Hallo all,Hoping for your knowledgeable input here.Since some 3-4 days I've encountered a strange problem with my system.It starts up, gets me to the user's selection screen and whomever's profile I choose (I have 3 on my setup) the desktop comes on and stays there without icons or start bottom bar for 1-2 minutes. Then, eventually all icons and start bar come visible.It happens to me everytime.Any ideas what could be causing it?My system:ASUS A7N8X Deluxe, rev.1.4BIOS Uber 1007 AMD Athlon XP27002x512MB Kingston PC3200 400Mhz in slots 1 & 2 (single channel)Seagate 40GB 7200rpmATI Radeon 9800+ (Catalyst 4.10)Watercooling system with 900l/h pump - blocks on the CPU and Graphics Board (35c startup, 45c load)Planar 19' LCD monitor via analogue [/img]Windows XP Pro, SP2Thanks a lotDom

Better have a look in your "startup" list AND "Processess" list and see what it's loading or attempting to load.. might be items that were put there you don't know about :-)Just a "First thought" reply, I'm sure others will jump in with more..

Thanks for your reply.I do run a regcleaner operation pretty often and make sure there are no hidden applications killing my system in the background.My startup list for both processes, and services is very lean in fact.I'm afraid this is not the case here, unless I'm not seeing something.Thanks for your helpDom

I agree with Tom... something is trashing your start-up. Please post a HijackThis log here.Thanks,Greg

Greg, Thanks, let me get back home and I'll do.ThanksDom

OK, then. I checked it with the safe mode start up and it fired up immediately - no lag. So it's only with the normal startup.Here it goes - the log file performed today.I did it once before but did not save the log file (still have the original backups though).Logfile of HijackThis v1.98.2Scan saved at 22:37:13, on 2004-12-15Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)Running processes:C:WINDOWSSystem32smss.exeC:WINDOWSsystem32winlogon.exeC:WINDOWSsystem32services.exeC:WINDOWSsystem32lsass.exeC:WINDOWSsystem32Ati2evxx.exeC:WINDOWSsystem32svchost.exeC:WINDOWSSystem32svchost.exeC:Program FilesSygateSPFsmc.exeC:WINDOWSsystem32spoolsv.exeC:WINDOWSSystem32svchost.exeC:WINDOWSsystem32Ati2evxx.exeC:WINDOWSExplorer.EXEC:WINDOWSsystem32wscntfy.exeC:PROGRA~1GrisoftAVG6avgcc32.exeC:WINDOWSSystem32svchost.exeC:Program FilesOutlook Expressmsimn.exeC:Program FilesMessengermsmsgs.exeC:Documents and SettingsDominikPulpithijackthisHijackThis.exeR0 - HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain,Start Page = http://www.avsim.com/R0 - HKLMSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain,Start Page = www.google.comR0 - HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerToolbar,LinksFolderName =

Your log looks OK. Probably something has become FUBAR'd, so now we have to find what it is.First, you should disable this service: C:WINDOWSsystem32wscntfy.exe. Here's what BlackViper has to say about this little gem (which is new w/ SP2)under his "Service Center" section:"...disabling this service is not enough. After rebooting the system, this service will again be placed into automatic and started. While the service is in the started state, go to Start > Control Panel > Security Center and select the link on the left hand side labeled "Change the way Security Center alerts me." In the resulting dialog box, uncheck Firewall, Automatic Update and virus Protection. After that step is complete, you may place the Security Center service in disabled and it will not start again or continue to be displayed in the system tray after a reboot."Also, if you don't use the Overdrive function of your video card you can go into Services and disable the "ATI Hotkey Poller" and "ATI Smart" services. If you do overclock your VC you should use something like Radlinker to do so... it uses much fewer resources than the ATI Overdrive function (Radlinker is really nice for configuring your video drivers as well).I couldn't find any info on this entry: R0 - HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerToolbar,LinksFolderName =