Fresh Windows 7 install takes forever to start booting after POST

Megahertz07 said:

Did you checked BIOS settings?
Did you already installed win 7 on the RAID 0?
Did you detached the other disks before installing Win 7?
Did you installed as UEFI or Legacy?

This is how I would install (as UEFI)
Detach ALL other disks, leaving on only the two Samsung SSDs

On BIOS

Set SATA=RAID (make sure that the array is created)

Disable fast boot (you can enable it after installation)

Disable secure boot
OS type Windows UEFI = Secure boot, so if OS type = Other, secure boot is disabled.

for CSM, here are the settings (in bold)
Launch CSM.......................................(Auto, Enabled, Disabled)
Boot Device Control.............................(UEFI and Legacy OPROM, Legacy OPROM only, UEFI Only)
Boot from Network Devices...................(Ignore, Legacy Only)
Boot from Storage Devices....................(Ignore, Legacy Only, UEFI Driver first)
Boot from PCIe/PCI Expansion Devices....(Legacy Only, UEFI driver first)

Boot from the Win 7 installation disk ON UEFI MODE (important). If you are using a USB flash disk, make sure it has the \efi\boot folder or it wont boot as UEFI.
Go to Install - advanced - delete all partitions - Create new - Win 7 will create 3 partitions
- 100 M Fat 32 - UEFI
- 120 M RAW - MSR
- a large NTFS
Install on the large NTFS

For the updates MS releases SP2 for Windows 7

I just tried all your settings and got an error after the BIOS screen:

The current BIOS setting do not fully support the boot device. Press [F1] to enter the BIOS setup.

Go to Advanced > Boot > CSM Parameters, and adjust the CSM (Compatibility Support Module) settings to enable the boot device.

Additionally, i no longer have my raid array available as a boot option in bios.

- You don't have the existing Raid 0 as a boot option as it has been installed as Legacy and now the boot is set to UEFI.
- The current BIOS setting do not fully support the boot device = You didn't boot the Win 7 installation disk as UEFI.
During POST, launch the Boot menu (F12?). There will be 2 options Legacy and UEFI. Choose CD/DVD UEFI

Edit. You have to use a Win 7 64 bits installation disk. Win 7 32 bits isn't compatible with UEFI

Megahertz07 said:

- You don't have the existing Raid 0 as a boot option as it has been installed as Legacy and now the boot is set to UEFI.
- The current BIOS setting do not fully support the boot device = You didn't boot the Win 7 installation disk as UEFI.
During POST, launch the Boot menu (F12?). There will be 2 options Legacy and UEFI. Choose CD/DVD UEFI

Edit. You have to use a Win 7 64 bits installation disk. Win 7 32 bits isn't compatible with UEFI

How do I correct this then? How do I get the RAID installed as UEFI? I also don't have an option to boot the disk as UEFI in my boot menu.

I have a Windows disk that has both 32 and 64 bit options.

"I have a Windows disk that has both 32 and 64 bit options."
That explains all the trouble. It isn't an official M$ disk.
Download a Win 7 ISO from M$ Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool
Download the tool, run it and under Win 7, choose Win 7 Ultimate 64.
Burn a DVD or install it on a USB Flash disk with Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
Do a Clean install Clean Install Windows 7
Use the COA key to activate.
For the updates MS releases SP2 for Windows 7

Megahertz07 said:

"I have a Windows disk that has both 32 and 64 bit options."
That explains all the trouble. It isn't an official M$ disk.
Download a Win 7 ISO from M$ Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool
Download the tool, run it and under Win 7, choose Win 7 Ultimate 64.
Burn a DVD or install it on a USB Flash disk with Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way
Do a Clean install Clean Install Windows 7
Use the COA key to activate.
For the updates MS releases SP2 for Windows 7

It looks like the root cause was the other internal drives being connected while I installed Windows.

I created a bootable USB using Microsoft's tool and installed that way. I can't believe how quickly it installed! I knew it would be faster, but wow not that much faster. I ended up doing it before reading your post, so I don't know if I ever got it installed using UEFI. Is there any way for me to validate if a current installation is done with UEFI?

Pirate copy comes with a spyware and trojans, not to mention back door to steal your data. Beware.