Frustrating Home Build - Slow!

[LSUAdman]

Good morning all,

I've just had a frustrating homebuild issue this week. My old rig died, so my wife OK'ed a new build on Friday. This isnt my first rodeo, but it is my most frustrating. Assembled everything on Friday afternoon and did a clean install of Win 7 Pro x32. After POST (everything checks out ok), the system proceeds to boot and takes FOREVER.

After about five minutes, Win 7 will boot up. Then everything is incredibly slow - opening a window takes 30 seconds to over a minute. Moving panes is a chore. Forget getting onto the internet.

After this, I took everything apart and started again. New clean install of Win 7 and same issue. Rinse and repeat about two more times - each time same result. Below are the parts and some of the additional steps I took. Everything is plugged in correctly, and new - except the power supply and the hard disk. It is a 1.5tb that I bought for another build on a media center. That computer died, so this has been sitting for about 6 months.

CPU: I3-3225
Mobo: Asus P8 Z77-V LK
Ram: Corsair Vengeance 4GB CMZ4GX3M1A 1600 C9
Power Supply: 650 watt Antec Earthwatts
Hard Disk: 1.5 Tb SATA WD Caviar Green

Notes:
- I have a GTX 550 Ti as the GPU, but it is not installed yet - I am using the onboard graphics till this issue is fixed.
- The RAM module is not listed as being compatible in the manual. I ran the MEMOK check on the MOBO and it said RAM was compatible and working. It clocked at 1333 even though it was 1600, so I set it as 1600 in the BIOS and enabled XMP.
- Windows is installed to a 100Gig partition on the hard disk

Any advice is helpful. My main suspicion is that it is the RAM. The board says it works and is working correctly, but the manual doesnt say it is compatible. Any help is greatly appreciated. This is my fourth of fifth homebuild and I've never had an issue like this - I know I am missing something, but for the life of me I can't figure it out!

Thanks in advance,

-Adman

 

[sharkbyte5150]

There is a ton of RAM out there, and what's listed as "compatible" is really just what has been tested and guaranteed compatible. Your CPU supports 1333 and 1600 and the RAM supports XMP so you should be OK. However, normally you don't have to use the MemOK button unless your system won't boot and the DRAM led is on, indicating a problem.

Anyways, I'd consider the hard drive as the problem at this point.
I've seen some mobos cause slow boot, but I have the same mobo you're using, but with an SSD, and it gets to desktop from powered off in less than 10s.

Try running 'chkdsk' in the command prompt next time you're in Windows, or right click on the C: drive and choose Properties -> Tools -> Error checking.

Do you have another drive you can borrow to install Windows on as a test?
Make sure you wipe out all existing partitions and create a new partition for Windows to go on. A fresh install should never take that long to boot, and since I know that mobo doesn't cause long boots, I can't think of anything else.

 

[LSUAdman]

There is a ton of RAM out there, and what's listed as "compatible" is really just what has been tested and guaranteed compatible. Your CPU supports 1333 and 1600 and the RAM supports XMP so you should be OK. However, normally you don't have to use the MemOK button unless your system won't boot and the DRAM led is on, indicating a problem.

Anyways, I'd consider the hard drive as the problem at this point.
I've seen some mobos cause slow boot, but I have the same mobo you're using, but with an SSD, and it gets to desktop from powered off in less than 10s.

Try running 'chkdsk' in the command prompt next time you're in Windows, or right click on the C: drive and choose Properties -> Tools -> Error checking.

Do you have another drive you can borrow to install Windows on as a test?
Make sure you wipe out all existing partitions and create a new partition for Windows to go on. A fresh install should never take that long to boot, and since I know that mobo doesn't cause long boots, I can't think of anything else.

Thanks Sharkbyte - I have one more blank, 250gig drive, that I can check with. I'll get on that in the next couple hours. I have about 5 other drives (storage from the old rig), and all of them have something important on them. Mostly work files, so I can't wipe them clean.

If this drive is bad, I will be really upset. Got it for a song at Fry's sometime last year, but it never really did see any use. I was hoping to consolidate the 5 old drives onto this one. Arrg. Stay tuned!

