Painfully Slow Login

B

bowjest

Registered
Hello to all,

A few weeks ago I started experiencing painfully slow login times. By this I mean the amount of time to get a usable desktop after entering my username and password after boot up (up to 30 seconds).

If I then launch an app like Firefox, this can take a further 30 seconds to be usable.

I did some digging around on Google and found a forum where a guy said he fixed the problem by resolving duplicate fonts in Font Book (http://hintsforums.macworld.com/showthread.php?t=72125). I tried this and, voila, within 2 seconds of logging in, my desktop was loaded and ready to go! Whoo Hoo!

Then, a couple of weeks later, the problem returned. Back to Google, back to the article I found before (http://hintsforums.macworld.com/showthread.php?t=72125) and I tried a number of suggestions:

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2004011205473937
http://www.titanium.free.fr/download.php

Specifically, I did the following list items:

01 Restart
02 Check/fix the filesystem
03 Make sure you're not running out of free space on the System volume
04 Repair permissions
05 Create a new user account, and see if the problem persists there - It didn't seem to
06 Clear system & user caches
07 Disable Application Enhancer, if you're running it - don't have it running that I know
08 Startup in SafeBoot mode, and see if the problem persists there - hard to say, really
09 Reset system firmware - don't know how/scared it will have unfortunate consequences
10 Unplug all USB, Firewire devices except Apple mouse - doesn't apply; using a MBP with no peripherals

Repaired permissions, disabled fonts I don't use, and also downloaded and ran Maintenance from the above listed site, which indicated that I need to repair my file system, so I loaded the installation disk, rebooted, launched Utility Manager, repaired the file system, restarted, still slow logging in. If anything, it's slower now than it was before.

Can anyone offer an advice as to why this is the case?

Thanks.

PS - When I run repair permissions, it complains alot about Java and takes about 8-9 minutes to run (even if I repeat the repair several times).

Also, if I use Disk Utility on my installation (as opposed to via the install disk), "Repair Disk" is and has always been greyed out.
 
Last edited:
Two user added fonts. Both added several months ago before this became a problem.
Two login items: iTunesHelper and HP Scheduler (both are unchecked, so shouldn't be running at login).

Thanks.
 
Unchecked login items still load at login. If they are in that list, they run. Unchecking simply means that the item is _not_ hidden when you login. If you don't want that item to load or launch at login, then you have to delete it from that login items list.
It's not possible to perform "Repair Disk" in Disk Utility, when you are booted to that hard drive volume.
 
This "HP Scheduler" might be the problem if you haven't updated your HP software in a while. Try to remove that startup option to see what happens.
 
Satcomer,

How likely is removing the HP Scheduler from my Login Items to cause a problem with my printing?

I need to be able to print things for my work, so can't afford to mess this up.

Thanks
 
You're testing to see if that is what is causing your slow login, which is very possible. Removing the HP Scheduler from login items isn't likely to affect your printing, but you can simply re-add it to your login items if it does. It's likely not for printing but for scanning or faxing. Try deleting it from login items, then restart your Mac, and then try printing.
 
Took out the HP Scheduler, but still takes a good while before the desktop items appear (before this was a problem all items appeared in about 2 seconds or less).

At a loss as to what to do now.

Any further suggestions, anyone?

BTW - Whenever I run "Repair Disk Permissions" it takes about 9-12 minutes to complete with the first part of the permissions check displaying multiple (and I mean multiple) entries for System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk and System/Library/Frameworks/Java/JavaVM.framework

Can't say if this was the case before I noticed the problem because I only recently became aware of running "Repair Disk Permissions".
 
Here's a thought: years ago before I was a Mac user, a colleague at the company I was then working at was both the internal and customer facing Mac guru.

I remember him always saying that if something wasn't working right to "dump prefs and reboot".

What is the likelihood I've got a back prefs file or something that is causing some sort of problem? Is there an easy way to check that?
 
colorminator,

I'm not part of a work group or windows domain. It's just me and the router to the outside world.

Can anyone comment on my preferences question above? Is that an avenue for investigation?
 
Is your account the issue?
Try logging out then log in to another user account. If you just have one account on your Mac, create a new account just for this purpose.
Does that different account log in more quickly?

To comment on your preferences question - another user account can help you decide if the problem is within your normal user - either a preference/setting file (a .plist) or a caching issue
 
DeltaMac,

Thanks. I did indeed try that a few days ago and meant to post the results, but missed that out.

The new account does seem to load much faster, so I've made a list of the basic pref files created for a new account, copied all my existing pref files to a new folder and then deleted anything that didn't match up.

I have considered moving my existing prefs to a different folder and copying in the shorter list of default files and rebooting, but am just concerned it might whack something.

Can you offer any further advice?

Thanks
 
Prefs files basically only matter when the respective app wants to load. The only prefs file relevant here would be the Finder's. Have you got excessive numbers of menubar items? Or too many icons on the Desktop?
 
Fryke,

Thanks. I've got 37 items in the Dock and on the desktop all I have are a burn folder, the HDD icon, two aliases to often-used folders and about 3 small txt files.

What counts as excessive for Dock items? I've had the same number of items in the Dock for months now, but the problem only started a few weeks ago.

Should I remove the Finder pref file and reboot and see what that does?
 
I meant the menubar, not the Dock. Things like the clock on the menubar. CPU stats. StuffIt icon. The interesting parts are those that _don't_ come from Apple. They might slow things down at login time.

A defective font could be the problem.

The Finder prefs file can be deleted relatively painlessly, I find. Remove it, logout and back in and see how it goes. :)
 
Fryke,

Thanks for the clarification. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

BTW - Don't have many icons in the menu bar: Time Machine (not on), Bluetooth (disabled), WiFi signal, Audio/Speakers, Language, Battery, Time/Date.
 
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