Unresponsive Desktop at boot: 3-5 minutes to start working!

Good morning everyone, long time no see.... :)

I am facing a very strange issue and, after having tried for months to find a solution on my own, I decided to ask for help....

Basically, my Windows 7 x64 SP1 desktop takes awfully long to boot.
We're talking about 3-5 minutes, from (disabled) login screen to actual responsive desktop. In the meantime, system is as slow as hell...

Some details:
- as soon as the desktop boots up, I open task manager and watch the processes starting. I noticed that "COM surrogate" has to pop on and off twice, before things start working (from what I know, this should be related to some non-trusted process, which Win7 boots in a dedicated interface, before letting it go out to play);
- at each boot, my desktop icons refresh and rebuild, even if I increased the icon cache, and I guess this also might slow the boot process. I actually have 85 icons (mostly shortcuts) sitting on my desktop...it might be time for a little cleanup as well....:o

HijackThis log reads:

Quote:

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Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 10.45.54, on 12/10/2013
Platform: Unknown Windows (WinNT 6.01.3505 SP1)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v10.0 (10.00.9200.16686)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Ink\TabTip32.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Hijack This\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = about:blank
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = about:blank
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = C:\Windows\SysWOW64\blank.htm
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyServer = 140.247.60.126:3128
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=userinit.exe
O2 - BHO: IDM Helper - {0055C089-8582-441B-A0BF-17B458C2A3A8} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Download Manager\IDMIECC.dll
O2 - BHO: ExplorerBHO Class - {449D0D6E-2412-4E61-B68F-1CB625CD9E52} - C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicExplorer32.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: ClassicIE9BHO Class - {EA801577-E6AD-4BD5-8F71-4BE0154331A4} - C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicIE9DLL_32.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {ED0E8CA5-42FB-4B18-997B-769E0408E79D} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: Classic Explorer Bar - {553891B7-A0D5-4526-BE18-D3CE461D6310} - C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicExplorer32.dll
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'SERVIZIO LOCALE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'SERVIZIO DI RETE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-1600594912-771466992-1461007924-1012\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'UpdatusUser')
O8 - Extra context menu item: Download all links with IDM - C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Download Manager\IEGetAll.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Download with IDM - C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Download Manager\IEExt.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&sporta in Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~3\Office12\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Invia a OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~3\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: I&nvia a OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~3\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {56753E59-AF1D-4FBA-9E15-31557124ADA2} - C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicIE9_32.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Classic IE9 Settings - {56753E59-AF1D-4FBA-9E15-31557124ADA2} - C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicIE9_32.exe
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {64964764-1101-4bbd-8891-B56B1A53B9B3} - C:\Program Files\Classic Shell\ClassicExplorer32.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~3\Office12\REFIEBAR.DLL
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll
O11 - Options group: [ACCELERATED_GRAPHICS] Accelerated graphics
O16 - DPF: {0A5FD7C5-A45C-49FC-ADB5-9952547D5715} - http://www.creative.com/su/ocx/15031/CTSUEng.cab
O16 - DPF: {0D41B8C5-2599-4893-8183-00195EC8D5F9} (asusTek_sysctrl Class) - http://support.asus.com/select/asusTek_sys_ctrl3.cab
O16 - DPF: {5AE58FCF-6F6A-49B2-B064-02492C66E3F4} (MUCatalogWebControl Class) - http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/...?1201336318593
O16 - DPF: {6414512B-B978-451D-A0D8-FCFDF33E833C} (WUWebControl Class) - http://update.microsoft.com/microsof...?1231145611781
O16 - DPF: {6E32070A-766D-4EE6-879C-DC1FA91D2FC3} (MUWebControl Class) - http://update.microsoft.com/microsof...?1231145596781
O16 - DPF: {CF84DAC5-A4F5-419E-A0BA-C01FFD71112F} (SysInfo Class) - http://content.systemrequirementslab...l_4.5.13.0.cab
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload2.macromedia.com/ge...sh/swflash.cab
O16 - DPF: {F6ACF75C-C32C-447B-9BEF-46B766368D29} (Creative Software AutoUpdate Support Package) - http://ccfiles.creative.com/Web/soft...5112/CTPID.cab
O18 - Protocol: skype4com - {FFC8B962-9B40-4DFF-9458-1830C7DD7F5D} - C:\PROGRA~2\COMMON~1\Skype\SKYPE4~1.DLL
O23 - Service: Creative ALchemy AL6 Licensing Service - Creative Labs - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Creative Labs Shared\Service\AL6Licensing.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Audio Engine Licensing Service - Creative Labs - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Creative Labs Shared\Service\CTAELicensing.exe
O23 - Service: Crypkey License - Unknown owner - crypserv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Creative Audio Service (CTAudSvcService) - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\Program Files (x86)\Creative\Shared Files\CTAudSvc.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\fxsresm.dll,-118 (Fax) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\fxssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition (gzserv) - Bitdefender - C:\Program Files\Bitdefender\Antivirus Free Edition\gzserv.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: Leap Service (LeapService) - Leap Motion, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Leap Motion\Core Services\LeapSvc.exe
O23 - Service: LMIGuardianSvc - LogMeIn, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\LogMeIn\x64\LMIGuardianSvc.exe
O23 - Service: Mozilla Maintenance Service (MozillaMaintenance) - Mozilla Foundation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Maintenance Service\maintenanceservice.exe
O23 - Service: Ethernet Packet Service (npacketservice) - Nokia - C:\Windows\system32\npacketsvc.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (NVSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Update Service Daemon (nvUpdatusService) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Update Core\daemonu.exe
O23 - Service: PDAgent - Raxco Software, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk\PDAgent.exe
O23 - Service: PDEngine - Raxco Software, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Raxco\Shared\PDEngine.exe
O23 - Service: Protexis Licensing V2 (PSI_SVC_2) - Protexis Inc. - c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Protexis\License Service\PsiService_2.exe
O23 - Service: SBSD Security Center Service (SBSDWSCService) - Safer Networking Ltd. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SDWinSec.exe
O23 - Service: ServiceLayer - Nokia - C:\Program Files (x86)\PC Connectivity Solution\ServiceLayer.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\sppsvc.exe,-101 (sppsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\sppsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Stereoscopic 3D Driver Service (Stereo Service) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision\nvSCPAPISvr.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Wat\WatUX.exe,-601 (WatAdminSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\Wat\WatAdminSvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)

