Windows 2000 slow etc 1

[Guest_imported]

I’ve read with interest the subjects you have all answered about Windows 98 and 2000 dual boot-up systems. I wonder if someone could help me with some problems I’m having.

1. When booting into 2000 it takes twice as long to load as it does in 98. Can I speed-up loading 2000? I’ve also noticed when clicking on an icon, again it is slow in opening and in closing.

2. If I leave it when the system first boots-up, it goes into 2000. As I use 98 most of the time, can I somehow set it that if I leave it to boot-up on its own, it will go into 98?

3. I have Sound Blast Live, which works okay in 98. I have downloaded the drivers for 2000 but find that when the start up music comes on, it is breaking up and rasping. It does the same if I play a game that has music incorporated in it.

Thank you to anyone who answers my queries.

 

[billieT]

Uninstall your Soundblaster, try rebooting and see if the system starts any faster. If so, reinstall it from fresh, using the new drivers. If it goes slow again, it may be that the card isn't very compatible with 2000 (particularly if it's one of the older ones) - you may need to upgrade.

Also, check your graphics adapter - 90% of the problems I've noticed with slowness of 2000 is due to graphics adapter compatibility issues. Check the adapter is on the HCL, delete it and reinstall it using the latest drivers.

From the sound of it (or not!), it probably is your soundcard.

 

[Jocsta]

2) In win2k - right click "my computer", properties, on one of the tabs (I'm using an NT4 machine at the moment,so cant recall which tab for sure) there is an option to select which item on the boot menu gets chosen, and a timer to say how long you want to display the list for.

 

[Guest_imported]

Thank you Jocsta. That's one problem solved.

billieT. I tried unloading sound blaster but it made no difference. I installed the Creative driver for the sound card again, but with no success. The opening Windows music still breaks up and if I take the music off any of the games, such as Wolfenstein, the action sounds are okay. The driver for the Nvida graphic card is the correct one.
My 2000 still takes over 3 minutes to load whereas 98 takes one and half. Both have the same firewall and Norton Anti-virus.

Number 2 has been sorted. Can you or anyone else advise on the other 1 & 3?
Again thank you to whoever answers.

 

[jeremybarker]

How much ram do you have? 9x systems weren't that ram intensive, but w/ 2000 and XP some extra ram will do you good. Is the pc on a network? What firewall? What version of NAV?

 

[zoeythecat]

Windows2000 generally takes a long time to boot. There is nothing much you can do about that especially if your processor is slow. I had a PII350 processor with Windows2000. It took about 5 minutes to boot up. The newer processors boot up a lot quicker obviously. If you have a PentiumII it will boot up slow, if it is a PIII it will boot up quicker but still slow. P4 (Yeah baby. Now your talking quick)

 

[Guest_imported]

I have an Athlon 1400x133. A friend of mine has the same sort of processor speed and they load quickly.
According to DirectX my ram is 512. If this has to be increased could you please direct me, as I am new to 2000.
My firewall is Zonealarm pro 3 and I am a single user computer person although I believe my NTL broadband classes me as a network. Because of the broadband I have the firewall. The anti-virus is the one with Norton Systemworks 2002 professional.

Hope this helps to guide me.
Thanks

 

[jeremybarker]

Personally I would disable both NAV and ZA at startup, then manually start them when you're logged in. Sounds like you got plenty of ram, no need for an upgrade there.

 

[nilux]

Hi,

1. Try to defrag your HD.
2. Disable any startup programs from;
- stat up group
- registry HKLM\..\Run - registry HKCU\..\Services3. Disable ZAP on startup //must
4. Check ON DMA for your HD in Device Manager

This may resolve...

Nilux #include<NoOneLivesForever>

 

[Guest_imported]

Disabled both Zeroalarm and anti-virus but no difference in loading speed. Went into Device Manager but there is no DMA box to check, unlike that in 98.

Re advise on disable any startup programs from
- stat up group
- registry HKLM\..\Run- registry HKCU\..\Services3. Disable ZAP on startup //must
As I am just starting with 2000 I was unable to understand how to find the above to do as suggested. Could you please explain in more detail. In 98 under run, if I type msconfig I get the various startup features. In 2000 the run does not accept this. I am assuming what you advised is something similar.

 

[zoeythecat]

I think you should just resign to the fact that this is how Windows2000 loads up. You will not improve the speed unless you want to upgrade your processor. Think you should just deal with it. I mean how long does it take to boot up? Is it that painful for you?

 

[Guest_imported]

There must be something going on with your system, because I'm running Win2000 Pro on a K6-2 500 with 256 Meg of RAM, and mine will boot up in 60 seconds or less. Are you talking booting up from BIOS to seeing your desktop, or from BIOS to having the hourglass go away? If it's the hourglass, you probably have a ton of background threads running (startup programs). try disabling them, and see if it boots more quickly.

 

[Guest_imported]

Thanks to all for your help. It was suggested that I look at the Microsoft up-date and I found Service Pack 3 which I downloaded and installed. Would you believe it, all my sound and slowness problems have gone. I now boot up in one minute.
Again thanks for your help and I hope you don't think I've been wasting your time.