Slow Boot Up Problem Won't Go Away!

[johndoe24]

I've been having problems with a slow boot time for over a week. It started when my machine stalled while I was in Firefox. That's when I encountered the "Memory\ZwQuerySystemInformation" virus or whatever. See my thread on by the same title for more details. I ran numberous reports and nothing was found - the slow boot up is still an issue. I just used Acronis 7 to back up and restore my system, thinking the problem would go away - it didn't. Back to square one. The slow boot lasts about three minutes before Windows starts; i.e., the screen is blank on power up for a few seconds and the "VAIO" appears on the screen. VAIO stays there for about three minutes until Windows starts. Once Windows starts, everything seems normal. What could be hanging up during boot? Note that my thread on "Memory\ZwQuerySystemInformation" has a lot of data about my system specifics, but I'll send more if you need it. Thanks!

[johndoe24]

I was out for a couple of hours this evening and when I returned to check my computer, I found it locked up. I used the power button to shut down and boot back up. When the boot finally occurred, I got this Microsoft message:

The System Has Recovered From A Serious Error:

Error Signature:
BCCode: ea BCP1:86068DA8 BCP2: 85DB2C00 BCP3: 861215C0
BCP4: 00000001 OSVer:5_1_2600 SP: 2_0 Product: 256_1

The Detailed Report:
C:\DOCUME~1\RODNEY~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERb1dd.dir00\M ini020507-01.dmp
C:\DOCUME~1\RODNEY~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERb1dd.dir00\s ysdata.xml
C:\DOCUME~1\RODNEY~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERb1dd.dir00\M ini020507-01.dmp
C:\DOCUME~1\RODNEY~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERb1dd.dir00\s ysdata.xml


Link in MS showed this:

Follow these steps to solve the problem with a video device driver
You received this message because a device driver installed on your computer caused the Windows operating system to stop unexpectedly. This type of error is referred to as a "stop error." A stop error requires you to restart your computer.
Solution
________________________________________

There are two options you can use to try to fix the problem. If the first option doesn't work, then try the second.

Option 1: Install the most current device driver for your video card


Option 2: Manually decrease Hardware Acceleration for your video adapter

4.

Technical Information
Error Message: STOP 0x000000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER (Q293078)





________________________________________

There are two options you can use to try to fix the problem. If the first option doesn't work, then try the second.

Option 1: Install the most current device driver for your video card

• Go to the Microsoft Update website to see if there are any updated drivers for your video card. If there are any drivers listed, you should install them.
• If there are no updated drivers listed at Microsoft Update, and you know the manufacturer of the video card, contact the card manufacturer's product support service for assistance.
• If there are no updated drivers at Microsoft Update, you don't know the name of the manufacturer of the video card, and you need more help diagnosing and resolving this problem, contact your computer manufacturer's product support service.

Option 2: Manually decrease Hardware Acceleration for your video adapter

This procedure prevents the display device driver from programming the hardware incorrectly, but you might lose some display functionality and performance. Although you can increase the hardware acceleration settings higher than None to regain functionality and performance, these settings increase the chance that the issue will occur again. For maximum stability, leave hardware acceleration turned off.
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Display.
2. Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
3. Click the Troubleshoot tab, move the Hardware Acceleration slider to None, and then clear the Enable Write Combining check box.
4. Click OK, and then click OK. Note: This procedure prevents the display driver from programming the hardware incorrectly, but you may lose some display functionality and performance


Encountered this Error when trying to access MS Download Site:

[Error number: 0x8DDD0003]

Network policy settings prevent you from using this website to get updates for your computer.

If you believe you have received this message in error, please contact your system administrator.
Read more about steps you can take to resolve this problem (error number 0x8DDD0003) yourself.




When trying to access the Update site, you see the 0x8ddd0003 error
Last updated : 10/21/2005 Print | Close




Problem description
The error message reads: Network policy settings prevent you from using Windows Update to download and install updates. This error may occur if the Remove access to use all Windows Update features group policy has been enabled by your system administrator.


