Mar 21 2010 edit

Problems only on startup and shut down after blue screen error in XP

jane| Category: portal.fanhou.com |

  • I own a 3 month old Dell Dimension 8200 laptop with XP. I was watching a piece of internet media in full screen mode (forget what the player was), then clicked the esc button to move out of full screen mode...then a blue screen error happened (don't have any info on what the error said). Now there are noticable problems with my computer which happen consistantly and are as follows: 1. Whenever I turn my computer off or restart.. the final screen before the official turn off sits there forever (it's a blue windows XP screen that says shutting down). Probably takes about 2 minutes for my computer to finally turn off which is obviously not normal. 2. The next problem occurs when my computer comes back on after a restart and is as follows: I only have two programs load at startup (zone alarm and an anti virus program (Nortons originally or currently System Suite). When my computer is starting up it appears that everything is finished loading, but my startup programs have not loaded. It takes approx. 1 more entire minute before all of a sudden my start up programs kick in and load. It's like something is hanging my computer up for over a minute that is not allowing my start up programs to load. These are my problems and they started happening directly after the error. Could it be that my computer is searching for some component (like a sound card and maybe some path is incorrect now) and this is what is causing the problem? Any ideas?


  • Searching the web, it seems they too (Verizon) use the WinPOET software for their DSL software package. Did you install the software from the Verizon CD when you installed your DSL line? If so, uninstall/reinstall the Verizon DSL software or WinPOET if you can find it specifically on the CD. I couldn't find any download links on Verizon's website, but you should have the CD if you installed the the first time around. Check Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel... see if you have Verizon DSL or WinPOET as options to be removed if you're uncertain whether or not you installed it. If you just use Earthlink for dial-up, I wouldn't think that the WinPOET would have been installed as a part of that package as WinPOET controls PPOE connections (DSL) only. Some references have stated that Windows XP doesn't even need WinPOET to function correctly as it has PPOE built-in. This is probably why your DSL continues to function corrctly even after this service fails to startup. So, you might be able to simply REMOVE the WinPOET or Verizon DSL software and use WinXP's built-in PPOE software and be done with it. I would just make sure you have the Verizon disc to reinstall the software should you decide to uninstall in case it won't work without it. Let me know how it goes from there. Thanks. -PWizard


  • 1. service pack 1 is listed in my add/remove program list, so I'm pretty sure it's been installed. 2. I connect through very basic DSL modem via ethernet cable. 3. Connecting to my DSL connection happens almost instantaniously when I click connect. Problem still remains. The only time the problem doesn't occur is when I disconnect the ethernet cable and then restart.


  • I will do that. I know that one of the things I did in the beginning of this whole problem was to uninstall ZA and to try restarting. The same problem continued and uninstalling zone alarm did nothing. I will try again. in the meantime..here is the message I get from MS help center in regards to the warning I get when shutting down: http://www.tshirthell.com/images/event.gif


  • The Zone Alarm and System Suite are most likely configured to start as services (remember where you changed the WinPOET service to be DISABLED?). You can disable them from there. That's probably the last thing to try on your startup issue. After disabling those, if it's still slow to initiate, it has to be a system level driver or device that is acting up. About the only way to correct that is a system re-install or as I stated before, you can try the system file checker, but I doubt it will really help much. Not sure what to tell you on the shutdown issue. That one looks like it could be caused by a few different issues as we saw in that last site I directed you to. I feel like when your blue screen error occurred, something got corrupted somewhere, but not enough to cause the system to become unstable. If we knew more specifics about the blue screen error or if scandisk possibly found problems or tried to correct files after the blue screen (and we knew what these files were), we might be able to provide more help. I think we've checked just about everything we can outside of re-installing the system. I'm happy to let any other researchers jump in here if they can provide you with any other ideas. I know you must be very frustrated, but I've had you check just about everything I know for you to check. I apologize that it hasn't produced a workable solution thus far, I know it's taken up quite a bit of your time. I'll be happy to assist further if the last above suggestion leads you any further in uncovering the culprit. Sincerely, PWizard


  • tried uninstalling service pack 1 and reinstalling it and it did not fix the problem. The interesting thing was...after reinstalling, you have to restart. When the computer was trying to turn off, it just hung on the final "windows shutting down" so that I had to actually power off with the power button. When the computer started back up, it actually loaded like it is supposed to load (no delay in the startup programs). So..just as it seemed the problem may be fixed, I decided to restart 1 more time to double check and sure enough the problem is back.


