Server 2016 essentials. Spinnig dots when trying to log in

Question

Server 2016 essentials. Spinnig dots when trying to log in

Peter Alderton 0

Hi. As described in the title, I am running server 2016 on a HP server. Installation and Server were in 2019. There were some corruption issues some time ago, these have now been resolved through DISM. The only issue left is the delay in logging in.

When attempting to log in I get spinning dots for a while then back to the start screen. After a number of attempts, i finally get the logon screen and am able to log in. This happens on restart and on login after locked screen.

Ive looked for any software that might be causing the issue but am unable to identiify anything causing the problem.

Really frustrating when I need to do maintenance etc.

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4 answers

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Answer 1

The issue you're experiencing with the spinning dots during login on Windows Server 2016 could be related to a few factors. One potential cause is a large WMI repository, which can lead to slow logon processes. If the logon process is unexpectedly slow, it may result in delays before you can access the system.

To troubleshoot this, you can enable logging in the Gpsvc.log file to identify any delays during the logon process. Here are the steps to enable logging:

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion.
Create a new key named Diagnostics.
Inside the Diagnostics key, create a new DWORD value named GPSvcDebugLevel and set its value to 0x30002.
Exit the Registry Editor and run the command gpupdate /force in the command prompt.
Check the Gpsvc.log file located in %windir%\debug\usermode for any entries that indicate delays.

If the issue persists, consider checking for any group policies that might be affecting the logon process or any services that may be causing delays. Additionally, ensure that the system is up to date with the latest patches and updates from Microsoft, as some issues may have been resolved in later updates.

References:

Answer 2

Hello Peter,

Thank you for posting question on Microsoft Windows Forum.

Based on the issue description. This behavior of spinning dots followed by a return to the lock screen might be a symptom probably caused by a service timing out during the session initialization. On Windows Server 2016, this is most frequently caused by the App Readiness service or a corrupted User Profile state.

Since you have already repaired the OS with DISM, the issue is likely a stuck configuration or service rather than missing system files. The following are some suggestions for attempting to resolve the issue.

1.Try To Disable The "App Readiness" Service.

In Windows Server 2016, the App Readiness service prepares Windows Store apps and Win32 apps for the user at first logon. If this service hangs or takes longer than the allowed timeout (usually 30-60 seconds), the logon process aborts, kicking you back to the lock screen. After disabling the App Readiness service. Restart the server and test the login.

2.Check for "User Profile Service" Timeouts.

If the App Readiness service is not the culprit, the User Profile Service might be hanging on old or corrupted profile data. Open Event Viewer. Go to Windows Logs > Application. Look for Warning or Error events from source User Profile Service (often Event ID 1509 or 6004). Also, check Windows Logs > System for Service Control Manager errors indicating a service "hung on starting."

3.Verifying HP-Specific Services.

Since you are on HP hardware, certain legacy HP management agents can hang during the "Preparing Windows" phase if they are outdated or trying to reach a service that no longer exists. Open Services (services.msc). Look for services starting with HP or HPE like HP Insight Management Agents. Set them to Manual temporarily and restart. If the login is instant, one of these agents might probably be the cause.

Hope the above information is helpful! If it is. Free feel to hit "Accepted" for benefitting others in community having the same issue too.

Answer 3

Peter Alderton 0

Thanks for the suggestions. App readiness is now off There are no Event ID 1509 or 6004. Ive also disabled a couple of services for apps that were uninstalled and also turne off the pipes in sql for those.

Restarted an still have the problem. Waiting to log in again. Multiple attempts.

Next step - check Windows Logs > System for Service Control Manager errors indicating a service "hung on starting."

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Answer 4

Peter Alderton 0

Could this be the problem?

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Peter Alderton 0 Reputation points

2026-01-05T00:53:23.5466667+00:00

WAS error.jpg
Peter Alderton 0 Reputation points

2026-01-05T01:15:09.79+00:00

The time between pressing Cntrl+alt+Del and back to lock screen is 6 Minutes. Not sure if that helps.
Chen Tran 12,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-01-05T04:57:35.97+00:00
Hi Peter,

Thank you for the extra information!

Well! The Event ID 5186 regarding the WebApiService and IIS is actually fairly normal behavior for an idle application pool, so it might not be the root cause of the issue. Unless that specific service is required for your authentication flow. You can consider the following suggested steps for further narrowing down the issue.

Try to boot into Safe Mode to determine if the issue is a core OS component or a 3rd party driver/service. If login is instant in Safe Mode, the culprit is definitely a non-essential service or a driver (likely network or HP-specific). If login is still slow in Safe Mode, the issue is with the User Profile Hive or a core Winlogon component.

Since this is an HP server, check the Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) Integrated Management Log (IML). Sometimes hardware-level timeouts (like a failing Smart Array controller or a degraded drive) can cause the OS to hang while trying to initialize the storage stack during login.

Try to create or use a local Administrator account (not domain). If local logon is fast. Problem is domain/network/authentication. On the other hand, if local logon is slow too. Problem is local services/credential provider/Winlogon.

Check if the WebApiService is tied to a Windows service that starts at boot. If that service is slow or failing, it might block the logon sequence.

Hope the provided information is helpful! If it is. Free feel to hit "Accepted" for benefitting others in community having the same issue too.
Peter Alderton 0 Reputation points

2026-01-12T05:00:21.08+00:00

Thanks. It actually could be the smart array. The third drive E: isnt part of the array since the issues i previously had. Ive been looking how to resetup and only found how to do it on initialisation of the server. Anyway, ill take a look at all of the suggestions. Thanks for your help.