Jorge,
I have frequently had the following problem:
I reboot, and the Nexus 'autostart' is running as well as the service 'WsxService' but there is no 'Dock'. I have to restart Nexus to get the 'Dock" to appear. Is there something I can do to remedy the situation?

Thanks,
Grouch

1. Which version of Nexus?
2. Are you sure the dock is not hidden in the screen edge (it can happen if you've set the option for it to start hidden, although this doesn't explain why you see the dock on subsequent re-start)?
3. Is there a Nexus icon in the system tray? If so, what happens when you double click it to get to Preferences and then click the Ok Button to close the Preferences screen?
4. If you run the Windows Task Manager, can you see the Nexus.exe process running when you click on the Processes tab?

Jorge,
1. Version 10.04.0904
2. It does start hidden, but I do know how it is supposed to behave when it does work(As you said, subsequent restarts cause it to work as anticipated).
3. No, there is no icon in the tray.
4. Yes, I was mistaken before. What I meant to say was that 'Nexus.exe' and 'WsxService.exe' are both running, but there is nothing in the tray.

Is it possible that when it checks for an update after it starts, if it fails to contact the server, it falls out without starting the tray icon? Just a thought.

Thanks again,
Grouch

No. Actual check for updates is not performed by Nexus itself, but through WsUpdate.exe which is launched by Nexus.

So, there is no icon in the tray (but I assume there is one when Nexus is running properly, right?) but the nexus.exe process is running. Hmmm...

Sounds to me like Nexus is 'hanging' at startup for some reason before it gets a chance to put its icon on the tray.

Couple more questions:

1. What are your system specs (i.e.; how fast is your system)?
2. Is the nexus.exe process always at 0% CPU usage when it 'hangs'?
3. Are you displaying the system tray on your dock?
4. Are you by any chance familiar with SysInternal's (now part of Miscrosoft) Process Monitor application?
5. I assume pressing CTRL+F11 (the default keyboard shortcut to open Nexus Preferences) does nothing when Nexus fails to appear at startup, right?

Jorge,
Okay, Here's the deal. When I boot up, I execute Sysinternal's "process explorer' (procexp.exe" /p:n) so I can see when all of the dust has settled. When it fails, Nexus does not appear in the tray, and nexus.exe is shown as running and has 0% of the CPU time.

Yes, when Nexus launches correctly, there is an icon in the tray.

1. System specs: WIn 7, 4 GB mem, 2.2 GHz processor.
2. Yes (see above)
3. No
4. No, I use Process Explorer instead.
5. Correct, CTRL+F11 only works when the tray icon is present.

Jorge,
Further update: When Nexus fails to load, it never gets to the point of saying "Please wait, Initializing Nexus". The last time it failed, I checked 'Process Explorer' and it said 'nexus.exe' was running. I went into 'Procmon.exe' and set a filter for nexus.exe and I got nothing.
Maybe that will give a clue as to when it fails.

Thanks,
Grouch

Well, that's weird then, because one of the first things Nexus does before it starts doing serious work is show the splash screen.

Jorge,
I think I finally have a resolution for this mystery. I have been using 'PCTools Threatfire' which is a zero-day anti-malware package. It injects a module of code into all executables. If the injected module detects suspicious behavior, it sends up a red flag. I think that this is what has been blocking Nexus.exe from starting, 25% of the time. Although 'Threatfire' never sent up an error message, 'Nexus' may have been inhibited by the insertion of the code. I disabled 'Threatfire' and 'Nexus' works every time.
Hopefully, that is the end of this problem. The new problem is the risk of sneaky malware getting to me.
Thanks,
Grouch

Well, thanks for letting me know. One more item to add to the list of '3rd party troublemakers' (Logitech's SetPoint and CamCPL.cpl still take the crown, though).