  • alright, I uninstalled winpoet 4.0 and I'm still having the same problems on startup and shut down (although, the error is different now as shown below): http://www.tshirthell.com/google2.htm


  • Hi freakfarm, Open your start menu and select "Run," then type in "msconfig." Look at the Startup and Services tabs. Are there programs in those tabs that you do not recognize?


  • To be more specific, this driver is a part of the "WinPOET" system, which is included as a part of Earthlink's DSL software kit (and possibly other broadband providers). This is the piece that needs to be uninstalled/reinstalled. You might be able to do just this piece by itself if you can locate it on the disc. Also, if Earthlink IS your provider, you can go here: http://start.earthlink.net/support/DLOADCENTER/dslclient_win.jsp Enter your username/password and download the newest version of the WinPOET software for Windows 2000/XP. -PWizard


  • Usuaully when there is a delay in booting XP/2000, it indiates a driver or service that got hung or was unable to start. Windows logs these errors in the Event Log. Please check the event log for errors directly after bootup (after everything has finished loading). Event log is under Administrative Tools in Control Panel. Look at both the System and Application logs. Specifically any that say "Service Control"... you're looking for red or yellow flagged entries. If the log is clear of errors, I would look to Norton as the possible problem. Norton has services that initialize at both startup and shutdown. It also runs continuously during your sessions. It's possible that your blue screen corrupted some of Norton's files. I would probably completely uninstall Norton, reboot a couple of times and see if the problem subsides. If it does, re-install Norton and all should be back to normal. Another thing you can do is simply use System Restore to restore your system to a date earlier than when the blue screen occured. Windows saves your system once every day in case of problems such as these so it can be restored. As long as the problem didn't happen weeks ago, this is still a viable option. You don't lose things such as current email with a system restore, it mostly fixes system related problem. If you would like for me to help you further on this question, please let me know. I can give you more detailed instructions on any of the suggestions above and/or continue the troubleshooting process with you. Sincerely, PWizard


  • 1. there are no yellow backed question marks in the device manager 2. I do think I remember the blue screen error to be driver related (not positive) 3. While monitering startup how you mentioned (clt-alt-dlt) I was unable to really tell what was going on. The only thing that really had any CPU% was "system idle process". 4. here are the two screenshots of what is shown in my processes (pic on the left is what appears when it seems the computer is done loading...pic on the right is what appears over a full minute after startup when everything actually does load): http://www.tshirthell.com/google/1.gif thank you


  • well...that question is not an easy one. There are so many things listed in services I'm not sure how I would know what I should or should not recognize. As far as the start up...the only things that are actually checked are zone alarm and some spool path having to do with my HP printer (there are numerous other things not checked, some of which I do not recognize (although I've never known what half the stuff is in there from the very beginning).


  • freakfarm... I hesitate to make this an answer just yet, since it may take some ongoing collaboration to solve this. First, let me say that, as part of its enhanced self-protection techniques, Windows XP will sometimes cease to load a driver that caused a crash of the nature you describe. Had you been able to read the error message, it may have told you this. There are several things I'd suggest. You can stop XP from shutting down on these types of system errors. Right-click on 'My Computer', then the 'Advanced' tab, and then on 'Startup and Recovery', and uncheck 'Automatically reboot' under 'System Failure'. As for the slow startup, as soon as you can after Windows opens, do Ctrl-Alt-Delete, click on Task Manager, and click on the 'processes' tab. Extend the window vertically, so you can see all of them a once, and watch the 'cpu' column, and you'll be able to see what's slowing things down by way of the high percentage of cpu usage. That should tell you something useful. Then, if a driver has been disabled, you should be able to see it by right-clicking 'My Computer', clicking on the 'Hardware' tab, and then 'Device Manager', and looking for the yellow-backed question marks which indicate a problem. You can reinstall a non-signed driver at your own peril, or look for a better one, if you find a problem there. Leave a comment or clarification of what you've found, and we can proceed from there. sublime1-ga


  • freakfarm... I also found this dialogue about WROS.exe, which I see loaded on your 2nd image, regarding difficulties hibernating/standing-by, in WIN2K, with this file: http://zurich.ai.mit.edu/hypermail/thinkpad/2002-06/0312.html I take it you are using EarthLink. You may want to see if Earthlink has updated component files for XP.


