Startup occasionally very slow

dvilla

New Member
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6
I have a Windows 8 desktop PC about 12 months old

Usually startup is fast - under 1 minute. But occasionally it takes a VERY long time for the system to boot - sometimes close to an hour! It only happens rarely, but when it does happen its very annoying, especially if I have some important work do do.

I have scanned for viruses, etc and found nothing. Is this designed behaviour (maybe its doing an update, or something) and if so how do I turn it off?

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Generally when it is installing updates you will see a message like "Installing update 1 of 5 please do not turn off your computer" or something like that with a percentage completed in white on a blue background. Do you see anything like that when this happens?

If it is updates causing the issue then you can choose when to re-boot. You'll see in the action center (the little white flag in the system tray - see below) if there are updates to be installed. The system will give you 72 hours notice so you can choose when to restart at a convenient time and at other times put the system to sleep instead of shutting it down.

If you don't see that then I don't know what it could be - it is unlikely to be start-up items as these would most likely do the same thing every time you restart.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
Thanks for the reply Adamf.

I have seen the white on blue update message - usually on shutdown. This can also be annoying given that it happens without my authorisation, but at least it makes sense, and at least it happens when I am no longer using the computer.

No the problem I am refering to happens on startup. The startup process reaches the screen which displays the manufacturer's logo and tells me how to get into the BIOS - as it usually does. It then hangs at that point, not even letting me into the BIOS. When it first happened I thought it was a hard drive problem or something and was about to call a service tech, but after about an hour it booted as normal and was fine. Since then it has happened a few times, about once a month or so, and I just wait for it to right itself.

I have heard similar problems from people with a similar PC to mine - but they know less about how to fix it than I do.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
With regards to updates you could change windows update to notify only or download only and then choose when to install. Some updates run both at shutdown and the next start-up but I've always seen the message both times - not the situation you describe. Perhaps someone else can help with that one...
 

Attachments

  • update.png
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
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