New external drive really slows Win boot time


  1. Posts : 42
    Windows 10 Pro
       #1

    New external drive really slows Win boot time


    I've had 2 x Seagate 2Tb external drives plugged in for some time with zero issue. I've now added a WD 8Tb external drive, and now there is a lag of 5 to 10 seconds before Windows boots, while the drive spins up I think. Is it the make, WD? Or is it the sheer size of it that's slowing things down?
    It's a fast enough computer, Ryzen 5, 16Gb ram, ssd. Bios is updated to latest version, as I thought that might be a factor, but it isn't. Win 10 Pro, October update, everything up to date.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 38
    Windows 10 X64
       #2

    Your close. Depending on the type of Mainboard BIOS and the way it's configured. I might be set to wait a certain amount of seconds for the drive to spin up. Some BIOS allow you to adjust that time delay, and others do not. If you are not booting from the device the delay shouldn't be necessary but in my experience many BIOS manufactures do not give you the choice.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 42
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I see. I did remove the drive from the boot list, but booting still waits for it to spin up, and it is slow, far slower than the 2Tb Seagate's. Which is why I'm wondering if it's slow because of the make, or slow because of the sheer size of it (8Tb's). I might have another look in Bios, but I'm not very confident there. It's a Gigabyte Aurus motherboard.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 4,453
    Win 11 Pro 22000.708
       #4

    This is a long shot, but get properties for the drive, and go to the Customize tab. "Optimize this folder for" should be for "General items". If anything else is selected, it may slow things down.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 42
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #5

    It is set to 'general items'.
    I'm thinking I may end up just unplugging it from the back of the PC and leaving it unplugged. And just plug it in the USB on the front when needed. That's what 'they' say you should do anyway. It's storage not accessed that often, though it is topped-up once or twice a week. Unsatisfactory solution, but the slow boot is more annoying.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 7,860
    Windows 11 Pro 64 bit
       #6

    Use a tool like Minitool Partition Wizard to check for any active partitions on the external drives. Set any you find to inactive since having active partitions on any drive other than the system drive can slow the boot process.
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 38
    Windows 10 X64
       #7

    Have you check the BIOS settings to see if you can change the delay? Or if there is one?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 149
    Windows 11 Education
       #8

    I don't know about your motherboard but on my Alienware laptop, there is something called USB Emulation. When that's enabled USB devices can be bootable and when it's disabled you won't be able to boot perhaps that will speed things up if you have such an option. Try to look around.

    Also, the size of your HDD has nothing to do with the slowdown, it's the fact that the BIOS is still trying to access it to initialize it during boot up which I hope you can find an option in the BIOS to disable as I mentioned.
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 42
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Been over everything, no joy. Only solution has been to just unplug the stupid thing from the back of the computer. My pc now boots in 2 secs like it used to. I'll just plug the drive into the front usb as and when needed, not a great solution but it's the only one.

    Thanks for the helpful suggestions.
      My Computer


 

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