Question Win10 stuck on Windows logo for 15 minutes during start.

[Hiloblebl]

Hi!

This is my first post ever with a troubleshooting question, I always found an answer on Google, but this one I just cannot figure out at all.

The thing is following: I start my PC and it gets stuck on Windows logo for some 15 minutes. There are three other symptoms: 1) in about first minute of the "loading", my 2 external drives do that "click" sound. I mention it because right before the end of the loading (after the 15 mins) they click again. 2) my USB keyboard LEDs are off during the 15 mins, then they switch on. It gives me an amateur impression that USB drivers may be to blame; I used to have a problem with my USD hub in the past, however there is no change with the hub unplugged during start. 3) I have an old yet powerful AMD Radeon HD 7900 series GPU which used to be troublesome: with my old mobo, when PC was idle, sometimes I would come back to PC, GPU fans running to the max, black screen, computer frozen and hot. I mention that because when I let my PC restart itself through "restart" in Windows, it will actually not manage to restart but during boot an input to my monitor will switch on an off a few times, the screen will remain black and Windows will not start at all (I dont see a Win logo and there are even no sings of started Windows with GPU off). The same happens when I press my reset button I think.

I just updated drivers using Driver Booster 6, no change. I did not reinstall the system and I wouldn't like to... any pointers, a setting in Windows guts that I will uncheck and the problem will vanish, guys? ) Thank you!

My PC (sorry, I am quite an amateur so I don't know what other info you may need):
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU SKU
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-6100 CPU @ 3.70GHz, 3700 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
SMBIOS Version 3.0
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode Legacy
BaseBoard Manufacturer ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
BaseBoard Model Not Available
BaseBoard Name Base Board
Platform Role Desktop
Secure Boot State Unsupported
PCR7 Configuration Binding Not Possible
Realtek High Definition Audio
Intel(R) USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.0 (Microsoft) PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_A12F&SUBSYS_86941043&REV_31\3&11583659&0&A0

 

[Colif]

Disconnect all external hdd and extra devices from PC and see if it is still slow to start. At startup is when PC checks to see all the hardware still loads, if it waits a long time it means something isn't replying to it. It only stops waiting when it times out.

Can you download and run a program called Speccy - https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy (installer may offer ccleaner, you don't need it)
when you run it, click on file and save as text file
put the file somewhere you can easily find.
upload file to a file sharing website and show link here
it will tell us what is in PC

1. I think we need to test those hdd as the click is a bad sign, the boot speed is also a bad sign. What brands are the 2 external hdd?

I don't recommend driver booster, it can cause my problems than it solves. I have used it before and twice it loaded the wrong drivers.

2) If pc is waiting for something else to respond, USB might be last to startup. My lighting often doesn't come on until after I login, but that is mainly as keyboard colours are controlled by software that doesn't load until after logon.

3) so Radeon is in PC now? If you stuck on the logo for 15 minutes, the not turning on thing can't happen every time?

 

[Hiloblebl]

Disconnect all external hdd and extra devices from PC and see if it is still slow to start. At startup is when PC checks to see all the hardware still loads, if it waits a long time it means something isn't replying to it. It only stops waiting when it times out.

Can you download and run a program called Speccy - https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy (installer may offer ccleaner, you don't need it)
when you run it, click on file and save as text file
put the file somewhere you can easily find.
upload file to a file sharing website and show link here
it will tell us what is in PC

1. I think we need to test those hdd as the click is a bad sign, the boot speed is also a bad sign. What brands are the 2 external hdd?

I don't recommend driver booster, it can cause my problems than it solves. I have used it before and twice it loaded the wrong drivers.

2) If pc is waiting for something else to respond, USB might be last to startup. My lighting often doesn't come on until after I login, but that is mainly as keyboard colours are controlled by software that doesn't load until after logon.

3) so Radeon is in PC now? If you stuck on the logo for 15 minutes, the not turning on thing can't happen every time?

First of all, many thanks for your reply!
I will follow your instructions in next days and reply here asap.

 

[Hiloblebl]

1. I think we need to test those hdd as the click is a bad sign, the boot speed is also a bad sign. What brands are the 2 external hdd?
Seagate. Quite old (5+ yrs, 0,5TB and 1TB), but so far they seem to be ok. The system is not present there but in my internal drive.

3) so Radeon is in PC now? If you stuck on the logo for 15 minutes, the not turning on thing can't happen every time?
Radeon is in the PC all the time, yes. The startup problem is as follows: when it is running and I am in Windows, I use the physical reset button OR power button (short press for Win to shut down or long press) OR restart it via Windows restart, there is 80-100% chance it will not start at all AND I will not even see the Win logo + there will be the GPU output on/offs. I give the 20% to that I am not entirely sure now if there aren't some exceptions.
I have a long-term feeling that to avoid the above mentioned, I have to let PC rest after the shutdown for a while - at least 15 seconds, let's say, in order to avoid the above mentioned AND to get to the 15 minutes start. If I start the PC in the morning, there will always be the 15 minutes start (i.e. no failed starts with GPU on off). There are no exceptions like a quick (normal) start instead of the 15 minutes ever.
I will do the Speccy thing soon.

