Windows Boot Screens – What should I see? – How long should they last?

When I start my computer, I see the following screens in order:

1. A black screen with a big Dell logo on top and spinning white dots on the bottom
2. A plain black screen
3. A blue screen with spinning white dots and the words "please wait" underneath them
4. A lock screen for the Pin/Password
5. Finally, the desktop

Screens 2 and 3 vary in length of time. They last the longest in the days after a Windows update. Then they disappear more quickly. Is this behavior normal?

Pretty normal in my experience. I have pretty much the same experience as you do with my work PC. The "Please wait..." screen is the most variable, with it taking longer after an update cycle.

I don't think that you have much to worry about. It's just Windows doing some housekeeping. If the screens take five minutes or more, then it can be a cause for alarm, like a symptom of a failing hard drive, for example.

Gurn Blanston said:

Pretty normal in my experience. I have pretty much the same experience as you do with my work PC. The "Please wait..." screen is the most variable, with it taking longer after an update cycle.

I don't think that you have much to worry about. It's just Windows doing some housekeeping. If the screens take five minutes or more, then it can be a cause for alarm, like a symptom of a failing hard drive, for example.

The blue “Please wait” screen with the white spinning dots is the most variable for me too. I don’t recall seeing it until I upgraded from v1703 to v1709. Is it something new for v1709?

radiowaves said:

The blue “Please wait” screen with the white spinning dots is the most variable for me too. I don’t recall seeing it until I upgraded from v1703 to v1709. Is it something new for v1709?

Yes, it replaces what was just an extended period of your '2. A plain black screen' (with a mouse cursor, if you'd move the mouse). Always had me worried that it had crashed (that's why I moved the mouse, to see if anything was working). I think MS realised it could be worrying some of us so put a reassuringly animated 'please wait' sign instead. :)

This stage is actually longer than before, due I believe to 1709's new feature that certain registered apps will reopen on next boot if you left them open when you shut down. Try it and see: Chrome, IE and Wordpad reopen, Firefox, Edge and Notepad don't.

on a restart Fall Creators Update reopens apps from before

Bree said:

Yes, it replaces what was just an extended period of your '2. A plain black screen' (with a mouse cursor, if you'd move the mouse). Always had me worried that it had crashed (that's why I moved the mouse, to see if anything was working). I think MS realised it could be worrying some of us so put a reassuringly animated 'please wait' sign instead. :)

This stage is actually longer than before, due I believe to 1709's new feature that certain registered apps will reopen on next boot if you left them open when you shut down. Try it and see: Chrome, IE and Wordpad reopen, Firefox, Edge and Notepad don't.

on a restart Fall Creators Update reopens apps from before

Thanks Bree. Good to know. Incidentally, if I add the Macrium Reflect boot menu option it shows up as the second screen (between 1 and 2 on the above list.) The other screens remain the same.