As for the slow boot up......another time?
To diagnose a slow boot up I'd start by getting together a list of what is being loaded during boot up and consider whether you really need it all.
Either "Start / Run / MSConfig" and take a look at the "Startup" tab which lists programs loaded during boot up, or download a program such as
HijackThis which will tell you what is running at that time.
Either way post the results on this forum for advice. It may be that your boot up is "lean and mean" already, but worth checking this out first before fiddling with the complexities of Windows.
RC