Solved USB sticks and possible effects on startup/shutdown times

[Bkshiroma]

Okay, but what does it mean and what can I do?

 

[whs]

Something seems to be scheduled to run at startup - maybe a virus scan (the little clock). Run a schtasks /query command in command prompt and check for unusual tasks scheduled at startup.

 

[MasterChief]

Something seems to be scheduled to run at startup - maybe a virus scan (the little clock). Run a schtasks /query command in command prompt and check for unusual tasks scheduled at startup.

Yes, very much this too.

I noticed funk in the stack text of the crash that very well might be indicative of what you're saying. (Maybe, maybe not. Could even be some malware present.)

I'm just shying away from this machine, because I gave it a huge amount of tlc already and results are back to (or worse than) square one. Also, I've offered a way to foolproof the system by suggesting a clone when the machine is in excellent state.

Clonezilla rocks.

Okay, but what does it mean and what can I do?

"Teach how to fish..." so Google can help.

 

[Bkshiroma]

The only antivirus I have is Windows Defender at Masterchief's suggestion. Does Windows Defender put that icon on?

I'll check when I go home on other possibilities. The only other thing I can think of offhand is the Intel Management Engine which was among the drivers I was told to install. But then Smart Connect was among those drivers too, and Masterchief told me to get rid of it, which I did. Does anyone know if the Intel management engine is really necessary? There seems to be differing opinions on the web.

As for the state of my computer, it is for the most part reasonably better than it was when I started at the beginning of all this. With Masterchief's help, Windows Update no longer crashes the system which is a big plus. I haven't had to reinstall, refresh, or reset Windows in over a week which is a record for this year. The two remaining issues are these startup, restart, and shutdown problems and the temporary freezes on the system. Even so, once things start up, things act normally.

 

[alphanumeric]

Windows To Go is only available on the Enterprise version. What I mean is you can only create a Windows To GO drive on Windows 8 Enterprise. Windows To GO will show up in control panel on Enterprise but not Pro. I've only ever seen that screen shot in post #4 on my laptop after creating a Windows to go drive. I think it does that so you can test it on the reboot. There is a BIOS boot option for it to on my laptop. No such window or option on my desktop that's running Pro. If you've never ever booted from a Windows To Go drive you likely won't find anything when you search for it on 8 Pro.

 

[adamf]

Windows To Go is only available on the Enterprise version. What I mean is you can only create a Windows To GO drive on Windows 8 Enterprise. Windows To GO will show up in control panel on Enterprise but not Pro. I've only ever seen that screen shot in post #4 on my laptop after creating a Windows to go drive. I think it does that so you can test it on the reboot. There is a BIOS boot option for it to on my laptop. No such window or option on my desktop that's running Pro. If you've never ever booted from a Windows To Go drive you likely won't find anything when you search for it on 8 Pro.

Are you sure? I did clean install of 8.1 Pro. I did try Enterprise in a VM but never had a license so I dropped it. The screen print is from standard clean install of 8.1 Pro.

EDIT - you can't make a Windows to go except with enterprise but you can boot from one. Perhaps I made the Windows to go after the clean install - I'm not sure. It was in a VM anway though so I'm surprised i changed my standard installation. If you can't see that option then you must be correct.

 

[alphanumeric]

Windows To Go is only available on the Enterprise version. What I mean is you can only create a Windows To GO drive on Windows 8 Enterprise. Windows To GO will show up in control panel on Enterprise but not Pro. I've only ever seen that screen shot in post #4 on my laptop after creating a Windows to go drive. I think it does that so you can test it on the reboot. There is a BIOS boot option for it to on my laptop. No such window or option on my desktop that's running Pro. If you've never ever booted from a Windows To Go drive you likely won't find anything when you search for it on 8 Pro.

Are you sure? I did clean install of 8.1 Pro. I did try Enterprise in a VM but never had a license so I dropped it. The screen print is from standard clean install of 8.1 Pro.

EDIT - you can't make a Windows to go except with enterprise but you can boot from one.

Yes, you can boot from Windows To Go on any PC that meets the hardware requirements. It doesn't even have to be running Windows, or any OS for that matter. On my desktop 8.1 Pro searching for "windows to go" turns up nothing except documents I have on that topic. I have never booted from my Windows To Go drive on that PC. If I did I might see the screen shot you posted in post #4. As or right now I don't have that option on my desktop that is running 8.1 Pro. I did see that prompt on my laptop after creating my to go drive though. What I was trying to say was if the OP had never messed with a Windows To Go drive they likely wouldn't see that boot option.

 

[whs]

Windows To Go is only available on the Enterprise version. What I mean is you can only create a Windows To GO drive on Windows 8 Enterprise. Windows To GO will show up in control panel on Enterprise but not Pro. I've only ever seen that screen shot in post #4 on my laptop after creating a Windows to go drive. I think it does that so you can test it on the reboot. There is a BIOS boot option for it to on my laptop. No such window or option on my desktop that's running Pro. If you've never ever booted from a Windows To Go drive you likely won't find anything when you search for it on 8 Pro.

