XP Hangs during bootup when plugged into LAN

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TechieSooner

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It's been awhile since my last "weird problem" so here goes a new one...

On my XP clients, I've had cases where it either hangs on "Configuring Network Adapter" or "Applying Computer Settings".

It'll sit there a good 20 minutes doing this, and I don't know why. The only solution I've found is to boot it up without the network cable, logon (cached credentials), and plug the network cable in after the fact, then it seems to work fine.

At first, I was thinking it was just Group Policy hanging or something, as it happened on a couple more machines too. However then on a couple more machines, I actually had an issue even getting past the "Configuring Network Connection" portion...

Any ideas? I was thinking about disabling Slow Link Detection but I don't know if that'd fix the problem or not.
 
I ran into this problem when a new DNS server was put in with some machines that had their DNS servers statically set.

Just a thought.
 
yadnom said:
I ran into this problem when a new DNS server was put in with some machines that had their DNS servers statically set.

Just a thought.
Click to expand...

They're all DHCP clients... I had that thought myself.

It's almost like a DNS issue, but I have no idea what kind... Everything resolves properly.
 
Yeah I've run into this a few times too over the years....plugged in...long login like you describe, unplug cable..BAM...zips right in. Common symptom of incorrect DNS.

Try updating NIC drivers, scan for malware, try running a TCP/Winsock repair utility...all else fails, statically assign the DNS server(s). (or if it's a new machine and worth the time..reload Windows)
 
I wouldn't think it'd be the NIC drivers, I'd expect those to go flaky all the time.

Could be DNS. I could manually set IP addressing information, see if it speeds through.

You're also talking about ntsh winsck reset?
 
Well, had it happen... Here's what fixed it.

I repaired the connection.

Odd, huh? The logon server resolved properly using NSLOOKUP, so not sure what the bad data was...
 
I had this occur when running multiple NICs on the same machine, and leaving them set to DHCP.
 
Usually this is a DNS issue. I have had this happen in poor domain configuration. When the AD domain and the real domain are the same (mycompany.com), the client can hang when booting and roaming as it tries to find a domain controller. That's the more common issue I've ran into. Most slow downs during the NIC and GPO portion of boot and logon are contributed to DNS some how.
 
MorfiusX said:
Usually this is a DNS issue. I have had this happen in poor domain configuration. When the AD domain and the real domain are the same (mycompany.com), the client can hang when booting and roaming as it tries to find a domain controller. That's the more common issue I've ran into. Most slow downs during the NIC and GPO portion of boot and logon are contributed to DNS some how.
Click to expand...

This isn't the case.

Not only is the TDL a totally different name than the domain name, the domain name's suffix is .local......
 
I've had this issue with a few of our desktops. We are running domain on server 03 and xp pro clients. I was never able to figure it out. It only happens when I upgrade the desktop to IE7. Go back to IE6 and the desktop boots up again. Weird eh? The only solution so far is to set the user up with a new image.
 
I don't have IE6 anymore... Everyone is at least IE7. Some of them are running IE8, if they opt to install it... But I don't see any correlation here.

I'm also leaning to DNS but since it resolves properly, I'm wondering What The Heck is the deal
 
OK so here's something interesting.

On one of the machines with this issue, I did an nslookup- resolved properly to the DC.
I also did an arp -a, and the MAC address is correct.

So again, I'm back to thinking it's not DNS or resolution of any kind....

Any ideas? Driving me crazy. If I boot without the network cable plugged in, it boots fast and works fine. With it in, it hangs.
 
If the hang is occurring on all internal domain workstations it probably is a DNS issue as the DNS servers must be AD and not external servers. But, what I found was this issue most often occurred on laptops outside the domain. I checked binding order under advanced settings on network properties and that fixed me. (Had to move the Cisco VPN and 1394 down) This also effects some workstations on inside with the 1394 connector. (Just move it to bottom and also take off the Microsoft providers from it.) This article is very helpful.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/832161

The issue mentioned above with IE7 may be related to the WebClient for DAV in IE7.
 
Are you running on managed switches? If so verify the port is set to access and has spanning-tree portfast set on it, I've had this be an issue before (although honestly not for 20min) I'm assuming you have tried different cables & ports, etc correct? To figure out where the problem is I would also try to replace the NIC with one of a different mfg with the latest drivers from that mfg, that can at let tell you if it's a hw problem vs a windows problem.
 
its ALL Xp clients? sounds to me like you may have a duplicate IP address on your network. which will cause all kinds of hell, and is a pain to track down
 
No laptops, no roaming profiles.

This just occurs in spot areas, not a global thing. And since I lasted posted here, it's yet to happen again. Very odd problem.
 
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