  • I'm not sure how to do what you are asking (I'm not very technically inclined). When I go where you said...I see this: http://www.tshirthell.com/images/reg1.gif does that look normal and how "exactly" do I make the change in each that you are mentioning? thanks


  • I removed all the items from start up and still have the same problem. Zone Alarm and System Suite still loaded on startup (in fact...they weren't even listed on the regedit list of startup programs). Is this normal? Regardless...the problem still happens. I also tried making every service (there were many) local system. I had to change about 10 items. This also did not fix the shut down problem. In fact, the warning still comes up the same way (even though every single service now has local checked). Ughhhhh


  • Perhaps there is a way to disable it through a configuration of the software itself? I personally use Norton Firewall and I am able to run the program and there is a DISABLE button and also a "Run at Startup" function I can turn off as well. Perhaps ZoneAlarm has this same setup? Obviously they have made it difficult to be disabled.. probably so that virus writers and hackers can't easily deactivate it using malicious code. -PWizard


  • Did you ever try just disabling the Zone Alarm service from the Services list? I'm curious if this had any effect or not. When you unplugged your Ethernet cable, you effectively diabled that network connection and everything related to it. That definitely tells us that the problem lies either in a service attached to your network connection or something trying to access it. I've seen delays similar to yours when the network connection has trouble establing communication with whatever it's plugged into (modem/router/etc). This might also be the case. I just want to rule out Zone Alarm as being a problem before we proceed further. So, if you could, plug the ethernet connection back in, disable the Zone Alarm service and reboot. Let me know the result. Thanks. -PWizard


  • ok...something interesting just happened. I decided to simply unplug the ethernet cable from my computer to see what would happen. On start up everything loaded in the beginning as it is supposed to...but I did get a little zone alarm pop up that is here: http://www.tshirthell.com/images/svhost.gif it looks like this "srvc host" thing is trying to access the internet. As i mentioned before, I have to dial up to connect to my internet normally (although I assume my computer is connected in some way because the only time the little tvs come up with red X on them is when the cable is unplugged (even though I supposedly am not online) When I unplugged my ethernet cable...everything worked fine but I got that zone alarm pop up. When my ethernet cable is plugged in, everything does not start up fine but I don't get the little pop up from ZA. Any thoughts? thanks for the continued effort.


  • I did find a place in the preferences to disable ZA at startup. This did not fix the problem as it still took over a minute to load System Suite after initial startup. I just started using System Suite, but used Nortons right before and the same problem was happening, so I know it's not a SS issue. hmmmm


  • freakfarm... PWizard is taking you in the right direction with the event log search. As for your images, the thing that stands out is the 2 instances of MXtask in your 2nd image. MXtask is the task manager for Ontrack's Fix-It Utilities. One is being called by the system, and the other by something else. I suppose it's possible that Fix-It is running a separate instance for each module you have sheduled (say, Virus-Scanner and Disk Snapshot), but you might have a look at the Fix-It Scheduler. The other oddity is the 4 instances of SVCHOST in your first image, with yet another in the 2nd. I have only 3 instances running when fully loaded and online. I have, however, trimmed the number of services loaded, using BlackViper's "safe" guidelines on this page: http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm These settings may not solve your current dilemma, but you may want to explore them anyway.


