How do I generate a timestamped log of what my Windows XP computer is doing at startup?

Question

When my Windows XP (SP2) computer starts up, it only takes 30 seconds or so to get to the login screen.

However the time from entering my login password to the time Windows is fully loaded and responsive to commands can drag on for 2.5 minutes or so. This makes me think I have too many startup program / services loading at login.

I have changed msconfig.exe and I don't have too many startup programs / services, which makes me think it's one particular program / service that takes too long to load.

So my question is this: is there a way / program I can use to get Windows to generate a TIMESTAMPED log of what it's doing after I log in? If it's timestamped I can try and see which program is taking too long to load.

Cheers,

Jo

Answer 1

Go to Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer. There you can find exactly what's going on with XP when and how.

Answer 2

Why don't you uncheck everything in startup and restart the computer and see if it still takes long. After that start checking each startup item you think is important and restarting the computer to see your computer lags.