 

[Hiloblebl]

Can you download and run a program called Speccy - https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy (installer may offer ccleaner, you don't need it)
when you run it, click on file and save as text file
put the file somewhere you can easily find.
upload file to a file sharing website and show link here
it will tell us what is in PC

Here it is. I deleted a few security things but I believe they do not matter regarding this issue. https://uloz.to/!dQfwTwaI7VIH/desktop-cp5ir3o-txt

 

[Colif]

that was fun, guessing what menus to use on a Polish (?) website.

I would suggest updating your BIOS, you are on version 1802, current is 4204, you are 15 versions behind. That could help the time delay greatly
this shows you the various ways to update your bios - https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/B250M-BASALT/E13571_BIOS_Update_EM_V4_WEB.pdf EZ flash 3 is the fastest

also need to update chipset driver once you update BIOS as they should match, latest version is Version 11.7.0.1057 dated April 3rd 2019, I can't tell what you have now. - https://www.asus.com/au/Motherboards/H110M-K/HelpDesk_Download/

you can probably check both seagate drives using - https://www.seagate.com/au/en/support/downloads/seatools/seatools-win-master/
your internal drive is also made by seagate

 

[Hiloblebl]

that was fun, guessing what menus to use on a Polish (?) website.

I would suggest updating your BIOS, you are on version 1802, current is 4204, you are 15 versions behind. That could help the time delay greatly
this shows you the various ways to update your bios - https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/B250M-BASALT/E13571_BIOS_Update_EM_V4_WEB.pdf EZ flash 3 is the fastest

also need to update chipset driver once you update BIOS as they should match, latest version is Version 11.7.0.1057 dated April 3rd 2019, I can't tell what you have now. - https://www.asus.com/au/Motherboards/H110M-K/HelpDesk_Download/

you can probably check both seagate drives using - https://www.seagate.com/au/en/support/downloads/seatools/seatools-win-master/
your internal drive is also made by seagate

Thank you very much, kind sir! Will try and let you know if it helped.
Lol, I forgot you won't be able to navigate in Czech website ))

 

[Hiloblebl]

that was fun, guessing what menus to use on a Polish (?) website.

I would suggest updating your BIOS, you are on version 1802, current is 4204, you are 15 versions behind. That could help the time delay greatly
this shows you the various ways to update your bios - https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/B250M-BASALT/E13571_BIOS_Update_EM_V4_WEB.pdf EZ flash 3 is the fastest

also need to update chipset driver once you update BIOS as they should match, latest version is Version 11.7.0.1057 dated April 3rd 2019, I can't tell what you have now. - https://www.asus.com/au/Motherboards/H110M-K/HelpDesk_Download/

you can probably check both seagate drives using - https://www.seagate.com/au/en/support/downloads/seatools/seatools-win-master/
your internal drive is also made by seagate

Hi, so I tried all the things and no change at all 🙁 BIOS updated, chipset updated, HDD successfully checked, tried restart without the external drives. The only "suspicious" thing is that one of the externals was found to have some errors, but apparently it is not to blame.
I only add that when I do the restart after which I don't even get to the Windows logo and it won't start at all, it freezes at black screen with blinking white line in upper left corner (not sure if this gives any suggestions). This is not new.

Any more ideas?? Thanks!

 

[Colif]

What is possibly happening is your Asus motherboard is likely swapping boot methods when you restart it, and that is why you get the black screen with cursor, as its trying to boot up using a method that doesn't match your drives format

There are 2 different Boot methods.
Legacy - This is what every computer used to boot windows until Win 8 was released. The PC looks on 1st partition of every drive until it finds the boot info.

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - this was designed between 2006 & 2009 by a consortium of hardware makers to create a BIOS that fixes many of the inadequacies of Legacy bios. The boot partition can be anywhere on the drive, or even on another type of device or on a network.

can you right click start
choose disk management
I am trying to figure out what format your drives are set as, there are 2 used by windows

MBR - Master Boot Record. This format matches Legacy boot method
GPT - GUID Partition Table. THis format is designed to replace MBR. It matches UEFI boot method

there is more to it but thats basics,
MBR drives have to have their boot partition as 1st item on drive, and that partition will be marked Active

GPT drives can have boot partition anywhere on drive and that no partitions are marked as active. Boot partition will be the EFI partition

so can you tell from that description what you have?
Both describe their boot partition as System

Once I know what you have, we can look in your BIOS. If its anything like my Asus bios, you have a few choices as to how its set. but your manual has 2 pages on how BIOS menus work, I will have to find the Z version of the motherboard to get more info - this should be about same - https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/Z170-PRO-GAMING/E10719_Z170_PRO_GAMING_UM_V2_WEB.pdf

in advanced view of bios, on Boot tab, scroll down to find CSM (Compatibility Support Module)

UNder it look at Launch CSM, what is it set to?
its default is Enabled which means it emulates features of Legacy bios

there are 2 other settings, Auto which switches between legacy and UEFI, or Disabled which sets PC up to only support UEFI

Don't change anything yet, I am just seeing if its the problem. Changing it can stop PC booting completely.

