Excessive boot time (continuing cry for help)

[alwrmcusn]

When I first purchased this computer (HP m9150f) it booted up in 75 seconds.
Over the past few months that has increased to 290 seconds (4 minutes 10 seconds).
I try to keep the machine as lean as I can. During the past couple of months I have done the following things in order to speed the boot process but nothing has made a difference. I’m stymied at this point.
1. Defragmented several times
2. Run anti malware, spyware, virus checkers over and over. They are always negative.
3. I have trimmed my MSCONFIG startup to the most basic items. I can provide a list of what’s active.
4. I have used Black Viper and a couple of other sites to guide me in redoing my SERVICES list.
5. I keep the computer updated….. Vista 32bit SP1, there were three new updates just this morning (Nov 26th), I keep all drivers updated.
6. I do not use anything that I consider “shaky” software such as bit torrent, instant messenger etc.
7. I have used MSCONFIG to set the computer to “No Gui” boot.
8. I have tried turning on the external HD only after the computer boots up. Not much of a help, only about 3-5 seconds.
There are probably a few more things I've tried but don't recall at the moment.
The majority of the boot time is taken up by the black screen with the scrolling progress bar near the bottom center. What the heck is happening during that period??
My computer has Wireless connectivity even though it is a desktop. I do not use that and connect via Ethernet cable instead.
I have made several attempts to locate assistance with this before and usually find that the basic response is to Defragment (done that), try the “No Gui” boot (done that), Cut down the MSCONFIG Startup list (done that), check and reconfigure the Services listing (done that). If there are any additional things that I should look for or if there are any Startup/Services things that I might have missed or not known about I’d welcome the information. I can provide a HiJackThis log if that would help.

[arraknid]

This is a very common problem with Vista but can also be caused by hard drive problems. As you've already done a defrag, you should have sorted that one, unless there's an actual physical address problem.

Does the machine boot quickly in Safe Mode? If it's still slow, it may be a hardware problem.

There are a couple of things you can do...

1. Delete all System Restore points. That's done by disabling the service and re-enabling. Details here (look under Disabling System Restore).

2. Run Ccleaner, downloadable from here and clean out all of your cached files.

3. Try using the Hibernate feature of Vista. It'll start up much faster. Unlike XP, it has to be activated via a command line. Details here.

Hope that helps.

[alwrmcusn]

Ok have spent some time trying a few more things.
I have removed all but three items from MSCONFIG Startup.
...Windows Defender and two printer related items. The printer entries are only about two weeks old so I feel they are not the culprits since the slow booting predated them by several months.
I have shut down System Restore. (I want that back however!)
I have run ccleaner (three times)
I have checked several BIOS items to make sure they were correct (they are) such as boot priority is set to boot first from HD.
Booting into Safe Mode requires 75 seconds so what hardware should I start looking at as possible slowdown suspects?
I do not consider using Hibernate a valid solution. Vista started fast when the computer was new (ok not FAST but certainly 75 seconds beats the bejeepers out of 290!).
I'm closing down for the day, I'll check back tomorrow. Thanks for any additional input from anyone.

[alwrmcusn]

The suggestion that my excessive boot time might be hardware related is being considered. I have reviewed my hardware devices and I don't see anything that causes me to question it.
The computer is an HP m9150f, stock except for the PSU and video card.
I have two HDs, identical. Sata.
I have two external HDs (connected only when needed)
1 CD/DVD burner, lightscribe
1 CD/DVD (basically a giveaway, when BluRay won out the battle)
No floppy
An internal media reader for various cards
I exchanged the stock PSU for a Cooler Master Extreme (500W)
I installed a BFG Nvidia 8800GT OC 512mb video card (thus the PSU upgrade)
I use the onboard sound which I find quite sufficient.
A USB Logitech Trackman (preferred over traditional mouse)
A USB to PS2 converter connected a standard keyboard
The computer has a TV tuner (not currently being used and not cable connected).
The computer has an infrared remote and receiver.
The monitor is DVI connected (HP w2207)
The speaker system is a Tascam V21, sub-woofer and two satellites. Sounds great by the way.
An HP Photosmart C5580 AIO (only installed about 3-4 weeks ago)
I have a Logitech Force 3D Pro joystick (connected only rarely when I'm Flight Simming)
A Wacom graphic board (rarely used and not currently connected)
A Logitech QuickCam (connected, rarely used)

If any of these devices pose a possible hardware problem I have not found a link. However if anyone can show/tell me where to check I'll certainly investigate. Thanks.

[arraknid]

OK, if we assume that your HD is good, the normal practice is to strip the machine down to its basics and start from there. In essence, that entails removal of all PCI cards excluding the graphics card, turning off all onboard options in BIOS like WiFi and audio, unplugging all connected USB peripherals except mouse and keyboard (both preferably PS2), removing all items from the startup menu using msconfig and running 'NoGUI', and deleting all restore points.

That will get you to near base level and startup should be very fast. If not, you need to consider the HD as a culprit. If it starts up fine, start by re-enabling any necessary BIOS options, followed by deactivating 'NoGUI', then replacing PCI cards, then replugging USB peripherals. Finally, activate one by one the items in the Startup list.

This is going to take some time as you need to restart between each change, but it will identify anything causing problems.

If you don't want to access the case, you could Disable any PCI peripherals in Device Manager, but physical removal is better.

Depending on the number of RAM sticks you have installed, you could remove all except one to see if that makes a difference.

