Solved Installing a new ssd

[whs]

Thanks to whs and gregrocker for all your help. You guys saved my butt.

You are very welcome. That's what we do best - save butts. LOL

 

[garyh99]

Another minor problem...I've noticed a startup delay that wasn't there before. It happens on both a cold start and a restart.

The first screen I get is the Acer screen that gives me time to enter BIOS Setup or go to the boot menu. Then I get a screen for a second or two that list all my hard drives. Then comes a 10 to 15 second delay with a flashing cursor in the upper left of the screen. Next the Boot Manager screen for 3 seconds (that's the shortest time msconfig would let me set it). Then Starting Windows screen. Then the password screen. Then the welcome screen for a few seconds.

The part I'd like to eliminate or shorten drastically is the flashing cursor in the upper left corner for 10 to 15 seconds. It acts like it's searching for something, but I don't know what. Any suggestions?

 

[whs]

Another minor problem...I've noticed a startup delay that wasn't there before. It happens on both a cold start and a restart.

The first screen I get is the Acer screen that gives me time to enter BIOS Setup or go to the boot menu. Then I get a screen for a second or two that list all my hard drives. Then comes a 10 to 15 second delay with a flashing cursor in the upper left of the screen. Next the Boot Manager screen for 3 seconds (that's the shortest time msconfig would let me set it). Then Starting Windows screen. Then the password screen. Then the welcome screen for a few seconds.

The part I'd like to eliminate or shorten drastically is the flashing cursor in the upper left corner for 10 to 15 seconds. It acts like it's searching for something, but I don't know what. Any suggestions?

That I have never seen. I did, however, notice that the BIOS phase with any SSD is longer than with HDDs. The BIOS is checking whether all attached devices are working properly and that takes some time - apparently a bit longer for the SSD.

I would suggest that this is a particularity of your BIOS. I suggest you detach all external devices for a test and see whether that makes any difference. I would also check all BIOS settings and see whether there is not some odd setting. The screen listing all your hard drives I have never seen either.

 

[gregrocker]

Try also setting SSD to boot first with no DVD or other device preceding it in BIOS Boot Order.

Remove all floppy listings in BIOS and physically remove the drive.

Do you have the latest BIOS version update?

If so, reset the CMOS: Clear CMOS - 3 Ways to Clear the CMOS - Reset BIOS

Look for fast boot settings in BIOS to try different settings. You can sometimes shorten tests or display.

 

[garyh99]

Thanks again. It was a quick fix. I had set the DVD to boot first in the BIOS. The blinking cursor was the system looking for a boot DVD disk. I reset the BIOS to first boot from the ssd and all is well.

 

[garyh99]

All squared away. 45 secs on a cold boot...from pressing the power button to the Win 7 log on screen. Is that good? The old drive booted much slower, but I didn't time it.

 

[gregrocker]

Good enough. I've had it down to 20-30 seconds but that's rare.

Watch your logs to catch hints of what might be tripping up as well as other issues. Here are the troubleshooting fundamentals for Win7: http://www.sevenforums.com/general-...-lags-every-couple-seconds-2.html#post1131640

 

[garyh99]

Thanks. Most of my delays seem to be BIOS related, not Win 7 related. The longest delay is the Acer screen that lets me enter setup if I want. I think I've got the latest BIOS, but I'll check.