My problem was a 1 min login delay due the aktiveds.dll that loads at startup (thanks to NicTech Networks Inc.). The following advice worked for me so I guess it works for any .dll made by NicTech since they all use the same registry folder.... Open up regedit.exe and find THIS folder. Navigate to it by clicking the +'s to expand things like you would in Windows explorer: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify\Guardian Right click over "Guardian" in the left pane. Left click on "Permissions" Left click "SYSTEM" once to highlight it. Check "deny" in all boxes that you can at the bottom (Probably only 2) Left click Apply Left Click OK Say "OK" to any warnings about permissions **Reboot** the system then problems solved I got this information from another forum. I had this problem for about six weeks and was just about ready to reformat my hard drive. Worked great for me, hope this helps out somebody else.