Applicable operating systems and products

• Windows 2000
• Windows XP
• Windows Server 2003

Resolutions
1. For more information on this issue and please click on the Microsoft Knowledge Base link below

For more information about When trying to access the Update site, you see the 0x8ddd0003 error, see article 326686 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
SYMPTOMS
For computers that are running Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows Server 2003
You may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
• When you access the Windows Update Web site or the Microsoft Update Web site, you receive an error message that is similar to the following:
Access Denied
Network policy settings prevent you from using Windows Update to download and install updates on your computer. If you believe you have received this message in error, please check with your system administrator.
• When you click Windows Update or Microsoft Update on the Start menu, you receive an error message that is similar to the following:
Windows Update was disabled by your system administrator.
Back to the top
For computers that are running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003
You may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
• The Windows Update shortcut or Microsoft Update shortcut is missing on the Start menu.
• The Windows Update shortcut or Microsoft Update shortcut is missing on the Tools menu in Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• The Automatic Updates tab is missing in the System Properties dialog box.
• After you configure Automatic Updates, you are not notified about critical updates. Additionally, you do not receive critical updates from Windows Update or from Microsoft Update.
• Device Manager does not automatically install driver updates from Windows Update or from Microsoft Update.
• When you click the Automatic Updates Control Panel tool, the Automatic Updates settings are unavailable. You receive a message that is similar to the following:
The Windows Update Service is unavailable.
Back to the top
CAUSE
This issue occurs if Windows Update is turned off by one of the following settings:
• Group Policy
• System policy
• Registry
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RESOLUTION
For corporate users who are connected to a corporate network
To resolve this issue, contact the local system administrator to determine whether Windows Update access is disabled by Group Policy settings.
Back to the top
For home users who are not connected to a corporate network
For users who are running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003
To restore the missing Windows Update shortcut or Microsoft Update shortcut on a computer that is running Windows 2000, follow these steps:
1. Log on to the computer as a local administrator.
2. Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
3. In the left pane, expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and then click Start Menu and Taskbar.
4. In the right pane, right-click Disable and remove links to Windows Update, and then click Properties.
5. Click Disabled, click Apply, and then click OK.
To restore the missing Windows Update shortcut or Microsoft Update shortcut on a computer that is running Windows XP or that is running Windows Server 2003, follow these steps:
1. Log on to the computer as a local administrator.
2. Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
3. In the left pane, expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and then click Start Menu and Taskbar.
4. In the right pane, right-click Remove links and access to Windows Update, and then click Properties.
5. Click Disabled, click Apply, and then click OK.
To enable access to the Windows Update Web site, follow these steps:
1. Log on to the computer as a local administrator.
2. Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
3. In the left pane, expand User Configuration, and then expand Administrative Templates.
4. Expand Windows Components, and then click Windows Update.
5. In the right pane, right-click Remove access to use all Windows Update Features, and then click Properties.
6. Click Disabled, click Apply, and then click OK.
For users running Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER, expand Software, expand Microsoft, expand Windows, expand CurrentVersion, and then expand Policies.
3. If the Windows Update key exists, click Windows Update.
4. In the right pane, if the DisableWindowsUpdateAccess DWORD value exists, right-click DisableWindowsUpdateAccess, and then click Delete.
5. Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER, expand Software, expand Microsoft, expand Windows, expand CurrentVersion, and then expand Policies.
6. If the Explorer key exists, click Explorer.
7. In the right pane, if a DisableWindowsUpdateAccess DWORD exists, right-click DisableWindowsUpdateAccess, and then click Delete.
8. In the right pane, if a NoWindowsUpdate DWORD value exists, right-click NoWindowsUpdate, and then click Delete.
9. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, expand Software, expand Microsoft, expand Windows, expand CurrentVersion, and then expand Policies.
10. If the Explorer key exists, click Explorer.
11. In the right pane, if a DisableWindowsUpdateAccess DWORD exists, right-click DisableWindowsUpdateAccess, and then click Delete.
12. In the right pane, if a NoWindowsUpdate DWORD value exists, right-click NoWindowsUpdate, and then click Delete.
13. Close Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.
Back to the top
MORE INFORMATION
Windows 2000 supports the Disable and remove links to Windows Update Group Policy setting. Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 support the Remove links and access to Windows Update Group Policy setting. On other Windows operating systems, you can use System policies, or you can modify the registry.

An administrator can use these policies to remove access to Windows Update and to Microsoft Update for individual users, for domain users, or for Active Directory objects.

For more information about how to troubleshoot Windows Update issues and Microsoft Update issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
316524 You receive an "Administrators only" error message when you try to visit the Windows Update Web site or the Microsoft Update Web site

Please let me know what's going on.

[johndoe24]

CTH - I'm still experiencing slow-bootup problems as described in these two posts. Please advise. Thank you

[johndoe24]

Note: Microsoft helped me get Windows updates working, but the other problems are still there. One other thing I've been having a problem with is audio when trying to play videos; i.e., the audio diasppears and will come back until after a reboot. It happens with Media and Real players.