  • freakfarm... Just FYI, when ZoneAlarm is configured to start with windows, it places a shortcut in the 'Startup' folder under 'Programs' in the Start Menu. You can check there for other items being loaded which may be interfering, and try relocating the shortcuts temporarily. As for your the problem not occurring when you unplug your ethernet cable, this makes it seem like a driver, related to your PPOE connection, which may have been damaged or disabled during the crash, and replaced by Windows. However, since you uninstalled and re-installed those drivers, this is still a mystery. I take it you did not go to BlackViper's page to try adjusting the services according to his 'safe' guidelines. I still believe this might be useful, and, along those lines, I want you to try this one thing. Go to Administrative Tools --> Services, and set DNS Client to 'Manual' Startup Type. Then reboot, and see if you still get the delay. If so, then you can reset it to its current setting. I had this problem repeatedly with XP, after several installs. Initially, it would boot quickly, and then, out of nowhere, it began taking much longer. I finally traced it to this service, which normally starts automatically. When I set it to manual, it resumed booting quickly, with no deleterious effect on my DSL connection. The next image(s) which might prove useful is one of the Services page, showing which services are set to run, under which Startup Type. I will be gone during the day, today, and will not be available, until later, for the sort of dialog you had with PWizard. I will check in on your status when I return. Best of luck in the meantime.


  • The NVidia driver helper service can certainly cause a "delay" in the shutdown process, but not an indefinite hang (at least not in my experience). I've never seen it cause a problem at startup. The hpztsb06.exe file looks to me like a HP driver monitor service that is installed as part of the HP driver package. I would be willing to bet that the user has an HP printer installed. Again I wouldn't look to this as being the root of the problem, however I have seen issues with HP's drivers in the past, especially their driver monitors.


  • nope...still does not fix the problem. I've tried everything and I guess I may just reformat my hard drive and I'm sure that will fix things ;) thank you for your effort though. Aaron


  • did what you said and the errors are gone but the same problems are still happening (tried restarting 3 times). What does remain is the registry warning in applications and it does seem to happen on every shut down. latest screen shot: http://www.tshirthell.com/google3.htm thanks


  • addressing pwizard: (can't do the system restore as this happened about 1 month ago.) I've created screenshots of the errors in application and system for you to view when I just tried starting up again: http://www.tshirthell.com/google.htm please let me know if this may help solve the problem and if I can get you any more info... thank you Aaron


  • freakfarm... Having looked at your image of current services, I checked it against mine. I am running WIN2K, so some of the services which are started on your machine will be exclusive to XP, such as the firewall and encryption services, so I didn't count them. Nor did I count the ones related to programs on your machine which are not on mine, such as Nvidia and System Suite. Given that, the following are services started on your machine, and not on mine: Application Layer Gateway Service Distributed Link Tracking Client Help and Support Network Location Awareness Shell Hardware Detection Themes Windows Audio Most of these may be exclusive to XP, and are not listed on my machine, however the Distributed Link Tracking Client is listed on mine, and is not started, being set for Manual. You could try this setting and see the difference, re-setting it if there is none. On the assumption that the others are not needed in WIN2K, therefore XP could run without them, you could try disabling them, one at a time, and also see what, if any difference you experience. CAUTION! An unstable machine may act unpredictably. For example, based on Black Viper's page, I disabled the Remote Registry Service, since it's such a huge security risk. I suggested it to a friend who is also using WIN2K, and he was unable to boot his machine thereafter, without an Emergency Boot Disk. My machine, on the other hand, had no problems. Therefore you might want to try right-clicking the services and stopping them, one at a time, while Windows is running, rather than setting them to Disabled or Manual for the next boot-up. Then see if your shutdown is any quicker. If it is, then try Disable or Manual for that service, and see if it speeds the loading of Windows, as well, at next boot. The limitation to this cautious method is that some services take a long time to be stopped when Windows is running, and some may not be able to be stopped. If this is the case, these are the last ones you should experiment with disabling, or setting to Manual, as Windows is giving the message that it is reluctant to stop them. Sorry I'm unable to offer anything more concrete and promising at this time, but sometimes you are reduced to experimentation when troubleshooting odd situations. Best of Luck... sublime1-ga


  • Just curious, but have you applied Windows XP Service Pack 1? It *might* correct issues with system files if they're out of whack. I'm also curious... tell me about your network connection. Do you plug into a hub, DSL modem, router, etc? An interesting thing to try would be to right-click My Network Places and then go to properties. Right-Click your network connection (DSL connection) and then select DISABLE. Reboot. See if the boot process works as normal. After bootup loads, do the same thing to ENABLE it. Does it take a long time to ENABLE before the Internet is accessible? Anything weird happen? -PWizard


