Wierd things with Windows...

thequux · 01-12-2006, 11:48

Found a Windows CD (legal... but free from microsoft) and set it up to do some modding.

After I ran Windows Update, I started having weird things happening with logging on. It sits at the "loading your personal settings" screen for 5 minutes with the hard drive light blinking every two seconds or so, then teh drive grinds furiouly for about 10 seconds. During the drive grinding, it managed to load (and display) the background image, but no more than that. However, at this point, I can start the task manager.

The process repeats, with 5 minutes of nothing, then 10 secunds of furious hard drive grinding, only this time it starts up the taskbar and Aquadock. Everything is fully responsive, except that programs will not start and it cant figure out ho to draw the "all programs" menu.

One again, the process repeats, but the 10 seconds of grindng accomplishes the rest of the logon (starting objectbar, starting all my miscelaneous tools, etc.), and I have no problems after that.

The odd thing is that in the 15 minutes (combined) of nothing, the only actiity visible in Task Manager is csrss.exe reading something, at one or two bytes a second.

Unfortunately, there's nothing in the knowledge base about it, I haven't seen it on any other computer, and Google turns up nothing.

Any ideas? I can live with it, but it is slightly irritating, and it reminds me of why I love linux so much more.

doniago · 01-12-2006, 13:43

That almost sounds like a hard drive problem to me...

You might try doing a Repair Install from the CD.

thequux · 01-25-2006, 12:29

Ahhh.... fixed it.

The csrss thing should have been a HUGE clue. (According to M$, csrss.exe basically connects userspace programs to the kernel graphics system; sort of like xlib under Linux.)

One thing that I didn't mention, because I didn't think it could have anything to do with the problem, is that I used Window Blinds. Now, I believe that the way a program like WB works is that it hooks into csrss.exe and changes the drawing routines to draw widgets however teh current skin specifies. Unfortunately, WB probably conflicted with some Windows process, which wouldn't let WB read from the filesystem.

So.... the upshot is that, if you have Windowblinds, remove it. The visual styles skinning method is a thousand times better, and it doesn't conflict with anything.

01-12-2006, 11:48	#1
thequux Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Palos Verdes, CA Posts: 122	Wierd things with Windows... Found a Windows CD (legal... but free from microsoft) and set it up to do some modding. After I ran Windows Update, I started having weird things happening with logging on. It sits at the "loading your personal settings" screen for 5 minutes with the hard drive light blinking every two seconds or so, then teh drive grinds furiouly for about 10 seconds. During the drive grinding, it managed to load (and display) the background image, but no more than that. However, at this point, I can start the task manager. The process repeats, with 5 minutes of nothing, then 10 secunds of furious hard drive grinding, only this time it starts up the taskbar and Aquadock. Everything is fully responsive, except that programs will not start and it cant figure out ho to draw the "all programs" menu. One again, the process repeats, but the 10 seconds of grindng accomplishes the rest of the logon (starting objectbar, starting all my miscelaneous tools, etc.), and I have no problems after that. The odd thing is that in the 15 minutes (combined) of nothing, the only actiity visible in Task Manager is csrss.exe reading something, at one or two bytes a second. Unfortunately, there's nothing in the knowledge base about it, I haven't seen it on any other computer, and Google turns up nothing. Any ideas? I can live with it, but it is slightly irritating, and it reminds me of why I love linux so much more. __________________ This is American top 40...This is bullshit! --Negativland (These Guys are from England and Who Gives a Shit?)

01-25-2006, 12:29	#3
thequux Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Palos Verdes, CA Posts: 122	Ahhh.... fixed it. The csrss thing should have been a HUGE clue. (According to M$, csrss.exe basically connects userspace programs to the kernel graphics system; sort of like xlib under Linux.) One thing that I didn't mention, because I didn't think it could have anything to do with the problem, is that I used Window Blinds. Now, I believe that the way a program like WB works is that it hooks into csrss.exe and changes the drawing routines to draw widgets however teh current skin specifies. Unfortunately, WB probably conflicted with some Windows process, which wouldn't let WB read from the filesystem. So.... the upshot is that, if you have Windowblinds, remove it. The visual styles skinning method is a thousand times better, and it doesn't conflict with anything. __________________ This is American top 40...This is bullshit! --Negativland (These Guys are from England and Who Gives a Shit?)

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01-12-2006, 13:43	#2
doniago I, Like, Do Stuff Here. Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Burlington, VT Posts: 4,651	That almost sounds like a hard drive problem to me... You might try doing a Repair Install from the CD.