ASRock Z97 pro3

[awb555]

Hi I'm new. This is my first build!
I would like to know what bio settings are the best for FAST startup and restart.
Also I don't know what to have "startup" when my PC boots up.
I keep my PC on 80% of the time, but when I DO reboot. I want it up FAST!!!
All I do is convert/burn DVDs and watch blu-rays on my TV.
Thanks in advance!!!

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Pro3 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Processor: Intel Core i5-4690K Devil's Canyon Quad-Core 3.5GHz LGA 1150 Desktop Processor BX80646I54690K
Ram: 2 x Team Zeus Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TZBD38G1600HC9DC01
Graphics card: AMD Radeon HD 4000 Series
Sound card: DIAMOND Xtreme Sound 7.1/16 bit Sound Card with Dolby Digital Live
Bus Type: PCI | Part Number: XS71DDL

 

[RazerZ]

" I keep my PC on 80% of the time, but when I DO reboot. I want it up FAST!!!"

Get a SSD.

 

[awb555]

" I keep my PC on 80% of the time, but when I DO reboot. I want it up FAST!!!"

Get a SSD.

Not a option..

 

[RazerZ]

Then this guide would be your best bet.

http://www.askvg.com/master-tutorial-to-make-your-windows-7-super-fast/

 

[awb555]

Then this guide would be your best bet.

http://www.askvg.com/master-tutorial-to-make-your-windows-7-super-fast/

My friend said I might have cpu parking?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ignore what your friend says. CPU parking is default behavior and has nothing to do with slow boot times. In fact, CPU speed has little to do with slow boot times. I mean, if you have a pretty old CPU and are running Windows 7 or 8, eh, it probably takes a little longer, but if the system is optimized, it shouldn't be too bad. With a 4690k, it should massively be a non-issue.

There are a few ways to speed up boot times. The top method is an SSD, as mentioned. No other factor will contribute as much to a fast boot time as switching to an SSD.

Secondly, make sure the OS is super clean. Remove all unnecessary applications, toolbars, startup routines, services and keep the drive defragmented. Of course, defragmentation is unnecessary if you have an SSD, as they don't fragment. For some tips on doing this, check this thread:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11728-optimize-windows-7-a.html

Change your BIOS boot option to fast boot. If your BIOS has ultra fast boot, that's even better, but be aware that some systems don't work correctly with the utility that allows you to restart into the BIOS so you'll want to verify that your does before making that change. I'd recommend just using fast boot rather than ultra fast.

Make sure you have no "remarked" devices in the control panel device manager. Make sure all your drivers for the motherboard chipset and installed hardware are up to do with the most recent versions.

Make sure you have the most recent BIOS firmware installed.

 

[awb555]

Ignore what your friend says. CPU parking is default behavior and has nothing to do with slow boot times. In fact, CPU speed has little to do with slow boot times. I mean, if you have a pretty old CPU and are running Windows 7 or 8, eh, it probably takes a little longer, but if the system is optimized, it shouldn't be too bad. With a 4690k, it should massively be a non-issue.

There are a few ways to speed up boot times. The top method is an SSD, as mentioned. No other factor will contribute as much to a fast boot time as switching to an SSD.

Secondly, make sure the OS is super clean. Remove all unnecessary applications, toolbars, startup routines, services and keep the drive defragmented. Of course, defragmentation is unnecessary if you have an SSD, as they don't fragment. For some tips on doing this, check this thread:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11728-optimize-windows-7-a.html

Change your BIOS boot option to fast boot. If your BIOS has ultra fast boot, that's even better, but be aware that some systems don't work correctly with the utility that allows you to restart into the BIOS so you'll want to verify that your does before making that change. I'd recommend just using fast boot rather than ultra fast.

Make sure you have no "remarked" devices in the control panel device manager. Make sure all your drivers for the motherboard chipset and installed hardware are up to do with the most recent versions.

Make sure you have the most recent BIOS firmware installed.

I have a Insta boot option

 

[Darkbreeze]

In your BIOS under the USB configuration, disable the USB compatibility patch. This enables better compatibility with USB devices, but it causes very slow booting if USB device discovery is enabled during boot, which usually needs to be enabled since few people use PS2 mouse or keyboard anymore.

Under Storage configuration in the BIOS, disable hard disk S.M.A.R.T. which is a generally unnecessary series of self diagnostic tests run on the storage devices during the boot process.

I don't know what the Insta boot option is all about, but it's not one of the BIOS boot options according to the manual for your motherboard. It does however have fast boot so make sure this option is enabled.

 

[awb555]

In your BIOS under the USB configuration, disable the USB compatibility patch. This enables better compatibility with USB devices, but it causes very slow booting if USB device discovery is enabled during boot, which usually needs to be enabled since few people use PS2 mouse or keyboard anymore.

Under Storage configuration in the BIOS, disable hard disk S.M.A.R.T. which is a generally unnecessary series of self diagnostic tests run on the storage devices during the boot process.

I don't know what the Insta boot option is all about, but it's not one of the BIOS boot options according to the manual for your motherboard. It does however have fast boot so make sure this option is enabled.

