Windows 7 Enterprise Edition logon - are files installed from a local server?

Question

when my daughter logs on to a windows 7 enterprise edition laptop at school it takes a long time. Are there transfers of files from a local server to the laptop involved in this, or is the delay most likely due to other things. (I seem to (mis?)recall from a previous life when I worked in an environment like this there were large files transferred from a local server to the desktop I logged on to first time I logged on to the machine.) I don't have access to technical info about the setup at my daughter's school, sorry. Any advice much appreciated.

Answer 1

There are a few things that could be going on.

First of all, does this happen when she is at school as well, or only when she is at home? If it happens only at home, the laptop is likely trying to contact a server at the school for whatever reason and is waiting for a timeout on the response. It could be a logon script or possibly it's just waiting for a domain controller that isn't reachable because she is not on the school's WiFi.

The solution for that is to turn off the wireless switch. That will cause it to immediately fail and proceed logging on with cached credentials. Then turn the switch back on and you're good to go.

Also, does the school use roaming profiles for the students? If that's the case, then it's probably trying to sync her profile with the server copy. That is a notorious issue with roaming profiles and possibly what you're recalling from that previous life. You'd probably want to work with the school's IT department on that one.