Windows Slow To Startup, No Network Connectivity Prior to Login

You may experiece the following problems with Windows Vista and above:

• When Windows boots, it pauses for a long time (several minutes or longer) at the Please Wait screen before presenting the login prompt;

• Until a user logs in, there is no connectivity to the machine;

• Upon logging in, the Network and Sharing Centre shows no connection, but after a few moments the connection establishes;

• If the machine is domain-joined, the connection may show as Unauthenticated and login scripts do not execute;

• Under Advanced Sharing Settings, Turn Off Network Discovery and Turn Off File And Printer Sharing are selected, and choosing Turn On Network Discovery and Turn On File And Printer Sharing does not work; and

• TeamViewer launches correctly but cannot be connected to.

This may occur if any of the default firewall rules are missing, or have been disabled.

To resolve, open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security and compare the rules with a working system. If there appears to be significant differences, reset to the default configuration by clicking Restore Default Policy. It may be necessary to reconfigure any custom firewall rules or to reinstall any programs which have granted themselves passage through the firewall.