Internet Windows XP Network Connections Problem

[Thunder Chicken]

I have been having a curious problem with my Windows XP Network Connections recently (within the last week), and I am posting here to see if anyone has any ideas.

Symptoms:

1. The network connection status icon in the system tray does NOT show up for about 10 minutes after I login.
2. The Network Connections panel is not available for the same 10 minutes as well (what I mean, when I navigate to Start/Settings/Network Connections, the window does not appear for 10 minutes).
3. IE and Firefox both cannot start during the above 10 minutes, though they are indicated as active in the task manager.
4. However, I am apparently connected to my wireless as usual, as I can start Thunderbird and download/send email as soon as I login, despite items 1-3.
5. After the above mentioned 10 minute period, the network connection icon pops up, Network Connections panel opens, and IE & Firefox all finally work as usual.

It seems that there is something going on during startup that is messing with the system Network Connections, but it seems to be timing out. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be?

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[TSPenguin]

That sounds quite weird.

Is there any change in the output of "ipconfig /all"?

 

[jgrillo2002]

It might be possible that you might have spyware. to be safe I would suggest that you make afull system scan of your computer to be sure that its not spyware that's causing it. from what I seen on how they work some spyware can screw up with your preferences.
best spyware programs I suggest is
"Super Anti-Spyware" and "MalwareBytes AntiMalware"

 

[orb]

If you have some external firewall software, can you check if there is any network traffic generated from/to Firefox/IE during these 10 minutes? This may be some sort of DoS attack. If there are no connections established, then it's something wrong with network settings. If there is large amount of connections (>100 at a time) this is DoS attack. If this amount is reasonably low (1-20), then it may be something my friend had with buffer overflows of some system service, but he couldn't open any program for 5-10 minutes after connecting to Internet, not just Internet browser. Though overall memory and CPU usage was low, there was something wrong with virtual memory of services.exe process, IIRC. I couldn't get his computer to home for further checks, so the quickest solution was system reinstallation, which helped.

Have you tried to log-in with network adapter's radio turned off? What happens then? Does IE/Firefox respond immediately if you have no physical connection? Have you got the ability to connect through some wired/ethernet connection, to check if it's the same?

Anyway, check for presence of viruses, spyware and rootkits on your computer. It won't harm. There is also a possibility that reinstallation of your network card drivers may help.

---------- Post added at 23:54 ---------- Previous post was at 23:38 ----------

I just remembered a command for checking all active net connections (useful if you don't have external firewall software):

netstat -ba

 

[Thunder Chicken]

This problem doesn't seem to depend on connectivity - physically disconnecting the wireless card and ethernet does not change the start-up behavior. Firefox and IE both do not start until about 10 minutes after startup, even to open a html page saved on my desktop.

I noticed that an icon for my D: drive (DVD-ROM) pops up in my system tray briefly just before everything returns to normal. I am thinking that there is a system service that is hanging and/or timing out during startup.

 

[Bj]

I am thinking that there is a system service that is hanging and/or timing out during startup.

If thats the case, then you could look at the processes in Task manager and see the number that is active within the first 10 minutes since startup, then after when it is working properly. If the number changes, then it is a process starting up.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

I've found the hang - the Server service (?) is hanging. As far as I can tell, I don't seem to need this service (it is for server file sharing). Anybody know any reason why I shouldn't just disable the service? Everything seems to run fine without it.

 

[Bj]

I've found the hang - the Server service (?) is hanging. As far as I can tell, I don't seem to need this service (it is for server file sharing). Anybody know any reason why I shouldn't just disable the service? Everything seems to run fine without it.

I cannot find it in this directory. I would assume its apart of some hosting program (FTP, HTTP ext.) Know of any kind of server you might have installed?

process/index.html

 

[TSPenguin]

The server service indeed only enables sharing files and printers over a windows network. If you don't need to do that, then you can safely disable it.