 

[LSUAdman]

There is a ton of RAM out there, and what's listed as "compatible" is really just what has been tested and guaranteed compatible. Your CPU supports 1333 and 1600 and the RAM supports XMP so you should be OK. However, normally you don't have to use the MemOK button unless your system won't boot and the DRAM led is on, indicating a problem.

Anyways, I'd consider the hard drive as the problem at this point.
I've seen some mobos cause slow boot, but I have the same mobo you're using, but with an SSD, and it gets to desktop from powered off in less than 10s.

Try running 'chkdsk' in the command prompt next time you're in Windows, or right click on the C: drive and choose Properties -> Tools -> Error checking.

Do you have another drive you can borrow to install Windows on as a test?
Make sure you wipe out all existing partitions and create a new partition for Windows to go on. A fresh install should never take that long to boot, and since I know that mobo doesn't cause long boots, I can't think of anything else.

Thanks Sharkbyte - I have one more blank, 250gig drive, that I can check with. I'll get on that in the next couple hours. I have about 5 other drives (storage from the old rig), and all of them have something important on them. Mostly work files, so I can't wipe them clean.

If this drive is bad, I will be really upset. Got it for a song at Fry's sometime last year, but it never really did see any use. I was hoping to consolidate the 5 old drives onto this one. Arrg. Stay tuned!

 

[sharkbyte5150]

Hoping for the best!

 

[Outlander_04]

Those green drives are slow ... but not usually that slow

It must be the hard drive , or the SATA controller on the mb

Your mb probably has SATA ports in two different colors . Try using the other color if replacing the hdd doesnt work

 

[LSUAdman]

Thanks guys - after some testing and research, I believe you are both right. I tried a different drive and Win 7 installed in 15 minutes. Unfortunately the drive died shortly afterwards - it was older and suspect.

I looked up info on slow Caviar Greens and they really dont seem to be getting much love. I got these two on discount and am not impressed. They are NOT recommended for boot drives, just storage. Even then, they are apparently renowned for short lives. That sucks because the two I have are both storage drives. REPLACEMENT TIME!!!

I ordered a WD Blue 500gig last night, which should be in tomorrow. Mean while, do either of you know how to mount a bootable USB from the BIOS? I want to try and run Bootmed to recover the files from my old boot drive. I have a TON of work files that were stupidly not backed up, and I need them for taxes.

I can't find any way to make it recognize a USB as a bootable device in the BIOS - my old Abit had the setting in an easy place, but this Asus seems to hide it. Any ideas?

 

[Outlander_04]

plug the usb device in

start and enter BIOS

and set it as the first boot device the same as you would any other drive

 

[LSUAdman]

plug the usb device in

start and enter BIOS

and set it as the first boot device the same as you would any other drive

Well, that's the thing. It's not listed as a bootable drive, nor is it even an option. In the bios there is not even an option for "USB storage" or "removable drive" etc. Let me see if I can be more clear:

Say I only have a SATA 100 gig drive hooked up - that will be the only thing listed in the boot priority. No drop down lists. No other options other than "enable" or "disable."

Now if I hook up a SATA DVD drive, I will have the first drive listed and the second. I can configure either to run first, or disable one or both.

When I hook up the USB thumb drive, I get no further drive options. Just the two that are already hooked up.

I've enabled USB Legacy in the BIOS, and still nada. The only thing I can think of is to extend the POST time to see if it detects it. I also need to try to move the USB to one of the ports in the back - right now it's on one of the non-mobo ports on the top of the case.

 

[Outlander_04]

It seems unlikely your BIOS is incapable of booting from USB

If you have it in a USB 3 port there could be complications . USB 3 seems to need drivers which wouldnt load till after you had booted windows .

If its not in a USB2 port then switch it to one . Try front and back panel

 

[LSUAdman]

It's currently in the USB2 on the top. The back has three USB 2 and two USB 3 ports. I agree that it's unusual that it wouldnt do it - I just can't find it in the settings. My old Abit would let you choose what the boot order was even if something was not plugged in. I can't find anything in the manual or in the BIOS that says how, though.

If it doesnt work today, it's not big deal - I can fix it once I get the new drive in. Just flustered trying to learn a new mobo.

 

[LSUAdman]

Best answer selected by LSUAdman.

 

[sharkbyte5150]

Any luck with the new WD Blue?