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End of file - 8713 bytes

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....well, that's it, to start with....
Anything I might add? Just ask me and I'll post it. ;)

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me. :)

Is this a stand a lone pc or one that is on a network with shared drives?

Do you have several printers and or external drives attached?

Hello,

my pc is a standalone one.
It is connected to the internet via a range extender, but I have already tried booting without the range estender plugged in, and things were slow as well...

Only external devices plugged in are:
- 1 USB printer;
- 1 range extender;
- 1 USB hub (my faithful TARDIS hub :P ) ;
- 1 USB dongle for keyboard and mouse.

I occasionally plug in some USB drives, but I usually do it after boot sequence has completed.

Have you checked your Startup folder and MSCONFIG?

Download, install and run Speccy. Click File > Publish Snapshot > Yes > Copy to Clipboard and then paste in the URL you just copied into a Reply to this thread.

@ dneilson: MSCONFIG has only ClassicShell, in the booting applications, startup folder is empty.

@ SpywareDr: here's the link you requested.
http://speccy.piriform.com/results/P...xdTF0R6cUotbzk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tw@in28

HijackThis log reads:

O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {ED0E8CA5-42FB-4B18-997B-769E0408E79D} - (no file)
O16 - DPF: {CF84DAC5-A4F5-419E-A0BA-C01FFD71112F} (SysInfo Class) - http://content.systemrequirementslab...l_4.5.13.0.cab

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If you don't know what these two items are, delete them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpywareDr

If you don't know what these two items are, delete them.

