Vaio laptop takes too long to post

[VitrasSlade]

A friend gave me their laptop to work on that has been having some issues. They said it takes too long to start. Turns out, they meant the BIOS and not Windows (7), which is what I was assuming.

It takes approximately 5 minutes to reach splash screen and is blank until then. Windows boots fine, no issues.

The things I've checked and tried so far:
Sat for ~5 minutes holding F2 to look at BIOS settings to see if I could turn anything on/off to help and found nothing useful. (Have to go back later to double check if putting internal HDD in first slot of boot order helps.)
Removed battery and held power button for 30 seconds, then replaced battery.
Windows is clean with no bloatware.

At the moment I am running Windows updates, since my friend had disabled them back when W10 was installing itself. Haven't checked BIOS updates or opened up the system yet.

Is their anything obvious I am missing?

Vaio model SVE151D11L

 

[webworkings]

Try starting it up in "Safe Mode" and see if it loads very quickly. I would hazard a guess that it will. If that is the case, you need to go through the list of what is starting up when the computer starts and when Windows starts. The more stuff auto loading at the start, the longer it will take. Sadly many programs will automatically set themselves to start right away, even when they don't need to. I would also run some good deep virus and malware scans. That can add to load time.

How to enter "Safe Mode" when booting the computer.

In Windows 8 and 10...

As your computer restarts, press F8 (possibly a few times) to enter "Safe Mode"

a. Press the "F4" key to Enable "Safe Mode".
(The computer will then start in "Safe Mode" with a minimal set of drivers and services.)

b. Press the "F5" key to Enable "Safe Mode" with Networking.
( Once "Safe Mode" with Networking starts, Windows is in Safe Mode, with additional network and services for accessing the Internet and other computers on your network.)

c. Press the "F6" key to Enable "Safe Mode" with Command Prompt.
(In "Safe Mode" with "Command Prompt" starts Windows in Safe Mode, with a Command Prompt window instead of the Windows interface. This option is mostly only used by IT professionals.)

Now sign in to the computer with your account name and password. (If you have one set.) When you are finished troubleshooting, you can exit "Safe Mode" restarting your computer.


In Windows 7/Vista/XP...

1. Immediately after turning on the computer, or restarting it (usually after you hear your computer beep), tap the F8 key, repeatedly, in 1 second intervals.

2. The computer will then display hardware information and run a memory test.

3. Next the "Advanced Boot Options" menu will appear.

4. In the "Advanced Boot Options" menu use the arrow keys to select "Safe Mode" or "Safe Mode with Networking" and press ENTER.

 

[VitrasSlade]

Try starting it up in "Safe Mode" and see if it loads very quickly. I would hazard a guess that it will. If that is the case, you need to go through the list of what is starting up when the computer starts and when Windows starts. The more stuff auto loading at the start, the longer it will take. Sadly many programs will automatically set themselves to start right away, even when they don't need to. I would also run some good deep virus and malware scans. That can add to load time.

I'm unsure if you may have misunderstood me. Windows booting is no issue, the laptop takes minutes just to get to the BIOS (even with HDD taken out). Also, there are very few programs on this laptop at all, so programs auto loading is not an issue anyway.

 

[VitrasSlade]

Fixed it. Updated BIOS to latest version using the installer from the Sony website (as well as missing drivers). Virtually an instant post now.

 

[webworkings]

AHH I must have misunderstood. It seemed you were saying that it takes a while to load period. My error. I am glad you got it sorted.