New Win 10 installation takes FORTY-EIGHT MINUTES TO BOOT!

Thenin · 02 Jul 2018

I've recently started a couple of other threads due to an absurd level of Windows 10 design and implementation screw-ups, but there was nothing that could be done. So I bit the horrifically evil and murderous bullet and re-installed the latest version of 64-bit Windows 10 Pro on the only partition of my main Samsung 850 SSD.

Upon completion (which took hours and lost me approximately EIGHTY-FIVE installed applications), I installed a handful of applications: Chrome, my password application, Revo Uninstaller Pro, Classic Start & Explorer, and my favorite registry editor (Registry Workshop).

I took care to ensure that that SSD was first in the boot order, disabled Fast Boot, enabled Virtual Memory (although this machine has 16 GB, so I don't think it will be used often), ensured that the Linux shell was disabled, updated every driver or checked to ensure the latest version was installed for each device, and everything else I've seen recommended for speeding up boot times.

I've scanned for rootkits and malware, including boot viruses, and found nothing.

So why in the hell does it take FORTY-EIGHT MINUTES TO BOOT? AAARGH!!!!

Kindly, will someone help me keep myself from jumping off a high building, please? Thanks1

Caledon Ken · 02 Jul 2018

Hi Thenin

What I'm going to recommend might be considered a push instead of a pull off that ledge.

I know you've invested considerable time however I think you need to start over. I would get fresh media using the Media Creation tool and follow this tutorial.

Clean Install Windows 10

In BIOS disable secure boot and fast boot. I would also ensure you delete all partitions on your SSD (if any data partitions back them up) and disconnect all other storage devices other than SSD.

I would not install any apps until you see a proper boot. I would check device manager for any unknown devices and make sure the proper vendor drivers for chipset and storage are installed.

Once boot is working I would take an image with a tool like Macrium Reflect. This gives you a reliable restore point.

Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect

I don't use Classic Shell / Start however I know it is no longer under development. Not saying it doesn't work but V1803 came out after development stopped. You can use Macrium along they to take images after you've installed X number of programs.

If you can't get it to boot with a lone SSD then I would suspect the SSD, MB, Memory, BIOS settings or a combination thereof. I'd leave that thought until you get to that bridge.

One member's thoughts, others members may have a better solution.

Ken

dalchina · 02 Jul 2018

Upon completion (which took hours

Could be a clue there. I would test your hardware before spending time on upgrading again.
Check your disks - Hard Disk Sentinel (trial) is very good. Do a surface check/error scan as well.
Run benchmark tests on your disks.
Do a memory test.

Before you try installing Win 10 again, remove any other disk, and fully format the disk you are going to install Win 10 on (you could leave any data partitions). Make sure AHCI is enabled to get best performance from your SSD.
Why do i need AHCI with a SSD Drive (Guide Here!) ... - Crucial Community
SSD and AHCI - [Solved] - Storage - Toms Hardware

After installing, as @Caledon Ken says, check the boot performance. If all drivers are installed and boot performance is ok, don't do anything more with the drivers.

Thenin · 02 Jul 2018

Please accept my considerable thanks, Ken and my friend dalchina! You both provided excellent suggestions and assistance. I'm honored to have received the benefits of your experiences!

I, too, suspected some weird kind of hardware problem, since if the OS was as messed up as it seemed to be it would never have booted correctly, even 48 minutes later. And one of my SSDs on a different system indisputably failed recently (fortunately it was still under warranty, so Samsung replaced it).

It turned out that there was one crucial trouble-shooting step that is universally recommended but that I foolishly neglected: Disconnecting all other drives! Duh!

Once I finally did that, the boot time dropped to normal -- 2-3 minutes. I then reconnected the other drives, one by one, until I found the trouble-making disk drive. Apparently, even though the SSD was at the start of the boot order, a single misbehaving drive connected at all will cause Windows 10 to choke. That's not the first time I've seen this kind of thing: Almost every time I reboot a different Windows 7 machine that serves as my media server (for Kodi), if one of the drives is powered on, the system never boots.

Well, problem solved, and I am extremely grateful for your help!

Caledon Ken · 02 Jul 2018

Glad you got.

That is still quite a boot time for an SSD, 2-3 minutes. Must have a lot going on.

Thanks for posting your solution.

dalchina · 03 Jul 2018

Good.. with a SSD you should expect a boot time to lock screen of, say, 12-13s- maybe less on a fast system.

Caledon Ken · 03 Jul 2018

I think I would still do what dalchina recommended, check drive health for all drives. You may also want to check to see if you have partitions marked as "Active" that are not the boot partition. Sometimes when drives, especially HDD are re-purposed (was boot, now data) their old structure is left intact.