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Done, but I don't think the issue is related to those items:
- the first one was a leftover bar from FreshDownload (uninstalled it eons ago, the bar might have been sitting there hidden);
- the second one, if I'm not mistaken, was a class component for "Can I Run It?" webscan by www.systemrequirementslab.com

I rebooted, and things are still slow, the first minutes after boot...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tw@in28

@ SpywareDr: here's the link you requested.
http://speccy.piriform.com/results/P...xdTF0R6cUotbzk

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Thanks Tw@in28

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tw@in28

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 @ 2.66GHz: 63°C

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If that 63°C is at idle, might want to keep an eye on it. It should not exceed 72°C.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tw@in28

Motherboard
Voltage
+12V: 13.048 V
+5V: 3.648 V

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Need to double-check these voltage readings. (HWiNFO). The 12-Volt should be between 11.4 and 12.6 and 5-Volt between 4.75 and 5.25. If Speccy is reporting these right, you need a new power supply.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tw@in28

Maxtor 6L200M0 ATA Device (190GB Maxtor 6L200M0 ATA Device (SATA): 47 °C)
S.M.A.R.T
05 Reallocated Sectors Count: 250 (246) Data 0000000027
C3 Hardware ECC Recovered: 253 (251) Data 0000003AD9
C4 Reallocation Event Count: 066 (066) Data 00000000BB
C5 Current Pending Sector Count: 251 (247) Data 000000001D
C6 Uncorrectable Sector Count: 001 (001) Data 0000000141

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Need to run Hard Drive Diagnostics against this drive. Looks like it may be having a bit of trouble.

Recommend visiting our "Intensive Care Unit" forum and follow the "malware removal instructions". This will guide you through a few preparations, as well as instruction for posting your logs in that forum.

If you are still having the same issue after being given a clean bill of health from one of our malware experts, then please return to THIS thread and we will pursue other options to help you/them solve the problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpywareDr

If that 63°C is at idle, might want to keep an eye on it. It should not exceed 72°C.

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Idle usually reads arount 55°C...it was a little higher, due to a few encodings I was doing, before running speccy.

Quote:

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Need to double-check these voltage readings. (HWiNFO). The 12-Volt should be between 11.4 and 12.6 and 5-Volt between 4.75 and 5.25. If Speccy is reporting these right, you need a new power supply.

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Will check those readings as well...

Quote:

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Need to run Hard Drive Diagnostics against this drive. Looks like it may be having a bit of trouble.

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Sigh...that drive has always been a little crappy....still, it has been a faithful companion for many years, so far...I'll run this check as well...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpywareDr

Recommend visiting our "Intensive Care Unit" forum and follow the "malware removal instructions". This will guide you through a few preparations, as well as instruction for posting your logs in that forum.

If you are still having the same issue after being given a clean bill of health from one of our malware experts, then please return to THIS thread and we will pursue other options to help you/them solve the problem.

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Will do.
Thank you for now. ;)

You're welcome. :)

Well....I'm back, with some little updates to my case.
Basically, nothing has really changed: PC still takes 3-5 minutes to get fully operational.
Here are some details of what I did, during the last weeks:
1. I went through multiple malware cleaning procedures, and was awarded a 'Clean' badge, as instructed. ;)
2. I took a scan with Seatools on the supposedly-faulty HDD: fast scan failed, but long scan completed successfully. I therefore ran my "old faithful" copy of HDD Regenerator on the disk, and recovered 4 bad sectors, restoring them to full health.
Here's a new reading from Speccy, after the cure (http://speccy.piriform.com/results/b...jDEWEnkae7EXid).
3. I really can't help but keep noticing that, after the 'COM surrogate' process runs on my PC for about 4-5 times at boot, things start working normally. It must be something related to that....

What next?

Quote:

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I took a scan with Seatools on the supposedly-faulty HDD: fast scan failed, but long scan completed successfully. I therefore ran my "old faithful" copy of HDD Regenerator on the disk, and recovered 4 bad sectors, restoring them to full health.

