Member Avatar for mdk2k4

All of sudden my desktop icons are taking about 2 minutes too load after windows starts. Can anybody help me. I ran malwarebytes, norton antivirus, no adware, xofspy, spyware doctor, cleaned all spyware and adware off the system; cleaned up start up programs from msconfig, defrag the HD, I've done just about any maintance need it but still the same, it takes about 2 minutes too load, but after that windows runs perfect, is fast and everything, (ran bootvis,tune xp, regcure, registry easy,regscrubxp, ) even tweak the registry to no avail. Need help.

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This symptom (desktop stays blank for ~2 minutes after logon, then everything is fine) is common and usually means Explorer is waiting on something — a slow startup process, a network resource that times out, a bad shell extension, or a corrupted icon cache. ’s report and ’s follow-up show a cleanup tool can mask the problem by removing the offending item, but it helps to isolate the root cause so it does not return.

Try this ordered, low-risk troubleshooting flow (do one step at a time and reboot between steps):

  • Boot to Safe Mode. If icons appear immediately there, a startup program or service is likely to blame.
  • Do a clean‑boot (msconfig/Task Manager) to disable non-Microsoft startup items and services, then re-enable items half-at-a-time to isolate the culprit. (support.microsoft.com)
  • Use Autoruns (Sysinternals) to inspect everything that auto-starts and disable suspect third‑party entries (do not delete; disable first). (learn.microsoft.com)

Also check these Explorer-specific items:

  • Rebuild the icon cache (delete the IconCache file in the user Local Settings / AppData\Local folder for your OS and then log off/reboot). That fixes corrupted icon databases that can stall Explorer. (support.microsoft.com)
  • Disable non-Microsoft shell extensions (context‑menu handlers, preview handlers) with a shell-extension viewer to see if one delays Explorer; re-enable items in groups to find the offender. (nirsoft.net)

A strongly worded caution about registry edits: do not delete entire keys under HKCU/HKLM\Software blindly as suggested — that can break installed programs or Windows. Export any key before changing it and create a restore point so you can roll back. Microsoft documents how to export/restore the registry and use System Restore. (support.microsoft.com)

If the problem persists, report the Event Viewer warnings around the logon time plus a copy of your Autoruns startup list — those details point to the exact failing service/extension and make a precise fix possible.

Recommended Answers

All 13 Replies

Member Avatar for Godsp3ed

Whatever you do, some icons always take time to come up coz the program they are related to takes time to load...In your case i'd suppose Some firewall/AV/Internet Security,etc.

The more the number of programs, even more time is consumed..So the best way is, reduce the no. of programs as much as possible..

Member Avatar for mdk2k4

You see, are the desktop icons the one's that take too long to load, before, it used to load fast as soon as the welcome screen finish loading but now it takes a full 2 minutes for the whole desktop to show. it's a toshiba laptop, 1.5ghz 2GB of ddr2 667mhz.

Member Avatar for RJCO

see how the system works...first it boots then it starts the OS..after that the desktop opens in Memory along with its icons and links so what you have to do....two options.

1. add more memory
2. shift your desktop icons to any folder in d drive.

Member Avatar for Asphodel

Might be a Windows Explorer problem. Check out this article - maybe you will find a fix there.

Member Avatar for mdk2k4

Asphodel, I'll check it out, let you know if it works; cause rjco was not help at all.

thanks

Member Avatar for slash49er

Try a free program called Glary Utilities. Install it and just run the one click maintenance. This might help your problem. I've used this on many computers with the same problem as yours and it always seems to help.

Member Avatar for mark041109

Dear slash49er, thanks for the info on Glary Utilities. I downloaded and ran it. It found over 500 problems just in my registry. After cleaning everything, I rebooted my system and WOW, the icons in the system tray popped up in less than 10 seconds. Thanks again!

Member Avatar for Godsp3ed

Most of the times the problem can be due to a virus :
They can run themselves as a windows service/hidden process, it takes up memory, depending upon priority it can sometimes use up even much more memory than you expect hence causing other programs to load slower..

Member Avatar for mdk2k4

slash49er, I must say this, you helped me solved this problem, Problem completely solved; now I start windows and icons appear instantly right after the welcome screen. Sorry it took me long to reply to your reply, cause I was on a trip, but the minute i got back, read on your reply and problem fixed, Glary utilities great little program. And thank you again slash49er for taking your time to help others and for sharing some knowledge with us.

Member Avatar for Godsp3ed

For those who want to download the tool, here's the link Glary Utilities

Member Avatar for punit.pandya.31

hi frnds i had this same problem of xp taking so long to show desktop screen after boot up .... i followed some advise of cleaning junk files , temp folder ,registry cleaner ..Nothing worked .... i deleted some registry folder in software folder in REGISTRY LIST which were'nt necessary for me .... I DELETED ADOBE FOLDER , SAMSUNG KIES FOLDER AND I RESTARTED PC AND IT BOOT UP IN 2 SEC .... THIS IS A REAL SOLUTION TRY ....
I HAVE THIS SOLUTION ITS VERY EASY BELIEVE ME ..JUST REMEMBER WHICH SOFTWARES OR HARDWARE U INSTALLED RECENTLY JUST DELETE THAT FOLDER FROM REGISTRY FOLDER ....REGISTRY CONTAINS IN ONLY SOFTWARES FOLDER AND THERE ARE 3 OR 4 FOLDERS OF SOFTWARE IN REGISTRY DELETE THEM ALL BY RIGHT CLICK (DELETE) AND RESTART YOUR COMPUTER.......

STEPS

1) Start , Run , regedit.exe

2) HKEY_CURRENT_USER , OPEN +SOFTWARE , DELETE RECENT SOFTWARE FOLDER

3) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE , OPEN +SOFTWARE ,
DELETE RECENT SOFTWARE FOLDER

4)HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG , OPEN +SOFTWARE ,
DELETE RECENT SOFTWARE FOLDER

AND RESTART YOUR PC .......
PROBLEM SOLVE NOW C YOUR SPEED WILL BE DOUBLE OF BOOTING

DONE THANKS

REGARDS
Punit_pandya@ymail.com

Member Avatar for datagifted2011

I have read your this article and i have known many information from this site.For more information, you can visit this site..

Member Avatar for Aaron_9

For me this problem was caused by a partially installed .NET Framework 4 that a program was in the middle of installing when I cancelled it. To correct the problem, I installed .NET Framework 4 completely and then uninstalled it. After the .NET Framework 4 Extended profile was removed, the desktop icons immediately came back. Therefore, this problem is caused by a partially installed .NET Framework 4.

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