Slow boot ups... why?

PowermacG4_450

PowermacG4_450

OS X Jaguar
Lately, my starting up seems slower than before... looking at the screen, it most often hangs where it says "initializing network"...

why is this? didnt happen before...

Ive installed tons of software since getting X... does that have something to do with it?

is there something I can do about it?

thanks.
 
Your DHCP server takes longer than it used to before it hands out the IP?
( I assume you are running with DHCP setup )
 
DNS problems, and DHCP as ladavacm suggested is your most likely cause. Open up console utility application, and view the messages and you will see something similar to this :

Apr 1 20:09:57 localhost lookupd[212]: DNSAgent: dns_send_query_server - timeout for 24.48.33.2

I have had problems when the DNS servers were not responding, but I could ping them. I also could renew my DHCP lease and get a valid IP, but still saw really long boot times. If you are having dns problems, OmniWeb will take forever to load, as well, as it contacts your DNS server at launch.
 
Originally posted by ladavacm
Your DHCP server takes longer than it used to before it hands out the IP?
( I assume you are running with DHCP setup )
Click to expand...

Yep, I have cable, and it uses dhcp.... even if I boot with modem turned off.... slower than before.

I know macosX treats every mac like its on a network...

so, even if modem is off, I guess the OS is looking for the ip or something?

perhaps future macos versions will fix this, and the slow finder. ?
 
When OS X is configured for an ethernet interface and it is not available, be prepared for a long wait.
Unplug the cat5 cable, the dsl/cable modem or have a slow response to your ISP's DHCP or DNS server and expect the long boot times.
Compare this to having X expect an immediate ethernet connection, and cannot find it, only to invalidate it. Instead it will do the right thing, which is retry again, until it connects. Or at some point when you are totally infuriated, it will decide there is no ISP out there, but still continue to boot and allow you to use you Mac.
 
Originally posted by SCrossman
When OS X is configured for an ethernet interface and it is not available, be prepared for a long wait.
Unplug the cat5 cable, the dsl/cable modem or have a slow response to your ISP's DHCP or DNS server and expect the long boot times.
Click to expand...


So, because I upgraded to cable, using ethernet, this is the culprit? When I had earthlink dialup, the boot times were quicker... but.... 56k modems stink. :(

this cable modem has ethernet and usb.... I chose ethernet, figuring its faster than usb..
 
Well my boot times are not really affected by the ethernet interface, but I have never used a dialup connection with OSX. When a modem connection is used, OS X does not try to connect at boot time, so boot times will be slightly longer ( a second or two) with an ethernet interface.
You may be having issues with your ISP. I personally only boot OS X, once in a blue moon, as I always put it to sleep.
How long does your computer pause, at the Network Initialization stage of boot?
 
Originally posted by SCrossman
How long does your computer pause, at the Network Initialization stage of boot?
Click to expand...

Well, ive never officially timed it.. perhaps I will?

Its weird.... the last few days, its been faster... but last week, there were times it would pause there... im guessing as long as 20 seconds... perhaps more.. only guessing. There was surely a "noticably" longer delay, that I didnt have before.

lately, ive been leaving the computer on... so, its not an issue if I do that.
 
Originally posted by PowermacG4_450


Yep, I have cable, and it uses dhcp.... even if I boot with modem turned off.... slower than before.

I know macosX treats every mac like its on a network...

so, even if modem is off, I guess the OS is looking for the ip or something?

perhaps future macos versions will fix this, and the slow finder. ?
Click to expand...

It looks for IP only if ethernet interface is active (i.e. the other side of the cable is powered on and carrier is present). One would assume that modem powers completely off, but who knows... you can check by looking at ifconfig en0 in terminal: if it says

media: autoselect (100baseTX <full-duplex>) status: active

even if the modem is powered off, this explains very long times, because DNS and DHCP have about 60 second timeout limits (the part after autoselect will vary, depending on the other side of the cable; it need not be 100Mbps, nor full duplex)

There is a way to shorten the boot wait, if you set the environment to manual and change it to auto only after logging in; you will have to reset it to manual before shutdown/reboot (or wait on the next boot), and will have to kill -HUP sendmail (if you use it) after every environment change (restarting sendmail has not been integrated in network preference change...bummer). The same may apply to apache (httpd); I would not know, since I don't run it on a laptop.
 
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