I nade my own Windows to go. You might need an extra key though.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5349-windows-8-go-setup-usb-flash-drive-usb-disk.html

 

[adamf]

Okey Dokey. I thought I had a clean install and that was part of it. I take it back.

 

[alphanumeric]

Windows To Go is only available on the Enterprise version. What I mean is you can only create a Windows To GO drive on Windows 8 Enterprise. Windows To GO will show up in control panel on Enterprise but not Pro. I've only ever seen that screen shot in post #4 on my laptop after creating a Windows to go drive. I think it does that so you can test it on the reboot. There is a BIOS boot option for it to on my laptop. No such window or option on my desktop that's running Pro. If you've never ever booted from a Windows To Go drive you likely won't find anything when you search for it on 8 Pro.

I nade my own Windows to go. You might need an extra key though.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5349-windows-8-go-setup-usb-flash-drive-usb-disk.html

I knew about that but didn't want to maybe confuse things by mentioning it. That's the roll your own version. The official Microsoft version can only be made from the Enterprise edition of Windows 8. I have access to Windows 8 Enterprise so I went that route. No worries of activation issues etc.

 

[whs]

Yeah, you are fortunate. But for us plain folk, we have to go with more modest solutions, LOL.

 

[alphanumeric]

Yeah, you are fortunate. But for us plain folk, we have to go with more modest solutions, LOL.

:thumb:

 

[Bkshiroma]

Getting closer. Eliminated a number of software, from printer utilities to the USB driver to some software that came with my camera and my video camera. Restart seems to work normally now. I'm still having trouble with shutdowns and startup, so I eliminated a few more things (printer drivers, a remaining USB webcam camera startup thing that was still there even after uninstalling) and stopped the skype updater service. We'll see how things go this evening.

<edit>

After eliminating the other stuff, things shut down normally. Again, we'll see how things go when I come back. I still haven't had a normal hybrid bootup since I took out the USB sticks (by the way I took out all the greyed out stuff from the device manager), but maybe it will when I get back. I can't figure out why that would make any difference at all, but there it is. Maybe it had to do with the USB camera driver or something. Come to think of it, when I use my camera, I usually put it where one of the USB sticks are, although I later tried putting it in one of the USB slots in the back.

On a side note, I was able to find the screen shown in 4 on my Windows Pro installation. Never have touched Windows Enterprise, and when I got to the Window it was set for off. There is, however, no Windows to go option on my control panel.

 

[Bkshiroma]

Black clock?

Things are looking pretty good. Restarts are definitely fine. And things booted up pretty quickly. Here's my question, though. Is this black clock on the notifications flag Windows defender? Or is it something else? When I hover the mouse over it, it says scheduled scan. It's usually shortly after it appears that things slow down for a few minutes.

 

[MasterChief]

Things are looking pretty good.

:thumb:

Clone the HDD before doing anything else!!!!! (Just an opinion.)

 

[Bkshiroma]

I'll be checking how things go the next several days, but it seems like everything is now fine. My only concern is the USB driver for my webcam. I tried to find the latest one, but it doesn't seem any different from the last one I used. If it causes problems, I may just have to get a new webcam.

There were two Canon pieces of software that were definitely causing problems, and so I got rid of those.

At any rate, thanks everyone for your help. Masterchief, I know you got more than a little annoyed at the whole process. Believe me, so was I. All I can say in my defense is I still can't figure out why all this software that caused no problems with Windows 8 for one year before my computer went down with the BSODs suddenly started causing problems when I reinstalled Windows. Same hardware. Nothing changed. It's probably a mystery I'll never figure out.

But I just wanted to say thanks for all your advice and help. Couldn't have done it without you. My2Cents, ditto on your advice at looking at the Event Logs. That was also invaluable.

Hopefully, you won't have to hear from me again, except on other topics.

 

[MasterChief]

lol it's all good man.

Can I be perfectly honest? Yes, just a little bit annoyed...well...that's not even really the right word for it....more like bemused.

That's because after doing all the stuff necessary to get the machine stable, you specifically asked about the utilities. I was like, "ehhh nah, not really a good idea" or something like that, and next thing I know, system is crashing and utilities are on it.

lol sometimes ya just gotta laugh. But in all honesty, the truth of the matter is that I am glad that it seems to working out now...

but just one more thing before I conclude in this thread:


Clonezilla makes good backups!!!

 

[Bkshiroma]

I believe you said, "You can try your luck."

I guess I'm just not very lucky...or good at taking hints.

 

[Bkshiroma]

I'll take a look at clonezilla. Don't know a thing about it.