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You should really replace that drive. HDD Regen doesn't actually fix the bad sectors. It's just relocating the data from the bad sectors to another sector on the drive. Then it marks the bad sector as unusable. Once you start getting bad sectors, the drive is on its way out.

And to me it also sounds like the hdd is only turning about 3200-3800 rpm.

Replacement time.

Looks like all three of your hard drives are having some trouble:

1. Your Maxtor 6L200M0 (200GB), drive letter's C: and X:
   
   
   Hardware ECC Recovered: 0000005DC5 [equals 24,005 decimal]
   Reallocation Event Count: 00000000BB [equals 187 decimal]
   Current Pending Sector Count: 000000000B [equals 11 decimal]
   
   
2. Your Western Digital WD2500JD (250GB), drive letter D:
   
   
   Temperature: 51 °C - Warning (50 °C to 55 °C)
   
   
3. Your Maxtor 6V080E0 (80GB), drive letter Z:
   
   
   Hardware ECC Recovered: 00000002C3 [equals 707 decimal]

Especially the first one containing your partitions C: and X:. :(

Ehm...drat.... :(
Well, I guess I'll sniff around and see if I can find and buy some new HDD...would you recommend changing all three?

I should point out, in any case, that I don't believe the issue to be entirely hardware-related...I have a linux partition booting in less than 30 seconds, on the same system...so there must be something I can do, before changing my HDDs, to improve my boot speed in Win7....

Those are pretty small drives by today's standards, so you could just get one 500GB-1TB drive to replace all 3.

I'd replace the drive before you waste time trying to resolve software issues. If the hardware is bad, you're already fighting a losing battle. Maybe you lucked out and the linux partition is on a section without bad sectors.

The Maxtor's need to be replaced but the WD should be fine for a while if you can lower its temp a bit.

Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive 5-year warranty - $89.99

PHP Code:

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The Maxtor's need to be replaced but the WD should be fine for a while if you can lower its temp a bit. 


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One of these should do it.

http://www.newegg.com/Hard-Drive-Coo...drive%20cooler

I went for a Seagate ST1000DM003 1TB, which seemed spacious, cheap and solid enough for me.
I will trash the two Maxtor drives and keep the WD one (which, incidentally, is be the oldest one in the lot :P ), giving it more space on the rack. This way, it should get more fresh air: I'm guessing the reason for its high temperature is related to the fact right now that HDD is the lowest one on the rack. If the temperature situation does not change with the new HDD configuration, I'll buy a cooler as well. :rolleyes:

Would you recommend me to clone my existing system partitions, so to "paste" them on the new HDD and simply re-adjust my bootloader? I'd hate having to reinstall everything, since it would probably take ages to get back to my actual configuration...and I can't even remember every giffy feature I piled in, during the years...

Do you really want to copy the "Unresponsive Desktop at boot: 3-5 minutes to start working!" onto a brand new hard drive?

A fresh install will clean out the cobwebs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SpywareDr

Do you really want to copy the "Unresponsive Desktop at boot: 3-5 minutes to start working!" onto a brand new hard drive?

A fresh install will clean out the cobwebs.

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Sigh! I was afraid you'd give me this answer....:rolleyes: I guess you're right....
Is there some tool I could use to list my installed software (maybe offering to backup my user data as well), and automate their re-installation a little bit? :p

Print Directory
http://www.karenware.com/powertools.asp

Just point it at the Programs and programx86 folders

Been using it over 10 years now.

To get a list of your installed programs:

1. Click Start, type cmd.exe, and press [Ctrl][Shift][Enter].
   
   (Pressing [Ctrl][Shift][Enter] instead of simply pressing [Enter] opens cmd.exe with Administrator privileges. IOW, an 'elevated' cmd prompt).
   
   
2. Type wmic and press [Enter].
   
   (You should now be at a "wmic:root\cli>" prompt. WMIC = Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line).
   