I did all of your suggestions.
These are the slow screens:
And


Here's the "insta boot"

 

[RazerZ]

Instant Boot is marketing nonsense. It's just another term for sleep mode.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Looks like your settings for Insta-boot, funny, that sounds like something from the 1960's like Electro-matic or something, anyhow it seems that's correct. I'd leave the instant boot disabled and the fast boot on fast.

If you cleaned up and tweaked the system, changed those settings and have fast boot enabled, the remaining slow down, if any, is likely related to an issue with a drive or you may have an incompatibility regarding settings in the BIOS for UEFI versus non-UEFI, depending on whether it was enabled when the OS was installed. Windows 7 CAN support UEFI, but it depends on if AHCI was enabled when you installed the OS in the beginning and if you have it enabled in the BIOS.

Did it boot faster before and begin booting slowly recently?

 

[awb555]

Looks like your settings for Insta-boot, funny, that sounds like something from the 1960's like Electro-matic or something, anyhow it seems that's correct. I'd leave the instant boot disabled and the fast boot on fast.

If you cleaned up and tweaked the system, changed those settings and have fast boot enabled, the remaining slow down, if any, is likely related to an issue with a drive or you may have an incompatibility regarding settings in the BIOS for UEFI versus non-UEFI, depending on whether it was enabled when the OS was installed. Windows 7 CAN support UEFI, but it depends on if AHCI was enabled when you installed the OS in the beginning and if you have it enabled in the BIOS.


Did it boot faster before and begin booting slowly recently?

Given the hardware I have...
Let me ask you, what should boot time be?

 

[awb555]

Instant Boot is marketing nonsense. It's just another term for sleep mode.

That's what I thought too!

 

[awb555]

Anything I can do here?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Speed Up the Windows 7 Bootup Time


Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type msconfig in there and press Enter Key to open up the System Configuration Window. Click on the Boot tab in there.
You will see a box called Time out. This is the time (in sec) which the system waits for the user to select the operating system to boot to.
You can safely set the value to 3.
Tick the "No GUI Boot" option too [turns off the Windows 7 logo at boot-up].
Click Apply and then on OK.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Speed Up the Shut Down Time

Information: This will show you how to set the "Wait to Kill" time Windows 7 waits for programs to save data and close before shutting down.

Instructions: Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
In regedit go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l
In the right pane, right click on WaitToKillServiceTimeout and click on Modify

Type in a number between 1000 to 20000 [1-20 seconds] [12000 is default, I use 1000].

Note: If you have problems with programs from your computer shutting down to quickly, then repeat the above steps and increase the time a bit.

 

[RazerZ]

Anything I can do here?

Yep, see the guide I posted above. Change the boot time to 3 seconds instead of 30.

 

[awb555]

Thanks so much for your help!!! Just a few more questions and you wont hear from me for awhile lol.

How long should a reboot\startup take?

What does this do:

And this:

 

[Darkbreeze]

Leave the A-tuning on standard mode. The performance mode will allow the system to overclock the cpu, which you probably don't ever want. A manual overclock is one thing, allowing the system to do it is another. Automatic overclocks (Not to be confused with Turbo core or Turbo boost) are problematic when it comes to heat. They always over volt the cpu for stability which increases heat significantly in the cpu cores and is unnecessary.

Plus, you most likely have a stock CPU cooler and you don't want it overclocked on the stock cooler. Stick with standard mode.

The screen for number of processors, you don't need to worry about and in fact should leave alone. Mainly you only want to use that to disable cores at startup for troubleshooting purposes.

 

[awb555]

Leave the A-tuning on standard mode. The performance mode will allow the system to overclock the cpu, which you probably don't ever want. A manual overclock is one thing, allowing the system to do it is another. Automatic overclocks (Not to be confused with Turbo core or Turbo boost) are problematic when it comes to heat. They always over volt the cpu for stability which increases heat significantly in the cpu cores and is unnecessary.

Plus, you most likely have a stock CPU cooler and you don't want it overclocked on the stock cooler. Stick with standard mode.

The screen for number of processors, you don't need to worry about and in fact should leave alone. Mainly you only want to use that to disable cores at startup for troubleshooting purposes.

LAST QUESTION:
How long should a reboot\startup take?

 

[Darkbreeze]

A cold startup, on my system, takes about 40 seconds. A restart, from the point I click "restart" to the time I get back to the desktop, with no applications open at the time I click restart, takes about 51 seconds.

Every system will be different depending on OS version, installed hardware, number of services running, number of installed applications and system hardware speed.

How long does your system take to do a cold boot and a restart?

 

[awb555]

A cold startup, on my system, takes about 40 seconds. A restart, from the point I click "restart" to the time I get back to the desktop, with no applications open at the time I click restart, takes about 51 seconds.

Every system will be different depending on OS version, installed hardware, number of services running, number of installed applications and system hardware speed.

How long does your system take to do a cold boot and a restart?

The exact same!!

 

[Darkbreeze]

So you should be fine then.