slooooow log on

In all honesty, it could be either...though I would guess it's a network (or networking configuration) issue.

I would do a basic systems check (hardware, start up programs, etc). If I didn't see anything untoward, then I would try booting with just basic network support. If it loads quickly it's a software/driver issue. If its the same, continue testing. Take a close look at your network card configuration, the protocols you are loading etc.
Get rid of anything you don't need. If your networking configuration is basic, it may be worth the effort to strip it out and set it up again in case something has become corrupted, etc.

If you don't see a problem there, set up a workstation to packet sniff the network. Start capturing packets and then power on the Dell 2000. Don't touch any keys or anything on it (other than entering a password). Take a look at the communications going on, the kind of packets sent, the time on each packet, etc. Watch for errors, rebroadcasts, drops, etc. A great site to take a look at for this sort of thing is www.packet-level.com

Good luck....hope this helps!

Try changing the patch cable between the PC and the wall port. If that doesn't help plug the PC into a port you know works. If these don't help try alpha's suggestions.

Try looking at your DNS server entries on this machine. If you have DNS running on the network, make sure the IP address of the server is the first DNS server the workstation looks for.

I Think this is a network problem and nothing wrong with your machine.Try this please:
After start up pull out your network cable and you will log on very fast.
If this is your case than i think it has to do with your DNS.The first Dns has to be your DNS server.I hope will help, bye!

I agree with all the suggestions here but the first question should have been did the computer ever boot faster or as fast as the others? If so look into any recent changes. If services are failing or if it 's hanging at a driver or DLL there may bemention of this in one of the log files. Also update to the latest SR patch from Microsoft.

Is there backround virus scanning? The system may have been set to scan everything during the boot process.

Or have you deep scanned the system for any nasty lil' buggers with recent DAT file?

I disagree that it is a DNS problem. If your DNS is not first and you have not set up forwarding then DNS will give a Yes or No answer and not query any other DNS servers. The problem is most likley a faulty network card or the cable. When a networkcard goes bad it sends out garbage packets and takes a long time to comunuicate. It could also be the driver for the NIC card. I would start by updating the drivers.

I'm thanking all you guys/gals for your comments. I've been trying to close this questions for days now but each time I try to allocate points and add comments about what happened the page crashes.
I followed alpha male's suggestion and pin pointedthe problem to the machine. The problem was solved by unchecking the "register this connection's address in DNS". I don't have a DNS service running.

This question was closed by the author