideas cos' I've run out?

Thanks

Ray

 

[linney]

Is there an available update for your Bios? Have you tried setting your Bios back to its Safe defaults?

How do things appear from Safe Mode, or from Normal Mode as a different user?

Have you tried running ChkDsk?

WINDOWS XP SHUTDOWN & RESTART TROUBLESHOOTING

http://www.aumha.org/a/shtdwnxp.htm

Removing adware & spyware (Try some of the suggested scans from Safe Mode)
FAQ608-4650

Make sure your options in IE/ Tools/ Internet Options/ Advanced are correct.

Uncheck the boxes for "Install on Demand" for IE and Other programs (two boxes).

Try running temporarily with the third box "Enable Third Party Browser Extensions" unchecked and see how this goes.

"This specifies that you want to disable features you installed for use with Internet Explorer that may have been created by companies other than Microsoft.
If you encounter problems with Internet Explorer that you cannot resolve, you can use this option to help determine if third-party features are causing the problems without uninstalling the feature. You must restart Internet Explorer after turning this option on or off."

Before you play with Safe Mode, check your Event Viewer for any errors.