Slow boot time in AHCI mode

[dorianh94]

Few weeks ago I bought a new HDD (seagate SV35 1TB , sata 3 , 7200 rpm , 64 mb cache ) . Done a clean OS install of Windows 7 Ultimate x64 . First time (and every time after that) took around one minut to load everything. After changing from AHCI to IDE , it takes around 15 sec. to windows logon screen . I consider this slow,anyway . It took 15 sec. to fully load everything with my old WD green 640 GB which was SATA 2 drive , btw . I tried the thing with regedit , double-checked the drivers , ran the crystal disk mark and everything was fine.

 

[Xyos]

You don't want to change drive modes after a hard-drive already has an OS on it. You do it before. There are work-arounds to go to AHCI after an install but you need to edit the registry.

AHCI is usually only used on SSD's not normal drives. You can use it but it's benefits are usually only "noticable" on SSD's.

 

[dorianh94]

Still,i think that it boots slower than it should. Why is that ? This is a lot faster drive than my previous one. Not to mention that the last one worked flawlessly in AHCI mode (talking about WD green 640 GB) .

 

[bgunner]

AHCI does take more time to fully boot due to different drivers and process that need to initiate. Because AHCI adds a lot more features it only stands to reason that it will take longer. Some of this time will be taken up in the system initialization and the rest in the OS boot process dew to more drivers/processes/scans needed to be done.

there is no way that win 7 boots in 15 seconds, this is an exaggeration but gets the point across. This is unachievable even with an SSD, the quickest is around 25 seconds. Average time for a HDD OS boot is around 45 seconds. If you have made changes, like windows updates, sata driver installs, swapping back and forth from ACHI and IDE will cause a slow down. Be sure to reboot multiple time before testing the time allowing for the system to full boot up and load all drivers and programs before trying restart. this may take up to 5 mins for the delayed start programs to fully start up.

 

[popatim]

Unfortunately windows loading involves random 4k reads which is one of the slowest data transfer rates an HDD can field. Add to this you are using a Harddrive designed to be in surveillance systems which is optimized for large sequential files, not random data at all. I am surprised at the large difference in IDE and AHCI speeds though; what motherbd do you have ?

 

[dorianh94]

I would like to have a video to show you that it took only 15 secs to completly boot windows 7 whit my old drive. Only thing different...now I'm using Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 and then I was using Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5 rev 3.0 .

 

[bgunner]

AHCI is usually only used on SSD's not normal drives. You can use it but it's benefits are usually only "noticable" on SSD's.

this is an untrue statement. AHCI has many uses for HDD and also allows for hot swapping drives. AHCI is not just for SSD's although it has become more talked about since the release of SSD's.

for more information on this please read this wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Host_Controller_Interface

 

[bgunner]

I would like to have a video to show you that it took only 15 secs to completly boot windows 7 whit my old drive. Only thing different...now I'm using Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 and then I was using Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5 rev 3.0 .

when are you starting the timer? When you first push the power button OR when the windows splash screen starts to load?

 

[dorianh94]

When the screen turns on.

 

[bgunner]

you are testing the motherboard start time also. THis will vary from Board to Board but gets slowed down by the AHCI drivers. To test boot time you need to test when the windows logo starts to load till full OS boot. Doing it the way you are you are adding in the motherboard initialization times and this vary's widely.

 

[dorianh94]

It's bothering me. When I set it on AHCI it kind of lags when boots . In IDE mode everything works...well...fine,I guess. Boot time is okay .Even though it's not 15 secs its around 25 secs.

 

[bgunner]

The extra lag is the motherboard initiating the AHCI drivers for the sata ports. IDE has a lot less that needs to be loaded. I to noticed this a few years back when I started to use AHCI that the motherboard took much longer to fully initiate. This is common and the only way to speed this up is turn on Fast boot in the Bios to prevent all drivers from starting right away. This is the only speed up that possible.


EDIT: for clarification Fast Boot prevents certain drivers from starting right away like legacy drivers for example.

 

[dorianh94]

Turned the Fast boot option since the day one. Okay.....anyway,thanks for the help.

 

[Xyos]

lol 15 second boot on non-ssd, even sdd's cant do that, even raid-0 ssd's cant do that llolollololo