'Frank C' wrote, in part:

_____

Your problem is likely caused by clicking on a program more times than
necessary because the system seems not to have noticed the request.  THEN
you get a lock-up because you have requested the same program to start
multiple times.  It might be if you just left the 'locked-up' system alone
for a time eventually you would get messages about 'multiple' instances,
answer the messages, and then the system would be okay.  But the wait could
be tens of minutes or more, especially if you are limited in system memory.

I don't know a specific answer to your question, but turning on the system
and restarting Windows should take about the same time with each reboot and
restart.  Just wait that length of time OR just make ONE request for a
program to start.

Phil Weldon

Turn sys on, go away and make a coffee, return to functioning sys
Unless of course you want to watch the hd activity light

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 13:27:02 -0800 from Frank C
<FrankC@discussions.microsoft.com>:

When the disk light stops flashing, it's safe to proceed.

I'm surprise more people don't ask this kind of question; it took
me quite awhile to get a handle on it myself.

A coarse but incomplete way to tell is to watch the System Tray
icons load; when they're all loaded, it's about done. Usually.

Watching disk activity can help, but it's not always indicative
if non-disk operations are going on.

I've found the best way to tell, if you don't like the "go get a
cup of coffee" routine, is to watch the processor usage.  There
are lots of ways to do that.

One is to start Task Manager and watch the processor usage until
it drops to a few percentage points and stays there.  If you
minimze Task Manager it'll leave a little icon in the tray
showing processor usage.

Otherwise use a processor monitor.

Luck,

Pop

I assigned a sound,'windows xp balloon' in Sounds and Audio Devices, for
each program that loads at boot. When I no longer hear the balloon pop, I
know the system is ready.

My tablet PC is a bit slow to load (slower processor) and online updates
(antivirus for example) take a bit longer with the wireless connection. To
avoid what you describe... I glance at the cursor to see if there's a
regular cursor or one of the hourglass cursors. After the hourglass clears
and before clicking anything, I'll move the cursor over the start button.
If it stays normal, I go ahead and click. If it changes to an hourglass
again, I wait and try again in a few.

There seems to be two points in startup where I can start working (at least
on my systems):

After the first hourglass check: bulk of operating system and
configurations loaded. Okay to do local tasks (word processors, etc)

After the second hourglass check: most startup programs are loaded, the
network connections have been fully established and update checks are
finished. Programs and internet are available.