 

[Hiloblebl]

What is possibly happening is your Asus motherboard is likely swapping boot methods when you restart it, and that is why you get the black screen with cursor, as its trying to boot up using a method that doesn't match your drives format

There are 2 different Boot methods.
Legacy - This is what every computer used to boot windows until Win 8 was released. The PC looks on 1st partition of every drive until it finds the boot info.

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - this was designed between 2006 & 2009 by a consortium of hardware makers to create a BIOS that fixes many of the inadequacies of Legacy bios. The boot partition can be anywhere on the drive, or even on another type of device or on a network.

can you right click start
choose disk management
I am trying to figure out what format your drives are set as, there are 2 used by windows

MBR - Master Boot Record. This format matches Legacy boot method
GPT - GUID Partition Table. THis format is designed to replace MBR. It matches UEFI boot method

there is more to it but thats basics,
MBR drives have to have their boot partition as 1st item on drive, and that partition will be marked Active



GPT drives can have boot partition anywhere on drive and that no partitions are marked as active. Boot partition will be the EFI partition


so can you tell from that description what you have?
Both describe their boot partition as System

Once I know what you have, we can look in your BIOS. If its anything like my Asus bios, you have a few choices as to how its set. but your manual has 2 pages on how BIOS menus work, I will have to find the Z version of the motherboard to get more info - this should be about same - https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/Z170-PRO-GAMING/E10719_Z170_PRO_GAMING_UM_V2_WEB.pdf

in advanced view of bios, on Boot tab, scroll down to find CSM (Compatibility Support Module)

UNder it look at Launch CSM, what is it set to?
its default is Enabled which means it emulates features of Legacy bios

there are 2 other settings, Auto which switches between legacy and UEFI, or Disabled which sets PC up to only support UEFI

Don't change anything yet, I am just seeing if its the problem. Changing it can stop PC booting completely.

So, regarding the Boot methods, I guess it is MBR, please check: (I cannot insert a printscreen here, eh) https://uloz.to/!AXyXoaYeJx9V/untitled-png
Launch CSM is set to Enabled, Boot Device Control is UEFI and Legacy OPROM, boot from other devices is Legacy.
By the way, the top left blinking white line appears ONLY during the failed starts, it does not appear during the 15 minute starts (which trouble me the most).
Also I found that my BIOS was weirdly laggy this time and so is Windows right now (I remmeber having laggy Windows after some boots, at least 1.5 years ago already, even though task manager did not show overloaded CPU, disk, RAM or GPU).
I must say I have a long-term impression that the shorter time (1-5 minutes) I give my PC to "cool down" after shutdown, the higher chance of laggy Windows and especially higher chance of the failed startup (this one is almost guaranteed if PC did not rest for at least 1 minute).

Edit: I recall having some Windows update because of which I did a system recovery (it got stuck at the 15 min start, I thought it froze to death, but later I discovered it actually will start after 15 mins). I believe the 15 min starts became regular after that. The update happened some 6-12 months ago I think. I guess I had the 15 min starts even before that, I just never let the 15 mins pass because I thought it is frozen...

I hope I am not putting too much confusion into the problem.

Thanks once again.

 

[Colif]

Shame you didn't give me the next column next to capacity or I wouldn't ask this question. How much free space is there on other drives? You might be better off clean installing win 10 and changing one thing in bios so it recognises PC can use UEFI

Make CSM - Disabled

GPT has 1 advantage over MBR I didn't mention, it can have max of 256 partitions on 1 drive (not that you need that many) so you wouldn't need to have any extended partitions. It can also use HDD bigger than 2.2tb in size (way bigger, like 18.8 million TB bigger)

Fresh install could fix both problems you have, the slow boot and the weird restarts. Setting bios to only support UEFI means it won't try legacy boot at all.

I believe you right about MBR, the green outline around your extended partitions made that clear... i was wondering why they were green. If you don't reinstall windows, you could set Boot Device Control to legacy only if you wanted, that might fix the failed starts. as it might be swapping methods on those starts and not finding what its looking for.

there are new versions of win 10 every 6 months, so one of those may have done it.

 

[Hiloblebl]

Thanks, I will try to disable CSM, then BDControl to legacy only and then reinstall windows if these don't help.