[SOLVED] HDD takes 110 seconds to boot with Windows.

[JonekCode]

Good evening,

I would like to apologize instantly for writting a very detailed explanation of the issue.

Yesterday my SSD died.
I've always had a loose cable on it and I move my PC a lot, even when connected - so it was only given that a 'spark' would go through or it would break eventually.


So, yesterday I started getting 'bad_system_config_info' BSoD, so I tried fixing it using online tutorials.

• I formatted the EFI partition
• Tried 'resetting' boot path to my windows folder
• Tried reinstalling windows on my SSD (at this point SSD disappeared and stopped responding)

After my SSD died completely, I've decided to format my other HDD (2TB ST2000DM006-2DM164 Seagate Barracuda) and install Windows on it - so I did just that.
What I've noticed instantly is that it takes atleast 100 seconds to boot:

SeaTools for Windows short test resulted in:

Here's crystaldisk output:

Also here's output of Windows Performance Analyzer:

It's worth noting:

I have not changed BIOS settings other than boot load order

I have a clean, fresh, no-file-keeping install of windows

The SSD is completely unplugged, the only drive is the HDD

The 100 seconds of boot can be broken into: 70 seconds of ASUS logo and keyboard NOT being initialized (couldn't hit F2 or DEL to get into BIOS), 30 seconds of windows starting



Here are my specs:

CPU: i7-4790K Non-OC'd

RAM: 16GB

Motherboard: ASUS Z97-R

HDD: 2TB ST2000DM006-2DM164 Seagate Barracuda



I appreciate any help, this is quite urgent.

 

[william p]

Hybrid drives (SSHD) can be found for not much money. The size of the SSD portion varies greatly. They can help boot time isssues if you need just one internal drive.

 

[JonekCode]

Hybrid drives (SSHD) can be found for not much money. The size of the SSD portion varies greatly. They can help boot time isssues if you need just one internal drive.

The thing is, I don't think this HDD should boot for longer than 40 seconds.

 

[dudeman509]

HDDs with Win10 are very slow. 2+ mins is pretty typical even on a fresh install in my experience until some of the common files are cached into the ReadyBoot/Superfetch cache or 'fast startup' is enabled. That will decrease boot time slightly, but it's still nowhere near the ~10 sec or so you'll get with a SSD.

SSDs are so cheap now you may as well just pick up a new one.

 

[USAFRet]

The thing is, I don't think this HDD should boot for longer than 40 seconds.

Why would you think 40 seconds is a magic number?

Taking 100+ seconds could be due to a lot of things, not just being an HDD.

 

[JonekCode]

HDDs with Win10 are very slow. 2+ mins is pretty typical even on a fresh install in my experience until some of the common files are cached into the ReadyBoot/Superfetch cache or 'fast startup' is enabled. That will decrease boot time slightly, but it's still nowhere near the ~10 sec or so you'll get with a SSD.

SSDs are so cheap now you may as well just pick up a new one.

Ofcourse, I did pick an M.2 SSD - it's on it's way.
I just wanted someone to assure myself that it's normal for HDDs to boot for so long.

 

[JonekCode]

Why would you think 40 seconds is a magic number?

Taking 100+ seconds could be due to a lot of things, not just being an HDD.

I understand.
It's a clean HDD tho.

 

[dudeman509]

Ofcourse, I did pick an M.2 SSD - it's on it's way.
I just wanted someone to assure myself that it's normal for HDDs to boot for so long.

Sounds normal. HDD's just aren't usable for much more than storage in 2020.

 

[USAFRet]

Ofcourse, I did pick an M.2 SSD - it's on it's way.
I just wanted someone to assure myself that it's normal for HDDs to boot for so long.

With solid state drives being so mainstream, it is easy to forget just how long things actually took.

 

[JonekCode]

With solid state drives being so mainstream, it is easy to forget just how long things actually took.

True.