Random Slow Boot Ups

[rahulananda]

Hi forum members,

I am newbie to this forum and have been using Windows 7 64 Bit ultimate for almost 2-3 months. I have noticed this strange slow boot ups(randomly once in 3 or 4 days) during cold boot or restart. The system seems to hang up at the Windows 7 splash screen, but on the contrary its not hanged. The system is taking its own sweet time to boot up to the start up screen.

During a normal boot up my Razer Lycosa and Lachesis backlights would go off for few seconds and lights up as soon windows 7 start up screen appears. But during the random slow boots I have noticed that the backlight of Razer Lycosa stays on for 2-3 mins before Windows 7 start up screen appears. Another strange thing that I've noticed was the ticking sound on my Logitech Clearchat USB headset during the random slow boot. The ticking sound appears every 3 seconds during the slow boot. What could be the problem guys? Is it because of Hardware or corrupt system files. FYI, I have Razer Lachesis, Lycosa, HP 3500 Deskjet Printer and Logitech USB Headset connected to the USB ports. Logitech USB headset is connected to the USB port of Razer Lycosa.

I have recently flashed my MOBO to see if it was because of the BIOS, but the problem persists even after flashing.

Any suggestions members. I would really appreciate your help on this.

My system specs,

Intel Core i7 920 2.66
MSI X58 Pro SLI ( BIOS Version 8.A)
Corsair DDR3 3 x 2GB DDR3 1333
2 x 1 TB Seagate SATA II
EVGA GeForce GTX 295
Tagan 1100 W BZ Series
Windows 7 64 Ult

Regards

 

[not so gray matter]

I would just use the process of elimination to figure it out. It'll be a bit harder to figure out considering how it doesn't happen all of the time.

To determine if it's a program/process:

Start > Run > msconfig
Disable 1/2 the Startup Programs
Reboot, If it hangs then you haven't found the problem.
Disable the other 1/2 of startup programs.
Reboot, If it hangs then none of your programs are to blame exclusively

Do the same w/ the processes, if removing a portion of either solves the problem then re-enable them in batches of 5 until you find a batch that causes teh problem. Then enable them one by one to figure out which it is. This entire process requires that the problem happens at every startup.

Download MemTest86 or Ultimate Boot CD and run hardware diagnostics. If you get errors with your memory/hard drive/ other hardware, you may need to replace it.

You can use the same process you used on programs/processes with your connected hardware.

 

[rahulananda]

Thanks for the reply notsograymatter. I have only got 3 start up programs viz. Kasperksy, IDM and Virtual Clone. Guess I will disable the Virtual Clone first and try the boot. I believe Virtual Clone installs SCSI which is deemed to be a virtual hardware for the system. Am I right on this one?

I will try the solutions recommended and let you know which was the culprit. In the mean time I am going to upgrade the lachesis firmware and check if the random hang ups happen again.

 

[Digerati]

I would also note what you did before the slow boots. For example, if you ran CCleaner, or so some other disk cleaner, those frequently are unable to delete everything immediately (index.dat files for example) and instead, schedule them for deletion during the next boot.

If not that, then long boots do point to hardware/driver issues - if not malware.

 

[rahulananda]

Hmm well i strongly believe its a hardware issue Digerati. I have tried the turning off the services and reboot as suggested by notsograymatter. I think it should be an issue with my Lachesis. I am going try the hardware disconnect method today.

 

[Digerati]

The lights/LEDs on your mouse go on and off depending on the power seen on the USB port. That may only be an indication of USB I/O issues and nothing to do with the device plugged into it. You have a lot of USB devices - that may or may not be an issue but too many have caused power problems before. I would connect the daisy chained deviced through a self-powered USB hub.

If you think it is your mouse, uninstall the drivers and revert back to Windows generic drivers. Your mouse should work fine, but as and standard mouse and just won't have any custom features.

 

[rahulananda]

Well guys so far everything seems to working fine on the boot side. Wretched gremlins i suppose. As I have mentioned earlier this does not happen regularly.

Ok I have noticed another thing, guess Mr.Gremlin hacked my DVD drive this time. I cant get my DVD drive to read any of my CD's but the drive reads all DVD's perfectly. Weird. I am noticing that today. Is it because of the AHCI?

 

[Digerati]

New problem, new thread. That way, with a new title too, you will (hopefully) get new eyes on the problem too.

 

[rahulananda]

Aite Digerati I will start a new thread for the problem.