[alwrmcusn]

arraknid: I understand what you are telling me about stripping the machine down and starting from scratch (more or less).
I REALLY REALLY do not want to do that. The interior of this machine is so jam packed that I took me almost 8 hours to remove the old PSU and install the new one along with the new video card. There is no working room in the machine. I'll have to learn to live with the boot time before I go in and start all that. Incidentally the boot time is now down to about 2mins 30secs.
But... I have a couple more questions.
1. In Device Manager under Storage Controllers I have these two entries
Intel(R)ICH8R/ICH9R SATA RAID Controller
Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
I have two internal HDs, identical 350gb drives. When the machine boots a screen appears listing those two drives and it says "NONE RAID". Is that controller necessary or can it be disabled/uninstalled?
2. In Device Manager under Network Adapters I have these two entries
Realtek RTL8168C(P)/8111C(P) Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0)
USB Wireless 802.11 b/g Adaptor
The machine is connected and I expect to keep it connected via ethernet cable from my router (Linkysys WRT54G). Can I, should I, disable or uninstall the wireless?
I hesitate to try these without a more knowledgeable opinion. I don't want to have to fight to get them back and working if indeed they are needed. I did disable the onboard modem since I am broadband connected.
Oh one more question, do you think a reformat and reinstall of Vista or upgrade to Vista Ultimate would bring back the 75 second boot time (at least for a while )? I have considered doing that even before I started wrestling with the boot time.

[arraknid]

You don't actually need to open the case if you just disable in Device Manager. It's not as good, but it should suffice for what you are doing.

As for your other questions, first go into BIOS and make sure that your SATA drives are configured as IDE. If they are, you can disable both of those entries. At the same time you can disable the onboard wireless option.

As far as reinstalling Vista is concerned, I assume you are talking about a repair install rather than a clean install. If so, it's worth a try, but if you have upgraded to SP1 and your original installation disk is Vista without SP1, that option won't be open to you and you will need to carry out a complete reinstall, which isn't advisable if you want to keep your settings and data. It is possible to incorporate SP1 into the installation disk by a process called slipstreaming. A quick google search will show you how.

Moving up to Vista Ultimate may well be a step backwards! Vista is known to be 'bloated' and Ultimate is even more so. I have Ultimate installed on a dual boot machine, just for reference purposes, but it is purely the system as originally installed - no other software installed and no peripherals enabled. It still takes more than a minute to boot up! That's one reason why I and most others here stick with XP.

The hibernation option is a good way around slow startup, just making sure that you do a full restart once a week or whenever new software forces it. I use it on all my machines without any problems.

[alwrmcusn]

I tried the BIOS change on the HD's. But when I do that (assuming I'm doing it correctly) the computer will not boot at all.
I have tried to do the Hibernate method, but apparently my system board does not support Hibernate. It is not in the listing and when I Googled it, I found that not every board supports Hibernate. I also found a couple of possible "forces" to get the Hibernate feature. They did not work for me. If you know of a method to get that into my listing I'd appreciate giving it a try. I do use "Sleep" but the system invariably returns to full on after a minute or so. I guess there are things going on that kick in.
A reformat/clean install would, I believe, take care of the problem but it does take about two days to get everything reinstalled, updated and reconfigured. Not exactly what I enjoy doing for fun.

incidentally, when I go into BIOS and change to IDE, it brings up two more options SATA CONTROLLER ONE and TWO. The computer will not boot no matter what I set these to Disabled/Enabled. As for the IDE and RAID entry there is one more called AHCI. I do not know what that is and so have not tried to change it. As the computer boots there is a screen that appears for a few seconds listing both hard drives and it has an option to press "Control L" to change the configuration. That one is completely beyond me. I am really leery about going in there without guidance.

[arraknid]

It's possible that you have your drives set up as a RAID array. Did you build or purchase the machine? Also, can you tell us the motherboard make and model? The presence of 2 identical drives and a RAID controller in Device Manager may be a clue!

Do you see a secondary screen on boot up related to RAID?

The link I posted earlier, here, is the one I use. Did you try that? It's further explained here.

EDIT....

Sorry I just noticed you have a HP m9150f which is based on an ASUS board. The spec says it is shipped 'RAID ready', which could mean anything.

[alwrmcusn]

The computer is (purchased) HP m9150f, using PC-Wizard this information is what shows up for mainboard.

General Information :
Manufacturer : ASUSTeK Computer INC. (Asus)
Product : Benicia
Version : 1.01
Serial Number : MS1C7BR61605134
Support MP : Yes, 4 CPU(s)
Version MPS : 1.4

Chassis Information :
Manufacturer : Hewlett-Packard
Type : Desktop
Version : Chassis Version
Serial Number : Chassis Serial Number
Asset : Asset-1234567890

Sensor Information :
Hardware Monitoring : Fintek F71862F

On-Board Device Information :
Device : (Video)
Device : Intel(R) HD Audio (Sound)
Device : (Ethernet)
Embedded Controller : Yes



I tried again with the Hibernate activation:
CMD (run as administrator)
powercfg -h on
also tried
powercfg /h on
Hibernate is still not an option in my listing.

Also when booting up, the Raid Configuration screen is "Press Control I to configure". When I do that the menu screen that comes up is as shown below. I did not alter anything in this menu.
Ignore the dashes, they are used to keep the items from running together.

Main Menu
1. Create Raid Volume 3. Reset Disks to Non-Raid
2. Delete Raid Volume 4. Exit
Disk/Volume Information
Raid Volume
None defined
Physical Disks:
Port---Drive Model-----Serial #-----Size--------Type/Status(Vol ID)
0------ST3360320AS---9QF7PTJT---335.4GB----Non-Raid Disk
2------ST3360320AS---9QF7PW21--335.4GB----Non-Raid Disk