Member Avatar for rational611

Hi,

I have installed Windows XP SP3 and the latest Ubuntu 10.04 on a 320 GB HD as a dual boot system. I have made a 125 GB partition for windows and left the rest for linux. When I boot the OSes, linux works fine, but windows takes a very very long time to boot, unlike normal windows single boot PCs. Could someone please tell me how to shorten the loading time of windows xp ? The processor is Pentium IV 2.66 GHz.

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Dani AI

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Brief expert addendum and practical checklist based on the thread: the slow Windows XP boot described by is a typical case where the boot delay happens inside Windows (services/drivers), not in GRUB. was correct to ask about the bootloader — GRUB hands control to the Windows bootloader, so long Windows startup times usually come from services, drivers or heavy security suites rather than the chainloader itself. ’s request for specs was also on point: older hardware and low RAM make boot-time hits from extra services more noticeable.

A compact, safe troubleshooting sequence that isolates the problem:

  • Boot to Safe Mode (F8) to establish a baseline: a fast Safe Mode strongly indicates a service/driver issue.
  • Perform a clean-boot test with msconfig (Selective Startup -> Hide all Microsoft services -> Disable All, and disable nonessential Startup items), then reboot and re-enable groups to find the offender.
  • Enable boot logging (F8 -> Enable Boot Logging) and inspect C:\WINDOWS\Ntbtlog.txt for drivers that fail or stall.
  • Check the System log in eventvwr.msc for service-start timeouts or gaps; look for entries around boot time.
  • Use Autoruns (Sysinternals) to see every auto-start entry and disable suspicious items more precisely than msconfig allows.
  • Verify disk health and free space (chkdsk /f), examine Device Manager for problem drivers, and consider defragmenting the HDD if fragmentation is severe.

Cautions and practical notes: do not disable core Microsoft services (RPC, Plug and Play, Event Log). Create a System Restore point before sweeping changes. Third-party firewalls and all-in-one security suites often install drivers and multiple services that can add many seconds (or minutes) to boot on low-spec machines — ’s suggestion to rely on the lightweight built-in Windows Firewall is reasonable for troubleshooting and for low-RAM systems. If the slowdown remains after these checks, the boot log and Event Viewer timestamps will point to the exact driver or service to remove or update.

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Member Avatar for Xlphos

Hello,

could you give all your system specs?

Is this a fresh install of XP or have you performed other installations/upgrades?

Member Avatar for rational611

The motherboard is a VIA board with 1 GB RAM and 320 GB HDD. Both the Windows XP & Ubuntu are fresh installations.

Member Avatar for gerbil

Do you use boot.ini for your boot menu or the Grub loader. ie is Windows controlling OS selection, or Ubuntu?
A rundown of your partitions with the location of OSs, boot files and loaders might help.

Member Avatar for rational611

I am using Grub. However I think I have solved the problem. I think the problem was not with the dual booting. I had installed the latest version of the firewall ZoneAlarm on Windows, and that was what was hogging up the resources of the PC. I disabled all other services except windows services, and the boot time has reduced considerably. And yes, I have removed ZoneAlarm. The previous versions of the firewall were much faster. I don't know why they keep bloating good software.
I thank everyone for their help.

Member Avatar for Member #758415

Glad it's sorted.

Member Avatar for Member #758415

Plus, in my opinion, I would recommend sticking with Windows Firewall.

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