Vista - VISTA hangs 20 Minutes, LanmanServer starting

Problem:
VISTA takes a few seconds more or less than 20 minutes to be ready to use each time my computer is powered up or VISTA is restarted.

Symptoms:
Under the Task Manager, Services Tab during that 20 minutes, LanmanServer is in "Starting" mode while other services are Running or Stopped. Also the connection icon in the lower right corner of the screen has a red X. After 20 minutes LanmanServer runs, the red X becomes a blue circle and the system becomes fully functional.

Solution:
Use Regedit in administrator mode to:

1) Change entries in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Spooler. Click on "DependsOnService". Add three separate lines:

LanmanWorkstation
LanmanServer
LmHosts

2) Change entries in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetLogon.
Double click "DependsOnService" entry and find the "LanmanWorkstation" line and delete it. If you don't see a "LanmanServer" line add it.
My system had both entries.

3) Click OK and exit the Registry Editor. Restart your computer. The 20 minute delay on start up problem should be gone.

Comment:
From research I have done this problem with LanmanServer hanging has been experienced in earlier Windows Operating Systems. I think it may occur when certain applications are installed or uninstalled and improper Registry modifications result. I lived with this problem for a year before finding the solution. Microsoft's Knowledge Base and Older Geeks Hacks & Fixes sites were helpful in making the registry modifications that resulted in the fix.

I have a problem very similar to this one. When I power up my computer it takes a long time before it is usable. I don't see anything about the lanmanserver that I know of. After about 10-15 minutes everything is usable but at a very much slowed down state. It just started happening the other day after a restart. I posted my system findings on another post in here. What do you think. I am desperate. I keep my computer up to date and clean it and try to keep it as clean as possible and have never had to reformat before. I will if I have to but all those hours are not what I look forward to doing.

I too suddenly noticed the long delays for my system to become fully operational. I too initially estimated the times as being in a range such as you did. But later I paid close attention and found the time for the system to become functional was fixed within a very narrow range within seconds of 20 minutes.

To check for the LanmanServer hang problem I did the following. When the VISTA desktop appears press the three keys, ctrl, alt and delete all at once. This brings up a screen where the last item on the list is "Start Task Manager". Click that item and Windows Task Manager will open. Click the Services tab and then the "Status" header. This will organize the list of items into three categories: Running, Starting and Stopped. Scan the items in the list. If your problem is the same as mine you will see only one item with the Status of "Starting" and that is named LanmanServer, a Server in the netsvcs Group.

If such is the case the procedure I outlined at the start of this string should clear the problem. Best wishes for a quick resolution of your problem.

I did this but there were several other that were running at the time. I can try this anyway and see what happens. I will be doing a complete install if it doesn't any way. This time my red x has not gone away. This has never happened before.

There will be many services running and many stopped but only LanmanServer will be in Starting status. If you watch this until your system starts LanmanServer will then show as Running and the red x will disappear from your connection icon. This assumes your system behaves the same as mine did when it had the problem.

For the past year I put my system in sleep mode rather than powering it down to avoid the start up delay.

I went through the procedure but that was not the answer. It did not help at all. Should I go back in and reset it back to what it was?

Are you saying that you checked the LanmanServer in the Task Manager and found it to be the only service hung in starting mode before making the registry changes? This check must be done while the system is hung. What did you see that needed to be changed in the registry?

If you changed the registry entries and that didn't correct the problem I would go back in and carefully change them back to the way they were. Sorry it didn't correct the problem the way it did with my system.