Windows 8.1: Slow login after upgrading to 8.1

By techie81
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Grand Master

zhangm Supervisor

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Background, set up chrome, windows live mail and other app settings; ie weather.

 

 

I want to but damn I just don't have the time right now. I would really like to get to the bottom of this.

I suppose the most methodical way to go about it is to create a few more new user accounts and apply different sets of settings to each. This should let you narrow down what settings or programs are causing the slowdown. While you try that, from your main account (the one that's slow), post a screenshot of your Startup tab in Task manager.

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Mobius Enigma

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Start by running SFC and then do a Disk Check on your Windows volume.

 

Running SFC will ensure that you or a 3rd party application didn't mess up anything that is essential. (Some of the 'Start' replacement programs can move around things or allow you to move around things that shouldn't be messed with.)

 

For example, if you manually change around default shortcuts in the Start Screen/Menu folders, it can create problems even with system updates, as this are considered 'System' files now and shouldn't be manually messed with.

 

You could also have issues with permissions in your User folder that some software will erroneously modify. This can slow down the login process as Windows attempts to access a specific folder and then has to give up and use a virtualized location instead.

 

If this doesn't help, try creating a new account as a test, and then see if it logs in faster.

 

 

Not sure if this applies, but on a new upgrade or install, stay logged in for a while so that all the initial optimization can complete.

 

 

However, there is nothing different in 8.1 itself that should be causing a delay, in fact it should be faster than 8.0

 

Also, as strange as this might sound, using a MS Account should be faster, in additional to offering you the full experience of Windows.

 

A lot of Windows 8.1 functionality depends on a MS Account, even if you aren't big into the Start Screen/Modern Apps, there are other things like IE sync and SkyDrive Sync that help your experience on the desktop.  If you have more than one Windows 8/8.1 system that  you use, a MS Account will make things really nice as it can keep the majority of your profile sync'd between the systems, which even includes your desktop settings.

 

 

 

Yes, I use a local account and boot straight to the desktop.

 

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Mobius Enigma

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Just do a clean install. All the time taken to troubleshoot this you could have just done a clean install and re-installed all the apps and data. Doing an upgrade is just asking for trouble in the long run. Those who do and have no problems you just got lucky. Even a guy at Microsoft does not recommend doing an upgrade. http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/The-Defrag-Show/Defrag-Windows-81-updates-Unity-3D-on-Surface-Pro-Time-Travel-Diag#time=03m30s. If you are worried about the whole doing a reinstall and getting the same issue, just use some imaging software to capture a full disk image of the system to restore back to if you still have the same problem.

 

I don't care what the 'guy at Microsoft' says, the difference between an upgrade and clean install is very minor with any of the modern versions of Windows (7/8/8.1).

 

Even for people that want a 'clean install', it is easier for them to apply the Windows 8.1 upgrade, and then do a Reset/Refresh to wipe out whichever level of user content/software they want.

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Apprentice

techie81

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Start by running SFC and then do a Disk Check on your Windows volume.

 

Running SFC will ensure that you or a 3rd party application didn't mess up anything that is essential. (Some of the 'Start' replacement programs can move around things or allow you to move around things that shouldn't be messed with.)

 

For example, if you manually change around default shortcuts in the Start Screen/Menu folders, it can create problems even with system updates, as this are considered 'System' files now and shouldn't be manually messed with.

 

You could also have issues with permissions in your User folder that some software will erroneously modify. This can slow down the login process as Windows attempts to access a specific folder and then has to give up and use a virtualized location instead.

 

If this doesn't help, try creating a new account as a test, and then see if it logs in faster.

 

 

Not sure if this applies, but on a new upgrade or install, stay logged in for a while so that all the initial optimization can complete.

 

 

However, there is nothing different in 8.1 itself that should be causing a delay, in fact it should be faster than 8.0

 

Also, as strange as this might sound, using a MS Account should be faster, in additional to offering you the full experience of Windows.

 

A lot of Windows 8.1 functionality depends on a MS Account, even if you aren't big into the Start Screen/Modern Apps, there are other things like IE sync and SkyDrive Sync that help your experience on the desktop.  If you have more than one Windows 8/8.1 system that  you use, a MS Account will make things really nice as it can keep the majority of your profile sync'd between the systems, which even includes your desktop settings.

 

Thanks for the reply. SFC is clean, no issues. I have tried a MS account login and its the same amount of boot time. How can I check into the user permissions in more detail?

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Mobius Enigma

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Thanks for the reply. SFC is clean, no issues. I have tried a MS account login and its the same amount of boot time. How can I check into the user permissions in more detail?

 

Create a local Test account, and login with it.  If it is not any faster, then you know the problem isn't with your User folder or your profile.

 

If you find the problem persists even on a clean new account, then the next guess is back to software loaded on the system or some change the software has made to the system.

 

There is a lot of software that uses the Task Scheduler and/or services to launch things when you log or any user logs in. They will not show up in the Task Manager or MSConfig.  Once you are in the Task Scheduler, find them and disable them; however, some like to hide themselves, so you have to dig through the Task Scheduler and look for anything that Triggers on Login.

 

Some of the offending software that does this is Google Updater, Adobe Updates, etc.   (And yes, these developers should be publically ridiculed for this crap, as it is considered an 'invasive' use.)

 

Another thing to test is to turn off Real-Time protection on Defender, just for a couple of logins to see if makes any difference. Most savvy uses can get by with real-time turned off, if you scheduling a nightly scan.  Windows, specifically, IE still protects with forced the scans downloads and incoming scripts, even with real-time turned off. 

 

Sometimes trouble shooting damage or issues like you are having ends up consuming more of your time than opting to use the Reset/Refresh features of Windows that can take it all the back to a clean Windows install. Make sure you backup your files and have all the installation media for programs on an external hard drive, as it will 'clean' the volume and leave only the fresh Windows install.

 

This is an instance where using a MS Account is big benefit, as it could keep all your profile settings. Using SkyDrive as the location for your Desktop/Documents/Pictures/Videos etc also can make this a simple process, but that is something to consider and plan for in the future.  (Between SkyDrive and using the MS Account Sync features, it is like using a full roaming profile from a AD server in a corporate environment, which makes any PC you add your account to, pull your settings and setup your desktop for you.  Modern/Store Apps also follow your MS Account and keep their settings.)

 

If you do the full Reset/Refresh, make sure you manually create a few 'Restore' points as you reinstall your programs. This way if one of them is the culprit that is messing up Windows, you can just do a Restore to before it was installed instead of doing a full reset/refresh. Windows will create some for you, but they might not be as granular as you want.

 

Good luck.

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Apprentice

techie81

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OK I think I am close to figuring this out. I made a local account and started updating my settings one by one, no issues. As soon as I designed the test account as an "administrator" account it took an extra 10-15 seconds to boot up. Now the questions is why...

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zhangm Supervisor

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OK I think I am close to figuring this out. I made a local account and started updating my settings one by one, no issues. As soon as I designed the test account as an "administrator" account it took an extra 10-15 seconds to boot up. Now the questions is why...

Just shooting in the dark here - did you install the Gigabyte utilities for your motherboard? These cause this issue in Windows 7.

Edit: Here's the thread and the specific utility at fault.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/slow-login-10-15-secs-to-windows-7-home-premium/9cf42869-c3ab-41e8-974c-c48566429a57

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zhangm Supervisor

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Yes.

I guess uninstall Smart6 (or whatever version you have) and see whether the issue is resolved. And it's a good thing you stuck to diagnosing rather than reinstalling.

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