Solved My Windows 11 takes 4 minutes to boot.

Hello all,

Since some weeks, my boot time is terrible. A cold boot can take around 4 minutes. 4 minutes of black screen. And suddenly the login screen. No POST (probably because of fast boot) and no Windows loading screen.

I don't know exactly where to look anymore. I've updated my BIOS, apply different configurations in it, toggle Fast Boot, toggle EXPO, toggle USB legacy, toggle Memory Context Restore, I've disconnected all my USB peripherals, 2 of my 3 screens, but nothing seems to have an effect.

I've tried to make some trace with Windows Performance Recorder, but once back on my desktop and the trace "compiled", Windows Performance Analyzer says that there is a fatal error and that it cannot be opened.

I also try to modify boot options in msconfig, try diagnostic startup, enable boot log, OS boot information... Nothing helping...

My hypothesis is that it comes from the OS because the motherboard seems to show that the POST is completed, all the QLED are off. I even tried to use my SSD in PCIe 4.0, no change at all.

What can I do? Am I condemned to reinstall the OS hoping for a better result?

Thanks in advance.

A1rwav3 said:

Hello all,

Since some weeks, my boot time is terrible. A cold boot can take around 4 minutes. 4 minutes of black screen. And suddenly the login screen. No POST (probably because of fast boot) and no Windows loading screen.

I don't know exactly where to look anymore. I've updated my BIOS, apply different configurations in it, toggle Fast Boot, toggle EXPO, toggle USB legacy, toggle Memory Context Restore, I've disconnected all my USB peripherals, 2 of my 3 screens, but nothing seems to have an effect.

I've tried to make some trace with Windows Performance Recorder, but once back on my desktop and the trace "compiled", Windows Performance Analyzer says that there is a fatal error and that it cannot be opened.

I also try to modify boot options in msconfig, try diagnostic startup, enable boot log, OS boot information... Nothing helping...

My hypothesis is that it comes from the OS because the motherboard seems to show that the POST is completed, all the QLED are off. I even tried to use my SSD in PCIe 4.0, no change at all.

What can I do? Am I condemned to reinstall the OS hoping for a better result?

Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

You do not say what type of disk you use, show partition layout etc.

Have you checked disk health - slow boot times can also be a sign of a failing drive.

What is the Fatal Error, does it have a code?

Download DiskGenius and or Crystal Disk Info, both available in my signature. Select each of your drives separately.
View the SMART info for the drive. This gives you a snapshot of the health of your drive. If it is any less than Good, it needs to be replaced.

First of all thank you all for your leads.
@Josey Wales : There is absolutely no error, even the Event log is clear.
@cereberus, @Spunk: I've already checked that and my SSD usage is 2%, and 100% healthy. I've also checked that it used the latest firmware.

That said, I rebooted a few times the SSD configuration and their health in the bios and I managed to get a fast boot (which still happened, rarely, for no visible reason) and I noticed something...

When my boot takes 4 minutes, the first screen to get out of stand-by is my Asus PG329, which stays turned on for 4 minutes, without any image...
But when I got the fast boot (25 seconds), this is the Asus PG43U which turns on first! And then I have a quick loading screen then the windows login!

So I disconnected the suspect and, miracle, quick boot at every boot!

The screen works perfectly once under Windows, so I suppose there is a problem with the EDID negotiation, coming either from a deficient cable or by the firmware... So I switched the display ports on the GPU! Initially I suppose that the first initialized port was the closest to the motherboard, but in fact it is just the opposite, it starts with the furthest. So I connected the suspect screen on the closest, so it is initialized in the end... And it works! It boots, quite quickly, around 25 seconds, no strange behaviour, no blocked restart, nothing!

So thank you guys, pointing the SSD made me reboot, and in the end it helped a ton! I would never have suspected a screen to cause that.

I am glad that you got it sorted out.

Im booting within 20 seconds , WITH entering a pin-code.
Booting takes 70 seconds , WITHOUT pin/password..........!
Still dont know the reason for this diiference in boottime.............

pietcorus2 said:

Im booting within 20 seconds , WITH entering a pin-code.
Booting takes 70 seconds , WITHOUT pin/password..........!
Still dont know the reason for this diiference in boottime.............

Click to expand...

Who knows -- there might be some sort of extra code / security around when different login methods used. You'd probably have to get into Windows internal code to debug that --- Good luck with that process !!!.

Cheers
jimbo

" get into Windows internal code to debug "...........?? never heard of , HOW ?? to get into this code ??
Want to get rid of pin/pass before to login , but the boottime is holding me off !

pietcorus2 said:

" get into Windows internal code to debug "...........?? never heard of , HOW ?? to get into this code ??
Want to get rid of pin/pass before to login , but the boottime is holding me off !

Click to expand...

No idea -- its Microsoft proprietary stuff so source code not available -- not sure why you've got a boot problem with Windows though -- have you got some weird hardware driver sthat need loading or whatever at boot. Another issue might be in networking where windows looks for network connections while booting - so ISP access / wifi issues etc.

You can try booting in safe mode with various options and see if the logs give you anything.

Cheers
jimbo

Well , I would not call it a problem , though the difference in boottime is strange........