When you start a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, it stops responding at a black screen early in the startup process.

In a network environment, you enable some group policies in the following location:

User Configuration\Administrative Template\System\Removable Storage Access

However, if you add the removable storage drive to a client computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 during the period between the system start and the user logon, you find that you can still perform related operations to the removable storage drive.

For example, consider the following scenario:

• You enable the policy “Removable Disks: Deny write access”
• You start a client computer that is running Windows Vista
• You insert a USB storage drive into the computer
• You log on to the system

In this scenario, you can still write files to the USB, or create files on the USB storage drive. However, you expect to see an “Access is denied” message.

Consider the following scenario:

• You apply the following policy to a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista:
  

  Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Software Restriction Policies\Enforcement

• For this policy, in the Apply software restriction policies to the following section, you select the All software files option.

In this scenario, you encounter a slow application startup or a slow logon. The slow logon occurs when users have their local drives mapped to a network share.

Note: You can use Process Monitor to determine whether your computer has the issue. To do this, you start Process Monitor before you start an application. Your computer has the issue if you find a log that is in the Process Monitor and that resembles the following:

CreateFile C:C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\IMM32.DLL NAME INVALID
CreateFile C:\?? NAME INVALID

The logging has both features (1: incorrect file path (such as C:C:\WINDOWS\…). 2. “Name

Consider the following scenario. When certain devices are connected to a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, each of these devices causes a 15-second delay during system startup. For example, if two such devices are connected, you experience a delay of 30 seconds during system startup. This delay typically occurs when human input devices (HIDs) or infrared devices are connected to the computer.

A nice article that talks about how you can trim down some of those startup items that can really slow down your computer and cause problems. Keep reading →

When you press the power button or click Restart on the Start menu to start a computer that is running Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows Server 2008, the system startup may fail. The system stops responding (hangs) and shows a black screen where the Windows logo typically appears. Additionally, the mouse pointer does not appear, and the hard disk drive (HDD) light does not flash. When the HDD light does not flash, it means that the HDD is not being accessed at that time.

When this problem occurs, you have to force the power off. Then, you must press the power button to start the computer again.

Consider the following scenario. You configure a computer that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 to use the pen service (Wisptis.exe). Then, you restart the computer. In this scenario, an access violation occurs during startup. When the access violation occurs, the Wisptis.exe process exits, and you receive an error message that resembles the following:

Microsoft Tablet PC Input Component was closed
To help protect your computer, Data Execution Prevention has closed Microsoft Tablet PC Input Component. Click to learn more.

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The steps to troubleshoot performance-related issues in Windows Vista vary depending on the point at which the issue occurs. This article is intended to describe the steps that are used to troubleshoot performance-related issues that occur during startup. Keep reading →

When you start Windows Vista for the first time, the operating system appears to stop responding (hang) for several minutes during the device installation phase. After this wait, Windows starts as usual.