   
3. Type /output:C:\ProgList.txt product get Description,InstallDate,Name,Vendor,Version and press [Enter].
   
   (And then wait for the "wmic:root\cli>" prompt to return to the screen).
   
   
4. Type quit and press [Enter].
   
   
5. Type notepad c:\proglist.txt&exit and press [Enter].

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PCMag.com: The Beginner's Guide to PC Backup

Paragon Backup & Recovery 2013 Free

Wikipedia: List of Backup software

Many thanks for the suggestions
My new HDD has just arrived, and I already took a comprehensive backup of the two faulty HDDs with Paragon Backup&Recovery.
Tonight, I will take yet another backup with Microsoft's migration tool - now Windows Easy Transfer (which helped me a lot, when I migrated from WinXP to Win7), then tomorrow I'll make the jump. ;)

Thank you all again for your support. I will report back here, when migration is successfull, and let you know how all this went.

You're more than welcome. And best of luck.

Curious to know how much faster it boots up ...

I'm back online, after a night of hard work.
First thing I tried was a complete reinstall of Windows 7 x64. Booted up to responsive (if bare) desktop in around 45 seconds. :P
I used Windows Easy Transfer to import my userdata from a backup, and it worked quite good, but, for some unknown reason, Windows would not recognize my internet adapter, nor would it accept transferred drivers for wifi, GPU and sound support....basically, I was left with a quite messy 640x480 desktop.
Being curious by nature, I decided to take the ultimate gamble: restoring a partition backup I made with Paragon Backup & Restore.
But I had no blank DVD to create a recovery media disk...so I ran the program and created a bootable USB recovery media disk and with it I recovered the entire C: and X: partitions from a backup (of course, taking the risk my system might still boot slowly.... :rolleyes: ).
The process took 2 hours, and produced an unbootable disk.
Being a sly old fox, I understood this was due to wrong MBR settings in the bootloader (of course, Ubuntu and GRUB were installed on the old HDD, so Win7 bootloader was just acting fizzy): I rebooted with Windows 7 install DVD and chose to recover a previous installation. The disc immediately recognized the issue and re-wrote the broken MBR (the operation took less than a minute).
I rebooted and here I am, back again in my Windows desktop, with all my installed applications too (it even recovered the desktop icons' layout)!

Desktop now boots in around 45 seconds + 16 seconds for icon cache reload (I have 90 icons on my desktop, and, as far as I know, the refresh is unavoidable), which is pretty fast, considering my previous issues!

I should add that system now seems to be responsive immediately after icon refresh, so I guess this counts as a success story!

I will confirm my first impressions in the following hours, but I believe this could be the end of my issue...
Many thanks to all who contributed to diagnose and suggest useful tools!! :cool:

I'm back: I rebooted a couple of times more, each time with my clock at hand, and I'd say system works fine in 1-1.30 minutes since auto-login screen...and that's fine by me! :D
Many Thanks to everyone who helped me fix the system.
Special kudos to SypwareDr, who patiently assisted me since my first post. :cool:

If you want a faster boot time yet use Hibernate. I have a Desktop and two Laptops using Hibernate and they're all at the Desktop ready to use in the 30 second area.

You're more than welcome Tw@in28.

When I replaced my spinner with a SSD, total boot time, from completely powered off to being on the 'net is right at 20 seconds. From Sleep mode is 7 seconds. Zoom, zoom. :)

I'm 99,9% done with restoring full functionality: my Ubuntu partition is up again, and GRUB is back online. :P
I'll just add a few more (and hopefully last) cents on this issue....in case this might help others as well: while I was cleaning temp files with CrapCleaner, I accidentally found out a few "scheduled tasks", related to long gone applications and/or installations were still sitting at my boot time...of course triggering those multiple "COM surrogate" events I kept noticing (and did not show in MSCONFIG or elsewhere....I found them out by chance!!)....deleting them gave more speed to my boot....now my system goes live in 40-45 seconds time!! Way to go!! :cool:

Feels great doesn't it? Nothing like a clean fast setup. :)