A few days ago I inquired as to why my XP pro, on a stand alone computer, was so painfully slow to start up from the Welcome screen to the Desktop. The lapse time from Welcome to Desktop was approximately 2 minutes and the time was getting longer!!! During this period of time I kept receiving Window messages warning me to update my password.
I ignored the messages because when I installed XP I chose the default log in mode. Today, my computer waited almost 30 minutes, then issued a warning that the time for entering a password was now passed and instructed me to establish an account. So, I established a new account and included a password with which to log on. Now, the lapse time from the Welcome screen to the Desktop is less than three seconds. My question is, why? Again, why did establishing a password change the start up time from 2-3 minutes to 10 seconds? Is this a fluke? Is Windows playing cruel games with me?