Windows takes an obscenely long time to establish a network connection after booting

Question

Often, when I reboot my machine for whatever reason, it boots up normally, I log in, it shows my desktop, loads all the icons and then takes upwards of 5 minutes or longer for the networking icon in the taskbar so show that I have network access (shows that
little blue ring).  Now, normally I wouldn't think this is much of a problem since I've found a blog at one point detailing how to change the address it's using for that confirmation.  However, in this case, I'm unable to use (m)any other windows
services until it decides I'm connected.
For instance, I'm unable to open the registry editor - I'll open the start menu, search for regedit and run it, but will no longer be able to use the search tool in the Start menu until the registry editor appears and that won't appear until the network
configuration decides I'm connected.  If I open a browser (doesn't matter if it's Firefox, Chrome or IE), I'm unable to visit any sites - they say I'm not connected.  I'm unable to open the Network and Sharing center at all - if I try to left or
right click the network icon in the taskbar, nothing happens.  If I try to visit the Network and Sharing center by typing the address in a folder window, it simply never loads until that icon shows I'm connected.
In other words, my computer is pretty unusable until Windows decides I do have an internet connection.  A little about that - I've had this problem for about a month now and have experienced it while connected via wire to two different routers (Netgear,
now Linksys E3000).  That doesn't seem to be the problem. My connection is perfectly fine at all other times except when my system boots (so it shouldn't be the wires) and I've both kept myself updated with all the latest Win7 patches and firmware for
the netword card + other system components.  Oh, and no other computer on my network has this networking issue.
My system is running Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1.
Any thoughts?  Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Maybe try this, i am not sure that it will resolve the problem, but it is worth trying anyways.
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itpronetworking/thread/eef49e64-157c-4082-8e80-52e48309691f
Hi All,
I've seen this problem multiple times, especially with Windows 7 64-bit versions and Enterprise edition.  The source of the problem appears to be the Bonjour service that is installed in the background and set to "Automatic" when installing certain 3rd
party applications.  Apple applications like iTunes and Adobe applications like Acrobat Professional and Creative Suites have been known to cause this problem.  I've also seen virtualization software like VMWare and VirtualBox cause similar issues
with network adapters.
The solution in most of the cases I've come across has been to stop and disable the Bonjour service.  The Bonjour service also masquerades as a service with a name of the format "##Id_String1.6844F930_blahblahblah".  Here's how to disable this service
in Windows 7:
Right-Click on Computer > Select 'Manage'
Expand the 'Services and Applications' section in the bottom of the Left-Nav dialog and Select 'Services'
Sort the Services list by name and look for either "Bonjour" or the "##Id_String..." name mentioned above
Right-Click on the service and select 'Properties'
Click the 'Stop' button to stop the service
Select 'Disabled' from the 'Startup type' drop down list
Click 'Apply' and then 'OK'
Reboot your machine and see if the "Multiple Networks" issue is resolved.  If so, you should have internet connectivity again.
Hope this helps.
cheers,
Aaron