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#1
Slow W7 boot after installing nVidia GTX470
I posted this in MS answers, but after 3+ hours and many views with no replies, I figured I would post here as well for maximum exposure.
I've been having an issue where, after I install a recently purchased Asus ENGTX470 without installed drivers, the computer takes 10+ minutes to boot. When the boot first starts, I can hear the HD accessing information, but about 30 seconds to a minute in, the HD activity stops, and the boot simply hangs on the W7 logo. After about ten minutes, the HD starts to access again, and it finally gets to the login screen. When I log in, the computer's performance is horrendous, and a gadget that I have on the desktop tells me that it is using a great amount of system resources, but doing basically nothing.
I have talked to Asus, even RMA'd the card and received a brand new one, but the card is not the issue. I have taken out all other devices looking for a conflict, and one is not to be found. I have replaced the PSU and the problem still exists. I have gone into safe mode and removed all display drivers, and the problem still exists. I have used a selective startup, eliminating all non-Microsoft services and the problem still exists. I have installed latest nVidia GTX 470 drivers and it still exists. I have performed a clean install of Windows 7 and the problem still exists (the install actually went slower than it normally should). If I uninstall the new GFX card and re-install an older one, the problem goes away.
I have booted into XP and used a Furmark stability test on the card, and it works fine. XP boots perfectly (doesn't hang on load and its performance is normal) and it utilizes the card just fine.
I originally believed this was a hardware problem, as did Asus after we attempted many software solutions. But after trying twice as many hardware solutions, I am again under the impression that it is a software problem, specifically with the OS. I have come here hoping that someone can help me after reading of people having similar boot issues; i.e: EXTREMELY long boot times as well as the HD accessing at the beginning of the boot, but ceasing to do so after about a minute. This is realistically my last hope. I have literally no clue what is going on here or how to fix it, and I consider myself very good with PC troubleshooting.