slow logon to Windows 2003 Terminal Server

[guest]

After a weekend scheduled restart on a Windows 2003 terminal server, users are now experiencing an approximately 3 minute delay/wait before the user can see their desktop. The majority of the delay is right after the "applying your personal setting...", after this message disappears, the screen sits there for almost 3mins before the desktop appears. The users are using a mandatory profile and the profile is located on the terminal server, not on a share folder.

I have narrowed it down to the mandatory profile because if I logon locally (non-mandatory profile) as a user or as Administrator, the local profile loads up almost instantly without any problem. I've tried creating a new mandatory profile but same result, the delay still exist as long as the user is pointed to a .man profile.

I also have other Windows 2003 terminal server and did use same user to logon but do not have the delay issue, it's only happening to this particular server.

Troubleshooting I've done:
Checked DNS, it's not DNS settings.
No windows updates has been applied either.
I have isolated server from any GPO policies and still get the delay.
I have login script but these execute instantly w/o any problems, I watched it line by line and found nothing wrong with user logon script.

Below is the User Debug log, I am only pasting parts of the log where it begins to capture when the delay begins and when it starts to show the desktop, it's approximately about 2+mins between the time. The whole logon process takes about 3mins, normally it takes about 15 seconds.

Any help is greatly appreciated! *Thank you very much!! *

=============================================================================
USERENV(97c.168) 02:06:28:522 ProcessGPOs: Processing extension IP Security
USERENV(97c.168) 02:06:28:522 CompareGPOLists: The lists are the same.
USERENV(97c.168) 02:06:28:522 ProcessGPOs: Extension IP Security skipped with flags 0x6.
USERENV(97c.168) 02:06:28:538 SetFgRefreshInfo: Previous User Fg policy Synchronous, Reason: FirstPolicyRefresh.
USERENV(97c.168) 02:06:28:538 SetFgRefreshInfo: Next User Fg policy Synchronous, Reason: SKU.
USERENV(97c.168) 02:06:28:538 LeaveCriticalPolicySection: Critical section 0x304 has been released.
USERENV(97c.168) 02:06:28:538 ProcessGPOs: User Group Policy has been applied.
USERENV(97c.598) 02:06:28:538 PolicyChangedThread: Calling UpdateUser with 0.
USERENV(97c.598) 02:06:28:538 PolicyChangedThread: Broadcast message for 0.
USERENV(97c.168) 02:06:28:538 ApplyGroupPolicy: Leaving successfully.
USERENV(8e0.d90) 02:06:28:553 LibMain: Process Name: C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe
USERENV(97c.b14) 02:06:28:585 IsSyncForegroundPolicyRefresh: Synchronous, Reason: policy set to SYNC
USERENV(97c.598) 02:06:29:444 PolicyChangedThread: Leaving
USERENV(5f4.f04) 02:06:29:491 LibMain: Process Name: C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe
USERENV(5cc.b24) 02:07:20:120 InitializePolicyProcessing: Initialised Machine Mutex/Events
USERENV(5cc.b24) 02:07:20:120 InitializePolicyProcessing: Initialised User Mutex/Events
USERENV(5cc.b24) 02:07:20:120 LibMain: Process Name: \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
USERENV(f4c.148) 02:09:19:686 LibMain: Process Name: C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
USERENV(f4c.148) 02:09:19:686 GetProfileType: Profile already loaded.
USERENV(f4c.148) 02:09:19:686 GetProfileType: ProfileFlags is 4
USERENV(f4c.f3c) 02:09:21:045 GetProfileType: Profile already loaded.
USERENV(f4c.f3c) 02:09:21:045 GetProfileType: ProfileFlags is 4
USERENV(6b8.1f8) 02:09:23:030 LibMain: Process Name: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
USERENV(6b8.1f8) 02:09:23:030 GetProfileType: Profile already loaded.
USERENV(6b8.1f8) 02:09:23:030 GetProfileType: ProfileFlags is 4
USERENV(6b8.1f8) 02:09:23:045 GetProfileType: Profile already loaded.
USERENV(6b8.1f8) 02:09:23:045 GetProfileType: ProfileFlags is 4
USERENV(458.4c8) 02:09:23:811 InitializePolicyProcessing: Initialised Machine Mutex/Events
USERENV(458.4c8) 02:09:23:811 InitializePolicyProcessing: Initialised User Mutex/Events
USERENV(458.4c8) 02:09:23:811 LibMain: Process Name: \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
USERENV(be0.94c) 02:09:28:545 LibMain: Process Name: C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe

[guest]

I found the problem:

I used Process Monitor (SysInternal utilities) on the terminal server and noticed that the server takes about 2.5mins to install some HP software each time a user logon. I followed the registry key pointed in Process Monitor to:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\Install\RefHive\Hewlett-Packard]

I also checked the HK_CU key hive and the same HP keys are there as well, this means the keys are replicated to the user each time they logon, thus causing the 2.5mins delay, which meant it was installing all those HP keys. I exported the key and noticed it was nearly 60Mb and I know this shouldn't be installing. I also exported/deleted the key from HK_CU\.default. After deleting the two keys, I restarted the server, and logon as test user. Test user logon instantly. Wooolaaa!

After finding the offending HP keys, further investigation reveals that other people are also having this exact issue. I should have Googled more next time. :)

Articles I've found related to my issue:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/For ... c9fea85c0/

http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/for ... Id=1247687

Thank you to all who has responded.