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XP Logins slow for off-network laptops

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6 replies

by innes

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I've recently had a problem with very slow logins on two laptops (HP nx7010s) when they were offline. One we resolved in the end by reloading WinXP, but a second case has me wondering what the real cause is.

When the laptops are off the network, the usual "Can't access your roaming profile .. use local .. etc " message doesn't appear, and instead the user gets the "Loading your personal settings" which will take 20-30 minutes to change. When the laptops were/are on the network the logon works fine.

I've tried deleting the locally cached profile to have it reloaded from the DC. I've checked that the ADS is accessible and that DNS is available. I have noticed that when using the local machine admin account that you can't access the properties under My Computer when this problem occurs.

It almost seems that Windows doesn't detect that there is no network connection and goes looking for a DC it will never find. Given that is has happened on 2 laptops, and was solved on one by reloading XP it doesn't sound like a hardware fault.

Has anyone seen this problem before? Any suggestions on what to look at or how to fix this would be appreciated. A XP reload will fix it, but it still doesn't tell me why, not to mention take time.

Many thanks,
Innes (NZ)

6 replies

by bfilmfan

Systems scanned for malware and viruses?

Sounds as if they are attempting to contact the DC before allowing logins.

What errors are shoing up in the event logs?

by p.j.hutchison

Make sure the date and time on the laptops are not out of sync with the network. That causes problems with roaming profiles.

by techjunkie

I've just been puzzeling over the same problem! I think it's just windows networking - my laptop connected fine one day and then only had partial connection the next - fortuantely I managed to refresh the connection and everything works fine. Guess that when booting windows must look for the network and must keep trying for a default time.

by mwebster

If you are not on the network you should change the logon box to say "This Computer", instead of 'network?".

by jeffn

I fought this on my notebook and it was solved by disabling the WebClient service. So far, I haven't noticed any side effect to this service being disasbled.

In my case, when connected to the domain network it would boot normally. When off the network and connected to another network via wifi, the system would have a blank background for 11 minutes. A look at the event logs showed nothing being logged during the 11 minute period. If I booted with the wifi adapter turned off, the system would also boot normally.

-jeff

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