New build, slow boot-up

[DaveRana]

Hi Guys, I put together a new rig. Very happy with everything so far but wish my boot-up time could be quicker. From the time I hit the start button on my PC, I get the POST screen in 33 seconds and the Windows 7 login screen at 51 seconds. For a new rig with Intel i7-870 CPU and 8GB RAM, that's slow isn't it?

FWIW, I don't have any games loaded. MSCONFIG shows that at startup, only three programs get loaded: Google Update, Java Update and GrooveMonitor Utility.

What steps can I take to make this rig boot up quicker?

TIA

 

[FishAk]

Do you have a RAID array that has to initialize?

The time between pushing the button, and Windows starting to load has little to do with your processor or memory. It mostly has to do with your MB.

The 18 seconds it takes for Windows to load is largely dependent on your storage.

To speed up the pre-OS portion, about the only thing you can do is:
a) Only use a single disk (and no USB, eTASA, Firewire, ect. connected during POST)
b) Get a MB that POSTs faster

To speed up the Windows load time:
a) use an SSD for the OS and programs
b) use Superfetch
c) don't let programs autostart (including AV)

 

[muskie32]

\\ use an SSD for the OS and programs

Just do it :awe:
Boot: 10-13sec.
Shut down: 3-4sec.

Overall win

 

[FishAk]

Except that he says he has 33 seconds before Windows starts to load- or a least that's how I read the OP.

An SSD won't affect that portion, but would shave about 5-8 seconds off the OS load. (comparing his OS load to yours, so his mileage will vary)

 

[betasub]

The time between pushing the button, and Windows starting to load has little to do with your processor or memory. It mostly has to do with your MB.

This, for your 33 seconds to POST.

Work your way through the various BIOS screens, disabling un-needed features (such as full memory check, RAID controller, etc). For diagnosis, you could also try disabling all harddrives in the BIOS and booting to a DVD/CD.

 

[DaveRana]

Thanks all. I have a 60 SSD on which I have the OS - 64bit Win7 - and a few programs loaded. All my user data is on another 1TB SATA drive.

When I get home later today I'll muck around with BIOS settings to reduce the 33 seconds it takes to bring up the POST screen. After the POST screen it still takes another 20 seconds to get to the Win7 login screen. Anything I can do to reduce this time? I'll try Superfetch (don't know what it is, will read up).

FishAK, I don't have RAID set up. Just an SSD for the OS and two other SATA drives for user data.

 

[FishAk]

I don't have RAID set up. Just an SSD for the OS and two other SATA drives for user data.

Initializing an array or looking through a large USB drive adds time to POST, but you shouldn't see a penalty in your setup. You could experiment a little by disconnecting all but the SSD to see if it makes a difference, but I would guess just a few seconds at most.

Like betasub says, play with your BIOS settings.

 

[Arsynic]

Tone down some shit in your BIOS. If there's a quick POST setting, use it. Also look at your boot order. CD-ROM first and HDD second. Having the NIC up on the list will force a PXE boot attempt which takes forever to fail.

 

[mfenn]

By "POST screen in 33 seconds and the Windows 7 login screen at 51 seconds", do you mean that loading Windows 7 only (i.e. not counting POST) takes 51 seconds or 18 seconds? 18 seconds is perfectly reasonable, but 51 seconds is not considering that you have an SSD.

If you're running in AHCI mode (which you should be) POST is going to take a bit longer. There is no way around that. What you can do is enable any kind of "quick POST" settings and disable any unused disk controllers.

 

[DaveRana]

By "POST screen in 33 seconds and the Windows 7 login screen at 51 seconds", do you mean that loading Windows 7 only (i.e. not counting POST) takes 51 seconds or 18 seconds? 18 seconds is perfectly reasonable, but 51 seconds is not considering that you have an SSD.

If you're running in AHCI mode (which you should be) POST is going to take a bit longer. There is no way around that. What you can do is enable any kind of "quick POST" settings and disable any unused disk controllers.

Thanks. "Quick Post" is enabled. I have disabled the one disk controller I'm not using. Not much luck. Maybe I'm not explaining it correctly. When I hit the power button, I don't see anything on the monitor for 30-32 seconds. Then the "POST" screen appears that says "Press DELETE for BIOS, Press F2 for Setup etc". That stays up for 1-2 seconds, and then it takes 18-odd seconds for the Win7 login screen to appear.

Anyway, while mucking around with BIOS, I accidentally went into the "ASUS O.C. Profile" menu and created a profile by mistake. I have no intention of overclocking the CPU. I don't think the profile is doing anything but how do I delete it? I tried hitting "restore default settings" and "remove user settings" and even tried reloading the BIOS but it's still there.

MORAL: I should be content with the boot-up time and stop mucking around with the system?

 

[FishAk]

MORAL: I should be content with the boot-up time and stop mucking around with the system?

No. How will you find out what stuff does if you don't muck around?

It doesn't hurt to have a profile just sitting there. You don't have to activate it. You could re-save it with the default settings, and give it the default name.

You could also save your "quick boot" profile there, once you decide what settings are best, and that way it's easy to re-enter your settings if you have to hit the reset button, or change the battery.

 

[dbcooper1]

Remove half your RAM and see how much, if any, difference that makes. If all your BIOS settings are optimized, probing the hardware is what you're left with assuming your board is working correctly.

 

[mfenn]

It could be that your GPU's BIOS is slow. Not much that you can do about that I'm afraid. Dbcooper's suggestion is good as well.