  • I'm working on another question where the customer is having similar results. When they uninstall and reinstall Dial-Up Networking and reboot, their problem goes away and everything works perfectly. However, after rebooting a second time, the problem re-appears and everything is "broken" again. To me it almost seems like System File Protection is kicking in and replacing files that have been changed or overwritten. But it seems that XP would be a little bit smarter since it knows that it's installing a service pack. We're working with Windows ME on the other person's problem. You're welcome to try disabling the file protection scheme on XP: http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/790 I think the only part you need to do is modify the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogon as it mentions at the top of the article. You shouldn't have to do the second part of the instructions. ...then attempt the service pack uninstall and re-install again just to see if you get the same results. It a long-shot, but... You did reboot after un-installing SP1, before re-installing, correct? and the problem was still there? I figure that it would make you reboot, but wasn't sure. Again, this is only a long-shot and may not produce any differen affect. -PWizard


  • I reinstalled and we're back to the same errors in the first screen shot set. thanks for working through this with me.


  • actually I misunderstood what you just said...and I DID try disabling the only thing I could find related to Zone Alarm in my services list (true vector internet monitor) and what happened was ZA still seemed to load (and actually loaded like normal and right at startup, I guess just minus the True Vector aspect). The problem still existed though and System Suite loaded a full minute later as usual. I did also try disabling System Suite and this did nothing. I can't find any other Zone Alarm related aspects in "services", but there must be something there....


  • I did go to Black Vipers page and set everything to safe and I've pretty much done anything mentioned above. I also changed my DNS in services to manual and this does not solve the problem either. Here is that screen shot of my current services... http://www.tshirthell.com/images/services.gif


  • Good point about the Hewlett-Packard driver, pwizard! I'll withdraw my suspicion on that front. I had one more thought. If it definitely happened while viewing something, AND the viewer happened to be Windows Media Player, AND the content being viewed required an extra codec, AND freakfarm automatically trusts some companies to install ActiveX components, AND something automatically downloaded, THEN that something could have broken it all horribly. It's a very long shot :-) but possible, nonetheless. I'm not sure whether codecs all reside in a single repository however, so I can't really guess how to track it down.


  • A definite cause of shutdown problems can be a service called Nvidia Driver Helper Service. Your screenshot shows that running in the second window, (it's the one marked nvsvc32.exe) so it may well be the source of your problems. Set that to "disabled", and see if that doesn't help things somewhat. It certainly helped me out (although the new nvidia drivers cured the problem). Also, you may want to investigate what "hpztsb06.exe" is - it sounds suspiciously obscure, as if a virus was attempting to hide.


  • Ahh... wait a minute. Since you're using PPPoE, your connection appears differently in My Network Places than a standard ethernet connection does. I forgot about that. One last thing you can try is playing with the PPPoE connection settings (right-click your DSL connection and then properties). On the Networking Tab, click Settings (under PPPoE)... try unchecking one or all three of these options and see if it makes a difference. If this doesn't make a difference, I don't know what else to try. I still feel like the problem lies somewhere in the ethernet subsystem or PPPoE service. However, it's impossible to know which part is affected since you're not actually getting any errors. I've run out of things to suggest. I don't want to waste any more of your time. At least we definitely know what is "NOT" your problem :) I've enjoyed trying to help you fix your problem. I feel badly that we didn't find a solution. Perhaps another researcher will have some different ideas. The only thing I know to do (outside of taking it to a professional computer shop where someone can experience the problem hands-on) is to re-load the system. I always hate to do that, especially if it's not a serious problem, but that's the last thing I can suggest. Again, please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Sincerely, PWizard


  • One final thought -- You could always uninstall Windows XP Service Pack 1. Test the problem, then reinstall it. Could be that uninstalling fixes it, or reinstalling when it reinitializes all of your network subsystem files. After uninstalling, to reinstall, simply go to: http://www.windowsupdate.com and choose Scan for Updates... then Windows Update Service Pack 1 Express Install. -PWizard


