Startup Extremely Slow When External Hard Drive Attached

[kak2a2]

hi guys,
i just bought an external HD drive and it's very good but ... When I attach my external hard drive start up becomes painfully slow , like at least 5 times slower !. I get past the BIOS load screen fine but once the computer gets to the Starting Windows screen it sits there for a good 30-60 seconds. Then when the screen goes black (as it's going from the "starting windows" screen with the little windows 7 icon to the login screen) it again sits for anywhere from 1-2minutes, if not longer.

i have an old external HD and I've been using it for 2 years and never had this problem !
another thing when i click on " safely remove the HD " before i reboot and without taking the usb off the computer just stats normally !
so whats the problem because this is annoying me

the new HD

the old one

 

[kword88]

i have the same problem with mine. i havent found a fix yet, although i've tried several. for now, when i restart, i unplug the usb cable and plug it back in after windows starts.

 

[mjf]

My external HDDs always slow down startup. Even more so when they have multiple partitions. I assume partly due to the BIOS POST checking of peripherals and maybe OS checks.
I never buy external HDD with software backup built in. I (personal view only) think the backup software/capability is rubbish and I think it may add more time to startup.
I often connect my ext HDDs after startup.

 

[kak2a2]

^^^
i tried it on my brother's computer ( windows xp ) and it didn't slow down the startup ;\
so i guess the only solution for now is to unplug before the startup
and i'm just curious ... what are external HD's ? ( WD ) ?

 

[kword88]

HD - Hard Drive
WD - Western Digital

 

[wds7]

i have the same problem with mine. i havent found a fix yet, although i've tried several. for now, when i restart, i unplug the usb cable and plug it back in after windows starts.

+1 ....Same here ...
Yours at least boots up ..slowly ...
Mine keeps recycling booting ...
This is a BIG bug with w.7 ..wonder why M$ hasn't come up with any fix ..:devil:

 

[Lunarpancake]

This is an issue that spans windows releases. I have had this exact issue with Win XP and Win 7 using external hard drives and usb printers. The issue is absolutely related to USB.

I would turn off any USB Boot options in the BIOS and see if that helps. If not just unplug device prior to boot.

 

[wds7]

'I would turn off any USB Boot options in the BIOS and see if that helps. '

That was the first thing i did ....won't help ...
Definitely w.7 bug ...some where along the line ...Just hope M$ will fix it ..:devil:

 

[gregrocker]

Make sure in Disk Mgmt the external isn't marked Active.

During bootup, this will cause it to look for boot files there.

You can mark it Inactive using Diskpart or free Partition Wizard.

I would try formatting it again as well.

Make sure your chipset drivers are up to date.

 

[kak2a2]

i tried every thing anyone has said
nothing helped lol
thanks for the help ; )

 

[whs]

I am afraid that there is not much you can do (short of disconnecting the external). The BIOS checks all devices at boot time and checking an external just takes a little time. Everybody seems to have that problem - more or less depending on the smarts of the BIOS program.

 

[mjf]

I am afraid that there is not much you can do (short of disconnecting the external). The BIOS checks all devices at boot time and checking an external just takes a little time. Everybody seems to have that problem - more or less depending on the smarts of the BIOS program.

Yes we already came to that conclusion which is the likely cause of the delay.

 

[whs]

I am afraid that there is not much you can do (short of disconnecting the external). The BIOS checks all devices at boot time and checking an external just takes a little time. Everybody seems to have that problem - more or less depending on the smarts of the BIOS program.

Yes we already came to that conclusion which is the likely cause of the delay.

Sorry mjf, I must have missed your previous post. Give an old man a break.

 

[gregrocker]

Periodically check your Event Viewer>Custom>Admin View to google repeat errors to resolve them. Some will be harmless, others need attention as they can portend deeper problems which need to be monitored. You'll also learn a lot about your computer.

Check also the Performance log located at Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools\Advanced Tools. This logs signficant startup and shutdown delays and exactly what causes them. While at Tools page, look for cued issues at top, Generate A System Health Report.

Type Problems into Start Search box to see Solutions to problems you have reported or not. Win7 is interactive in this way.

 

[kword88]

i think i have something of a solution. at least it seems to work for me (so far). i ran chkdsk /r on the external drive from an elevated command prompt. it took nearly eight hours on my 3/4 full 1TB drive, but it booted much fast.
maybe it's a coincidence, but once windows loaded, i got a program errors and crashes and strange behavior, like the sound was muted and windows explorer would repeatedly crash and recover, outlook 2007 wouldnt open, live messenger wouldnt open, and also one or two blue screens.
i think i got it all straightened out except now my recorded programs schedule no longer works in windows media center. i'm guessing its because i had it set to save recordings to the external drive.

 

[gregrocker]

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html

You can also run a File System check and a diag/repair Surface Scan on external using free Partition Wizard bootable CD - Check both boxes to read errors as well as fix.

 

[kword88]

i did run "system file checker". i had to run it four times. on the first run it said it found corrupt files, but couldnt fix them. second run it said it found corrupt files, but couldnt fix all of them. third time fixed them all. fourth time, no errors found.

 

[gregrocker]

The Partition Wizard File System check is the same as Windows Disk Check, not the System File Checker (sfc /scannow).

I was suggesting it as an alternative to running Disk Check on your external from Windows or the DVD, in conjunction with running the Surface Scan which Partition Wizard bootable CD offers to diagnose/repair your external's HD.

This is considerably easier than removing the external HD from the case to plug it into SATA cable to scan it using manufacturer's HD diag/repair CD scan.

The results you got when Disk Checking your external really require a HD diagnostics/repair scan to check the physical condition of the drive and not just its file system. I would Disk Check it again after you run the Surface Scan.

 

[mjf]

]i think i have something of a solution[/B]. at least it seems to work for me (so far). i ran chkdsk /r on the external drive from an elevated command prompt. it took nearly eight hours on my 3/4 full 1TB drive, but it booted much fast.
maybe it's a coincidence, but once windows loaded, i got a program errors and crashes and strange behavior, like the sound was muted and windows explorer would repeatedly crash and recover, outlook 2007 wouldnt open, live messenger wouldnt open, and also one or two blue screens.
i think i got it all straightened out except now my recorded programs schedule no longer works in windows media center. i'm guessing its because i had it set to save recordings to the external drive.

I miss the solution you refer to. All I see are problems.

PS: I hope you get your disk problems sorted.
I think the the startup delay is just a BIOS POST delay. The more external HDDs (or USB flash)I have plugged in at startup the longer the delay until you see the Windows splash screen.
More mysteriously to me is that log off can sometimes be longer if an external HDD is connected than initiating a "Safely Remove".

 

[Avenger20]

My external HDDs always slow down startup. Even more so when they have multiple partitions. I assume partly due to the BIOS POST checking of peripherals and maybe OS checks.
I never buy external HDD with software backup built in. I (personal view only) think the backup software/capability is rubbish and I think it may add more time to startup.
I often connect my ext HDDs after startup.

Completely off topic but you have the same display pic as me . great minds as they say