Understanding and Troubleshooting Slow Windows 10 Startup After Network Service Changes: A Guide
Experiencing prolonged boot times on your Windows 10 PC can be frustrating, especially when your system previously started almost instantly. Recent changes, such as modifying network services to restore Ethernet connectivity, may inadvertently impact startup performance. If you’ve noticed a significant slowdown after such adjustments, this article offers insights into potential causes and steps to resolve the issue.
Recognizing the Symptoms
- Startup delay: Boot times extending from a few seconds to 2-3 minutes
- Taskbar and desktop load delays
- Recent network connectivity restoration efforts
Common Causes and Investigations
- Network Service Modifications
Enabling or altering network services through services.msc
can sometimes cause startup delays if essential services hang or conflict. Restoring these services to their default states or disabling recent changes can help determine if they are causing the slowdown.
- Driver Issues, Particularly GPU Drivers
Graphics drivers, especially those related to NVIDIA graphics cards like your GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, are crucial during startup. Corrupted or incompatible driver files may lead to delays or system hang-ups. Notably, missing or repeatedly failing drivers such as dxgkrnl.sys
are often associated with graphics issues.
- Driver Conflicts or Corruption
Troubleshooting must consider the possibility of driver conflicts. The extensive boot log suggests some drivers are not loading correctly (BOOTLOG_NOT_LOADED
entries), which may contribute to startup lag.
- System File Corruption
Even after running sfc /scannow
and DISM /RestoreHealth
, some issues might persist if underlying system files are corrupted or if specific driver files are problematic.
Recommended Troubleshooting Steps
-
Roll Back Recent Changes
-
Revert any network service modifications: Set services that you enabled back to their default manual or automatic states.
-
Use System Restore to revert the system to a point prior to the slowdown, if available.
-
Update or Reinstall Graphics Drivers
-
Use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to completely remove current NVIDIA drivers.
-
Download the latest GPU driver from the official NVIDIA website and perform a clean installation.
-
Check for Driver Updates
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Ensure all device drivers are up to date, particularly chipset, network, and storage controllers.
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Visit your PC or motherboard manufacturer’s website for recommended driver versions.
-
Examine Startup Processes
-
Use Windows Task Manager’s “Startup” tab or third-party
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