  • Hello Freakfarm, Hope you don't mind if I contribute something. Is there a DOS-type command like "C:scanreg /fix" or similar software in your OS? I use that command in my Win 98SE system in case some slowups occur. You might want to try the similar thing in your OS. Something like an automatic registry fixer. Hope that helps somewhat. :)


  • well....here's the thing. I do use Earthlink when I'm on the road as my dial up connection, but use Verizon DSL while connected at home. When I have the problems afermentioned I'm at home and my DSL cable is plugged into my computer (but it's not an "always on" DSL and when I reboot, I have to dial up in order to connect). It's an immediate dial up though and connects very quickly. Please clarify what you think I should should in regards to the earthlink thing because as far as I was aware I wasn't using anything "earthlink related" because I'm using my Verizon DSL.


  • Unless I'm mistaken, msconfig is not an option in XP.


  • so just to be clear...once my ethernet cable is unplugged everything loads fine again (aside from this little pop up asking to allow a connection for svchost).


  • Well, this certainly is perplexing. My next thought is that one of your startup applications is not functioning correctly or is hanging trying to startup. I would probably disable these one by one until you find the culprit. This will require editing the system registry. Run REGEDIT.EXE and go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun You can edit each entry an insert a "REM" statement in front of the command-line to keep it from starting up on the next reboot. You can either disable them all (except for (Default)) to see if it makes the problem go away, then enable one at a time, or you can disable one at a time and do the process in reverse. This will tell us if it's one of your startup applications that might need to be reinstalled or is having a problem. Otherwise, it's something wrong with the system itself which might can be repaired by using the System File Checker - but this process doesn't always work or help much. On your last error screenshot, take a look at this website: http://www.eventid.net/display.asp?eventid=1517&source= It descirbes the error and what some other people have done to clear the error on their system. Might be worthwhile to give a couple of them a try. I'm still not convinced that your startup and shutdown problems are caused by the same issue. Fixing one may not fix the other. Let's see how we come out with disabling the startup programs and go from there. -PWizard


  • OK, let's do this another way. It appears that even after uninstalling WinPOET, it still tried to start the service associated with it. Let's disable the service altogether and see what we get. Do this: Control Panel --> Adinistrative Tools --> Services Look for something that resembles WinPOET, WinPPPoverEthernet, Verizon DSL, etc. It may simply be labled as PPPoE or PPPoverEthernet. Look for that as the last option as that might be XP's built-in service. Once you find the service you want, double-click. Change the startup option to DISABLED and click OK to save. Then reboot and see if you still get the lag in startup time. Also, another screenshot of your error screen would be great (if you get new/different error(s)). I'm also interested in the error from that last set of screenshots where it mentioned saving the registry during logoff. Does that error occur with every single shutdown? -PWizard


  • Yes, you are in exactly the right spot. Just double-click on the description: DellAlert HPDJ Taskbar Utility etc.. And in the box that comes up, add the word REM in front of the command line. So, the DellAlert one would then read: DellAlert REM C:Program FilesDellSupportAlertbin... do this for each one you want to disable. Everything listed here are third-party programs that were added - such as print utilities, antivirus, etc. There are no Windows system files in this section. This will allow us to eliminate or find fault with one of your third-party apps. -PWizard


  • Did you try re-installing WinPOET to see if it would re-bind these services together? I feel like your problem definitely lies somewhere in the PPoE networking services layer. Let me know what re-installing the WinPOET software does. If that produces no positive effect and/or you still get PPoE related errors, we'll find a way to re-install/re-initialize the WinXP built-in PPoE driver engine. That might be the only solution as even WinPOET might be bound to these drivers in the first place. Sorry for all the clarifications, but troubleshooting problems such as this is clearly a hit/miss type of situation. But, stick with me and surely we'll find the source of your problem. -PWizard


  • Thanks for the clarification and screenshots. Just as I thought, you have a service that is failing to startup. This service (WrKPoET2000) appears to be related to the Earthlink DSL and/or dial-up system. Do you use Earthlink? If so, please try uninstalling any Earthlink drivers and/or software you have then re-installing it. Let's see if that clears up the problem. Please let me know what the outcome of that is. Thanks! Don't worry about the W32Time errors, those are common. -PWizard







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